{"id":7026,"date":"2016-03-10T15:29:02","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T20:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.ryerson.ca\/asianheritage\/?page_id=7026"},"modified":"2026-02-23T13:44:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T18:44:45","slug":"thao-lam","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/thao-lam\/","title":{"rendered":"Thao Lam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Thao Lam is a Toronto-based illustrator and art buyer who studied illustration at Sheridan College. She is passionate about children\u2019s books and is very interested in visual storytelling. Skunk on a String, <\/em>her first solo book, is a story-without-words told with cut paper collage illustrations. Lam was a toddler when her family fled Vietnam and found refuge in a camp in Malaysia prior to coming to Canada. Lam’s story is told in the 2023 National Film Board of Canada release of Boat People<\/a><\/em> that she co-directed and co-wrote with Kjell Boersma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Everybelly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Groundwood Books\/House of Anansi Press, 2025.
PZ7.1.L25 E94 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Maddie and her mom spend a sunny day at the local public pool where she meets and greets friends and neighbors. Maddie is waist-high on most of them, and she knows there\u2019s an interesting person behind every belly she passes \u2014 like Jackie, the artist with a splatter of ice cream across their belly. Maddie\u2019s splatter painting often leaves Mama speechless, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poolside belly parade keeps Maddie musing: How bellies can make excellent tables, how hard some people work to keep their bellies flat when Maddie prefers her belly full, and how you should never, ever stick your hands in other people\u2019s bellies, no matter how soft and doughy they might look. (Maddie\u2019s cat taught her that the hard way.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Maddie dances, swims and makes the long climb up to the diving board, Thao Lam\u2019s celebrated cut-paper collage portrays bellies and bodies of all shapes and sizes \u2014 bellies with scars, tattooed bellies, growing bellies, growling bellies, bellies with six-packs, stretch marks, insulin monitors, freckles and more \u2014 proving that every belly deserves its place in the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Honours<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

2025 Kirkus Prize–Young People’s Literature <\/a>(Winner)
2026 USBBY Outstanding International Books List<\/a>–PreK-Grade 2<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Line in the Sand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Owlkids, 2022.
This is a story without words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A monster meanders down a beach, dragging a stick behind them and leaving a line in the sand. Meanwhile, a group of friends is at play\u2014flying kites, building sandcastles, tossing a ball\u2014until two of them become curious about the line that now seemingly divides them. What does<\/em> the line mean? Tensions mount as the two ponder the situation. Should the line be crossed? Can<\/em> it be crossed? Eyes narrow, feathers get ruffled, and a scuffle starts, stemming from a series of misunderstandings and aggravated by the innocent, and very untimely, arrival of a bee. It\u2019s only when their stomping and kicking has completely erased the line in the sand that the friends realize their scrabble was senseless. They rejoin the others at play, where the line becomes part of their games, while in the background, the line\u2019s creator continues to meander across the page, oblivious to the impact of their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This powerful wordless story, told in panels and illustrated in striking collage art, is at once simple, relatable, and profound and will encourage readers to think about conflict, communication, and the meaning of the lines we all draw, whether intentional or not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My Cat Looks Like My Dad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Owlkids, 2019.
PZ7.1 .L25 M923 2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Minimal text paired with bright paper-collage illustrations create comparisons on each spread in which the narrator talks about their family. A surprising twist at the end reveals the narrator\u2019s unexpected identity, also hinted at with clues in the art. It’s a playful, warm and whimsical story about the love that makes a family a unit, no matter how unusual it may look from the outside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One Giant Leap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Owlkids Books, 2024.
This is a story without words.
PZ7.1.L34 O64 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A child zips up their orange suit, pulls on a pair of boots, and adjusts their hat. They\u2019re ready for an adventure. But where are they going? With the push of an elevator button, their adventure begins, and they\u2019re transformed \u2026 into an astronaut! While searching for their spaceship, the astronaut discovers colorful space creatures of all shapes and sizes. Suddenly, a blizzard hits, and the astronaut races through the storm into \u2026 the school hallway! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Honours<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

