Six Questions with Ha Dinh

Ha Dinh is a reading intervention specialist, former primary school teacher, mom, and author. She had been dreaming of writing children’s books since she first came to America as a kindergartener, but she didn’t actively pursue publishing until 2020. Ha then began writing stories she wished she’d had as a child, as well as stories that allowed her to share memories of her childhood.  With the help of the amazing writing community that was very active on Twitter in 2020, Ha found a mentor to help her edit and polish one of my manuscripts and was matched with an agent, who helped me sell my debut picture book in 2021. That book, The Jade Bracelet, was published by Random House Studio earlier this month. Ha is part of PB25 Vibes, a group of authors and illustrators with books launching in 2025. Follow the group on X to learn more about them:  https://x.com/pb25vibes

1. Did you have a favorite author or book when you were a child?

I loved the simplicity and beauty of Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle’s works together. It was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? that helped me to learn English when I came to America at 5 years old.  I will never forget reading that book over and over.  Even though it was memorization, I felt accomplished as a reader, and it motivated me to keep learning and keep reading.  

2. What inspires you?

I find inspiration from my childhood, memories of past experiences as a classroom teacher, and my children. Sometimes even conversations about things that happened in the past inspire me to think of stories to write. But no matter what inspires me, I want to make sure that my stories are relatable and relevant to my young readers. I want them to read my stories and find themselves in it and a part of it. 

3. What was the inspiration for your new book, The Jade Bracelet?

This story was inspired after my mom had passed away.  As I was looking through all of my childhood pictures, I came across one of me wearing the jade bracelet that my mom had gifted me for my birthday. I then found another picture of her wearing it. These two pictures brought back a flood of memories and sentiments to me and inspired me to write this story as a love letter to my mom and a gift to my daughter.

4. Is there anything special you want your readers to know about your book?

The Jade Bracelet includes a spread featuring the main character and her mother in the living room with their family altar. It was inspired by a picture I found of my family’s altar. I wanted the illustrations in this book to be as authentic as possible and give readers a true glimpse inside the house and life of a Vietnamese American child. My book’s amazing illustrator, Yong Ling Kang, did just that, and I am so excited for everyone to experience her tender and beautiful illustrations.

5. What was the most challenging part of writing your book?

The hardest part for me was to make sure that I added enough depth, layers, and complexity to this beautiful story, while also making it relatable and easy to read for children. The main character experiences a lot of complex and complicated feelings about her own culture and identity, which immigrant children often feel and experience daily.  I did not want to minimize these important feelings in any way.  However, I also wanted children to easily relate to these feelings while finding the story easy to read and understand.  From the beginning to the end, I think I went through 10 to 12 versions from drafting to subbing to more edits with my editors before it was sent to the printers.

6. What’s next for you? Do you have other projects on the horizon? 

Yes! I have two other books that are coming out this year. One is the first book from the Ly-Lan Finds a Way Chapter Series with ZonderKidz (June 2025). In this first book, Ly-Lan learns to navigate through third grade with new changes and challenges. The second book is The Moon Lantern with Albert Whitman (September 2025). In this book, the main character, Huy follows his heart to make the lantern that makes him proud and brings light and joy to all those around him as he celebrates the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival.