Meet the author

Maple Lam.

Writer & illustrator · United States

Maple Lam: author-illustrator of the funny, action-packed Monkey King and the World of Myths, a joyful graphic-novel gateway to world mythology for young comic fans.

Maple Lam is an author-illustrator originally from Hong Kong and now based in Los Angeles, whose expressive characters and soft, warm palette have brought her a devoted young following. After picture books including Dim Sum, Here We Come! and My Little Sister and Me, she launched her debut graphic-novel series, Monkey King and the World of Myths. It sends Sun Wukong, the mischievous Monkey King of Chinese legend, globe-trotting through world mythology on his missions to become a god: The Monster and the Maze drops him into Greek myth to potty-train Cerberus and outwit a Minotaur, while The Battle of the Beasts takes him into Japanese folklore and a city divided between humans and banished beasts. Bright, fast-moving and stuffed with slapstick, the books are a joyful, accessible gateway to mythology for young comic fans.