Books for Keiki
Korean American tales
By Jolie Jean Cotton
Reviews of children's books on Korean American themes:
"THE NAME JAR" by Yangsook Choi Knopf, $16.95, ages 4-8
When author/illustrator Yangsook Choi moved to the United States from her native South Korea, she took the American name Rachel. Choi draws on this personal experience in telling this sensitive story of a girl finding her way through a new country, a new town and a new school.
"The Name Jar" is about an immigrant child pressured to take on an American name.
Young Unhei, just arriving from South Korea, is both nervous and excited to start her first day of school. On the bus she's teased and taunted by children who can't pronounce her name.
When time comes to introduce herself to her fellow students, she hesitates:
"What's your name?" someone shouted.
"I haven't picked one yet," she told the class. "But I'll let you know by next week." Unhei has decided to choose a new American name. Her classmates are intrigued and want to help. One day she arrives at school to find a glass jar on her desk filled with slips of paper, on which the children have written their favorite names for Unhei to choose from.
A prized name stamp engraved with her Korean character and her mother's assurance that being different is a good thing help Unhei make her decision. By the second week of school, she's ready to introduce herself:
"I like the beautiful names and funny names you thought of for me," she told the class. "But I realized that I liked my name best, so I chose it again. Korean names mean something. Unhei means grace."
Choi's paintings are spare and bright, while the warm, compassionate story subtly teaches us to celebrate diversity. Teachers will find this book particularly useful for lessons on immigration and self-esteem.
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"THE TRIP BACK HOME" by Janet S. Wong, Bo Jia illustrator, Harcourt Brace, $16, ages 4-8
In perfectly measured prose, the author recounts a childhood trip to South Korea to visit her grandparents and aunt. Before taking their flight across the ocean, the girl and her mother find gifts to take along: a pair of leather work gloves for grandfather, a pretty apron for grandmother and a picture book with simple words to help her aunt learn English.
"The Trip Back Home" recounts a trip overseas to visit family.
The child's grandparents and aunt live in a rural village, and the days they spend together are a romantic journey back in time. On cold autumn mornings, grandfather heats the house with a fresh block of charcoal. The young girl feeds the family pigs before the ladies go shopping in the outdoor market. Their nights are filled with storytelling, card games and reading.
Before they depart for home, the girl and her mother receive gifts to help them remember the visit. Grandfather gives a charcoal drawing of the hills behind his house, grandmother gives a necklace of dried persimmons, and the aunt gives a Korean poem.
Exceptional watercolor illustrations reflect the simplicity of farm life, rows of bright colored vegetables in the market, warm earthy hills of green, fields of browns and yellows. In all, a comforting story with universal appeal.
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"JIN WOO" by Eve Bunting, Chris Soentpiet illustrator, Clarion Books, ages 4-8, $16
Anyone who has adopted a child will find this heartwarming story rings terrifically true. Told in the first person by a boy named David, the book opens with a phone call announcing his baby brother is on the way from South Korea.
"Jin Woo" is about an American child who finds himself with an adopted Korean brother.
"They told me they were trying to get another baby. One from a different country who needed parents. They asked me how I would feel about that. 'OK,' I'd said. I thought it wouldn't happen. But it's happening."
Bunting is a master with details, such as Jin Woo's photo on the refrigerator, anxious parents waiting at the airport, strapping the baby into a car seat for the first time.
Parents play a big part in helping David through his emotional journey from dread to acceptance. Realistic watercolors capture the range of emotions as clearly as photographs.
