Laura G. Lee Studio

Hello friends! Come join me to celebrate Children’s Book Week 2026 at the Castro Valley Library! I’ll be doing a special book talk and soy sauce painting workshop for my book, SOY SAUCE! on Saturday, May 9th at 12pm at the library and I can’t wait to meet you! 

Chidren’s Book Week runs May 4-10 and this year’s theme is ‘Books: Get Curious’ and you can find a ton of FREE, FUN, and ORIGINAL downloadable resources at EveryChildaReader.net including bookmarks, poems, event ideas, reading club badges and a special activity page from Highlights Press.

Thank you to for a shout-out to SOY SAUCE! on her marvelous hand-painted poster for Children’s Book Week 2026

AMAZING time last week leading a middle school workshop in Visual Storytelling and Narrative Design 😎😃😍🤚 where we dove into the visual devices used in picture books, comics, and graphic novels. Thank you Field for having me and it was awesome to see how engaged and enthusiastic the students were!!

My goal for the workshop was to inspire students to see visual storytelling as a way to communicate their vision and ideas, and to think of art beyond making things look pretty. Was really rewarding and fun taking the kids on this ride!

Books analyzed: Where the Wild Things Are by I Want My Hat Back by The Dark by Picture This by Molly Bang and Understanding Comics by

Last week’s school visit was very impromptu! We read SOY SAUCE! together, the kids asked a TON of great questions, and I painted a LOT of soy sauce paintings…. Soy sauce animals, bottles, portraits…. Thank you again for having me on campus to share the making of the book with your K-2 graders it was a hoot! and thank you for organizing the visit. 😍🥰😘

Hello humans! I am excited to share a special Pre-Sale promotion for my upcoming book, I AM HUMAN, for :) Throughout my life, B&N has been a refuge wherever I’ve lived in the US. I have fond memories of spending time at the NYC Union Square flagship store, browsing and people watching in my 20s. And exploring books in the dead of a Minnesota winter in Rochester, MN. I remember bringing my toddler to B&N San Mateo, CA on early weekday mornings to sit on the carpet and read board books.

Invest in your love of books and your human-ness by pre-ordering I AM HUMAN from Barnes & Noble today! Order link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-am-human-laura-g-lee/1149594959?ean=9781523528349

ABOUT THE BOOK

A celebration of humanity in the digital age, for fans of Sophie Blackall’s If You Come to Earth.

A young boy explains to his new robot what it means to be human in this thoughtful story from the creator of the indie-bestselling Soy Sauce! From food to family, emotions, imagination and connection, there’s so much to know about being a person, but the boy soon realizes that much of his world is beyond the bot’s grasp. 

A timely tale for the digital generation, this beautifully illustrated picture book is a gentle conversation starter for discussing AI, and offers inquisitive young readers a way to think about what makes them uniquely, wonderfully who they are.


🤩🥳😎 Starting today! 3/24-3/26, Barnes and Noble Premium & Rewards Members get 25% off ALL upcoming releases. Premium Members get an additional 10% off their print book pre-orders. Coupon code: PREORDER25

✨DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT✨
I am thrilled to announce my story THE RED THREAD has been acquired by for publication in Winter 2027, as announced last week in 😍
 
When Unnie welcomes her baby sister Nabi into the world, their red thread begins to grow—stitched through play, sharing, and make-believe. But when a summer apart stretches their bond, Nabi must follow the thread to discover that love, once woven, never unravels. 
 
Growing up, my sister and I were inseparable, just like the sisters in this story. At night, we even tied our nightgown ribbons together so our dad couldn’t pull us apart at bedtime! When my sister left for boarding school in New England, everything shifted—we never lived in the same house again.
 
Delicately tying the East Asian folklore of the red string of fate to the Korean belief in inyeon–the invisible links between people–THE RED THREAD is a celebration of sisterhood, and the bonds we choose to grow.
 

Recap of last week’s amazing school visit and soy sauce painting workshop with over 60+ kiddos who tried their hand at painting for the first time ever with real soy sauce! It was a glorious afternoon of storytelling, sharing the history and background to making my book SOY SAUCE!, and painting in open air. Look at the amazing work these Kindergarten through 4th graders made! Bravo!!🙌 Thank you for having me and also many thanks to Cathy Wong who took these great photos….

Thank you so much for the warm welcome at your 100th day of school today for SOY SAUCE! I had a blast painting with the such talented kindergarten to fourth grade soy sauce artists that I have ever seen paint with soy sauce! released a year ago, but it is still going strong, touching the hearts of readers who love mixing flavor and fun, and learning about the amazing story of soy sauce!

😊😘☺️ If you would like me to visit YOUR school please reach out to me through my website above. ☝️

Happy book birthday to SOY SAUCE! It’s been a year since this delicious title has been released, and looking back on the past year, it’s been an amazing experience. From launching in January, going on the book tour to the Bay Area, Seattle, Portland, visiting Indy bookstores across the country, and connecting with librarians and booksellers across the world. It was amazing connecting to chefs and foodies the culinary industry, and sharing the story with master soy sauce makers, Michelin star and community chefs, and food writers. But the biggest highlight for me was sharing the story of soy sauce with children. I loved seeing the sparkle in kids eyes when I told them about how soy sauce is made, and the extra sparkle in kids who love to think and dream about food. 🍲 Happy book birthday to SOY SAUCE! may the story continue to live and breathe. 🧘‍♀️

I am kicking off a season of school visits for soy sauce this February. If you are interested in me visiting your school, please connect to me via my website (link above) or DM. 😍❤️😘🙏❤️

It’s been an incredibly busy fall, but I am excited to post my next newsletter, THE CLEVER SEED Autumn/Winter 2025 edition on the topic, “Why Picture Books Matter: A Creative Reflection. In this issue, I share my thoughts on the uniquely creative medium of picture books, and some of the books that shaped me. Check out past issues at thecleverseed.com Thank you for the inspiration. 🥰