2024 Governor General\u2019s Literary Awards\u2013Young People\u2019s Literature, Illustrated Books, English<\/a> (Finalist)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: OwlKids, 2020.
This is a story without words.
PZ7.1.L34 P36 2020<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In The Paper Boat<\/em>, Thao\u2019s signature collage art tells the wordless story of one family\u2019s escape from Vietnam\u2014a journey intertwined with an ant colony\u2019s parallel narrative.
At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out to trap them. Later, when the girl\u2019s family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on. Their perilous journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family\u2019s own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Honours<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

2021-22 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award<\/a> — English fiction (Finalist)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

THAO: A Picture Book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Owlkids, 2021.
PZ7.1.L25 T426 2021<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n

Ma misses the sun, warmth and colors of their faraway homeland, but her daughter sees magic in everything \u2014 the clouds in the winter sky, the \u201cfirework\u201d display when she throws an armful of snow into the air, making snow angels, tasting snowflakes. And in the end, her joy is contagious. Home is where family is, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though it’s only four simple, familiar letters long, nobody can ever<\/em> pronounce Thao’s name. She’s been called Theo, Tail, even Towel! But the teasing names–Tofu, Tiny, China Girl–are worse. Maybe it’s time to be someone else? Thao decides to try on a different name, something easy, like Jennifer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It works, but only until she opens her lunchbox to find her mother’s Vietnamese spring rolls, g\u1ecfi cu\u1ed1n<\/em>–Thao’s favorite! Now, it feels a lot more comfortable to be herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simple on the surface, this story inspired by Thao’s own childhood is full of humor, heart, and important ideas of diversity, inclusion, and cultural pride. The story will be instantly relatable to readers who have ever felt different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed with a playful emphasis on typography, and Thao’s own childhood photos added to her signature cut-paper collage, THAO<\/em> champions being true to yourself and your background, and being empathetic towards others. It is a celebration of all that’s in a name and the power of owning your identity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skunk on a String<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: OwlKids, 2016.
This is a story without words.<\/p>\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n

Ma misses the sun, warmth and colors of their faraway homeland, but her daughter sees magic in everything \u2014 the clouds in the winter sky, the \u201cfirework\u201d display when she throws an armful of snow into the air, making snow angels, tasting snowflakes. And in the end, her joy is contagious. Home is where family is, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Skunk on a String<\/em>, we meet a skunk who has been tied to the tail of a balloon. Try as he might, the persistent critter can\u2019t get anyone to untie him. In this wordless story, he is shooed and swatted through a bustling parade, past the windowpanes of the city\u2019s apartment buildings with their diverse, busy inhabitants, then up to the construction cranes high above the city. He floats through the zoo, into traffic, under water, and eventually lands atop a Ferris wheel. When he finally unties himself, the skunk misses the aerial life \u2014 so he comes up with an inspired way to fly again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile, Picture book)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wallpaper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: OwlKids, 2018.
This is a story without words.<\/p>\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n

Ma misses the sun, warmth and colors of their faraway homeland, but her daughter sees magic in everything \u2014 the clouds in the winter sky, the \u201cfirework\u201d display when she throws an armful of snow into the air, making snow angels, tasting snowflakes. And in the end, her joy is contagious. Home is where family is, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New from the creator of Skunk on a String<\/em> comes Wallpaper<\/em>, a wordless picture book in Thao Lam\u2019s signature paper collage style. It tells the story of a young girl whose family moves into a new house. Outside, she can hear other kids playing, but she\u2019s too shy to say hello. So she picks at the old wallpaper in her room\u2014revealing an entryway to a fantastic imaginary adventure world behind the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There, she runs between the vibrant and varied environments\u2014surrounded by birds, swimming in a frog pond, in a herd of art-deco sheep\u2014as she finds herself chased by a monster. He is frightening at first, until it becomes clear he simply wants to be her friend. When it comes time to go back to reality, the girl feels inspired with the courage to approach the other kids and say hello.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Honours<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

2018 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award<\/a> (Finalist)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Links<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Thao Lam personal website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher Groundwood Books\/House of Anansi Press<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher Owlkids Books<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the Book: The Paper Boat YouTube video<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Line in the Sand discussion and activity guide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thao Lam is a Toronto-based illustrator and art buyer who studied illustration at Sheridan College. She is passionate about children\u2019s books and is very interested in visual storytelling. Skunk on a String, her first solo book, is a story-without-words told with … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7026","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7026"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21624,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7026\/revisions\/21624"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}