Mrs. Monty's class just finished reading the book, The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra written by Blanca Carranza and John Lee. Mrs. Monty's students fell in love with the lovable Joy Sun Bear characters and were inspired by them from the moment they started reading the book together prior to Spring Break. Thankfully, they were able to continue reading once our distance learning was implemented. Students eagerly shared their favorite parts of the chapters, what surprised them, made predictions, and discussed their favorite characters each day during their morning Zooms.

The class had the privilege of Zooming with Mr. John Lee this afternoon to discuss the creation of The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra, examine his colorful illustrations, and question him about the current stage of book two. This Zoom was an incredible opportunity for Mrs. Monty's students. Thank you so much, Mr. Lee, for taking the time to meet and share your expertise with them today.

When asked why they were excited to meet Mr. John Lee co-author and illustrator of The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra, the students’ enthusiasm for his work was apparent. Not only did the students enjoy the book, but they have a keen interest in the process. It sounds like there may be some budding illustrators and authors in this class.

“I am excited to meet Mr. John Lee because it’s not every day that you meet an illustrator of a book. I am also excited to meet him because I want to ask him questions about his drawings.”   ~ Samuel D.

“Meeting the co-author/illustrator of Joy Sun Bear is exciting for me because I have enjoyed reading the book and I love drawing so it will be great to meet the co-author/illustrator of the book.”  ~ Nancy N.

“I find it exciting to meet the co-author and illustrator of the book, Joy Sun Bear, because he is the first real illustrator and co-author that I have met and he is an amazing cartoonist so I’m excited to ask for tips and tricks for making cool characters to draw. I also like the whole point of the book, so I am excited to maybe learn about the journey it took to write and publish it!”  ~ Shreya C.

“Meeting with Mr. John Lee is special to me because it will give me the chance to ask questions and interact with the Joy Sun Bear community. It will also be special to me because Mr. Lee is a very skilled illustrator and I could ask him questions about all of his work.”  ~ Gavin W.

“I am excited to meet the illustrator and co-author of The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra because I really like the book and it is just exciting to meet one of the authors. This is a very exciting opportunity.”  ~ Katerina S.

“I am so excited to meet Mr. Lee because I love The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra and I really want to read the second one. It is so important to me because we can talk about how he was working on the first book and the second one now. I really want to know about the second book’s adventures.”  ~ Reagan W.

“Getting to see and hear the co-author and illustrator of The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra is exciting because we get to see and ask questions about how the book was introduced, what inspired them to make it, and what inspired them to keep making more books.”  ~ Sarkis B.

“It is important to me to met Mr. John Lee because he is the co-author of The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra and I have never gotten to meet an author of an amazing book that I loved and read. I think it is very important to meet people like this because we can learn some history about them and how they became successful.”  ~ Veda S.

“I am excited for the Joy Sun Bear Zoom because I will get to "meet" the co-author and illustrator even though he lives in California. I am also excited because we will get to ask questions about the book.”  ~ Elyse M.

“Meeting Mr. John Lee is important to me because he plays a big role in creating the amazing Joy Sun Bear books. He is a co-author and illustrator of the books and I think it will be amazing to meet the illustrator and co-author of these interesting, action-filled books.” ~ Swara P.

“I am excited about meeting the co-author and illustrator, Mr. John Lee from The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear: The Blue Amber of Sumatra because I have never met an illustrator before and it will be cool to see how he draws.”  ~ Bryce N.