Pham was born in
Saigon,
South Vietnam on September 7, 1973. She attended the
University of California, Los Angeles from 1991 to 1993, and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from the
Art Center College of Design. After graduation, she worked as a layout artist at
DreamWorks Animation from 1996 to 1999. She then quit to illustrate children's books full-time. Pham's first illustrated book,
Sugarcane House, and Other Stories about Mr. Fat, was written by
Adrienne Moore Bond and published in 1997. In 2000, the book
Can You Do This, Old Badger? was published, with illustrations by Pham and writing by
Eve Bunting. The book won an
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award. In 2004, the book
Twenty-One Elephants, illustrated by Pham and written by Phil Bildner, also won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award. Pham's writing debut was in 2005 with her children's book
Big Sister, Little Sister. The book is narrated by a younger girl who compares herself to her older sister, with their sibling affection showing more as the story progresses. It contains
ink brush illustrations and additions of digitally-produced color. The book received positive reviews, with Linda Ludke in the
School Library Journal commenting that “with warmth and good humor, the ups and downs of sisterly love are perfectly conveyed.” Pham is the illustrator of the
Princess in Black children's book series. The series is written by
Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, with the first book published in 2014. In their
The Princess in Black book review,
Publishers Weekly said Pham “offers little jolts of energy and wit on every page, with full-page and spot illustrations that have the vivaciousness and irreverence of contemporary animation.” Pham co-created the graphic novels
Real Friends and
Best Friends with author
Shannon Hale. In 2020, she was awarded a
Caldecott Honor for her illustrations in the book
Bear Came Along. In April 2020, Pham, Shannon Hale and Dean Hale released a short, free
ebook called
The Princess in Black and the Case of the Coronavirus to share tips on fighting
COVID-19 in an understandable way for children. In 2020, Pham illustrated a book with Shannon Hale called
Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn, which was published in March 2021. Through her collaborations with Hale, Pham has been shortlisted for four
AML Awards, winning one (for
Real Friends) and receiving an honorable mention (for the first
Princess in Black book)—making her perhaps the only person unassociated with the Latter-day Saint faith so often recognized. ==Personal life==