🎧 The Reader's Heart Podcast | Guest: LeUyen Pham

Jennifer LaGarde
Jul 20
5 min read

Promotional graphic for The Reader’s Heart with Jennifer LaGarde, Season 3, Episode 3, featuring guest LeUyen Pham. The design includes a circular portrait of LeUyen Pham smiling and looking to the side, the cover of As I Dream of You by Jennifer Lee and LeUyen Pham, and an illustration of a child in a yellow shirt. The podcast title appears prominently across the center, with the guest’s name in a yellow banner at the top.

Although she has authored and illustrated nearly 150 books for kids, I am almost ashamed to admit that I don't think I really became aware of LeUyen Pham as an illustrator until I read Lunar New Year Love Story. It's not that I didn't know her work prior to that; I think it's more that I hadn't pieced together the sheer vastness of it. Lunar New Year Love Story wasn't just one of my favorite books the year it came out, it also helped me realize that LeUyen Pham was the artist behind so many other books I already cherished, including The Princess in Black, The Man Who Didn't Like Animals, and Shrinking Violet.

That said, as much as I enjoyed talking with LeUyen about collaboration, endpapers, and the remarkable artistry behind graphic novels, in the weeks following our conversation, the thing I've found myself thinking about most is LeUyen's reflections on growing up in poverty and how that experience shaped the way she read books as a child and how she creates books now, as an adult. Although LeUyen and I had not met prior to recording this episode, I feel a connection with her now as a result of some of the parallel experiences we shared that have played such a vital role in shaping who we are as adults whose lives are dedicated to the reading lives of children.

Books, y'all. They really are magic!

Which brings me to LeUyen's most recent book, As I Dream of You, an incredibly rich and layered graphic novel created with Jennifer Lee. I loved this book before chatting with LeUyen, but now I admire the artistry and craftsmanship behind it even more. With that in mind, I focused the educator activity for this title (see below) on visual storytelling, foreshadowing, symbolism, and the big questions about love, memory, and grief that sit at the heart of this book. I hope you find it useful. And I hope you enjoy listening to my conversation with LeUyen Pham as much as I enjoyed having it.

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST

Cover of Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith. At night, people gather among parked cars outside a glowing drive-in. Two Indigenous girls face one another in the foreground beside a plate of frybread, while community members, a dog, and vehicles surround them. The cover includes the Newbery Honor and American Indian Youth Literature Award seals.

About This Week's Guest

LeUyen Pham is the award-winning author and illustrator of nearly 150 books for young readers. Over the course of her career, she has helped bring to life everything from picture books and early readers to middle grade novels and graphic novels. Her work includes beloved titles such as The Princess in Black, The Man Who Didn't Like Animals, and Shrinking Violet, as well as acclaimed graphic novels like Lunar New Year Love Story and As I Dream of You.

Known for her expressive artwork, memorable characters, and remarkable versatility, LeUyen's illustrations have become a familiar part of childhood for countless readers. Whether she is creating laugh-out-loud picture books, emotionally resonant graphic novels, or stories that explore the complexities of growing up, her work consistently reflects a deep understanding of young people and the power of story.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Click here for the transcript for this week's episode!

EDUCATOR ACTIVITY

One of my goals for this season of The Reader's Heart is to create resources that help readers continue thinking about the ideas explored in each episode. Whenever possible, I'll be creating student activities inspired by my conversations with authors and illustrators and sharing them here as a free resource for educators. While The Reader's Heart is a podcast for adults, the books we talk about are written for young people. My hope is that these activities will serve as a bridge between the two.

I'm excited to share the activity for As I Dream of You because it was inspired by two specific aspects of my conversation with LeUyen Pham:

The graphic novel's connection to the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. As LeUyen explained during our conversation, As I Dream of You reimagines this classic tale in a way that feels both timeless and entirely new.
Her thoughtful discussion of graphic novels as a uniquely rich storytelling medium where every visual choice is intentional and every image invites readers to look more closely.

In this resource, students compare and contrast As I Dream of You with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, hunt for examples of visual foreshadowing hidden throughout the book, and explore how color, symbolism, and imagery contribute to the story's emotional impact. Along the way, they'll consider questions about love, memory, grief, and the details that help stories linger in our hearts long after we've finished reading.

Three-page educator activity for As I Dream of You. Page 1 includes a Venn diagram comparing the novel to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and a section on identifying examples of visual foreshadowing. Page 2 features a challenging acorn-shaped maze accompanied by information about the value of brain breaks. Page 3 contains a lined reflection page with prompts about illustrations, color choices, emotional impact, and themes from the story.

To make these activities as useful as possible, I've created them as Canva templates. That means you can make your own copy, adapt them for your learners, and customize them to fit your classroom, library, or book club needs.

That said, although this should go without saying, while I very much hope you'll use these resources with the readers you serve, you are not allowed to sell them. Please feel free to share them (with credit), but I absolutely do not want to find them on Teachers Pay Teachers, y'all.

👉 Download the As I Dream of You Educator Activity

RESOURCES & LINKS

Please enjoy a special discount of 20% off the titles mentioned in this episode (or others of your choice) by visiting Bookelicious and using the code JENNIFERLAGARDE. Note: I do not make any money from these sales, but I am delighted that you get to save some!