Yoon's name means Shining Wisdom, and when she writes it in Korean, it looks happy, like dancing figures. But her father tells her that she must learn to write it in English. In English, all the lines and circles stand alone, which is just how Yoon feels in the United States. Yoon isn't sure that she wants to be YOON. At her new school, she tries out different names — maybe CAT or BIRD. Maybe CUPCAKE (inspired by a classmate's gift.)
As time goes on, though, Yoon realizes that, no matter what, she is still Yoon... and that she can feel at home in her new country after all. Helen Recorvits's spare and inspiring story about a little girl's experience with immigration is given luminous pictures filled with surprising vistas and dreamscapes by Gabi Swiatkowska.
"With subtle grace, this moving story depicts a Korean girl's difficult adjustment to her new life in America... Swiatkowska's stunningly spare, almost surrealistic paintings enhance the story's message." — School Library Journal
Recommended Age | 4 - 7 |
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Author | Helen Recorvits, Gabi Swiatkowska |
ISBN | 1250057116 |
Publication Date | Apr 3, 2003 |
Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) |
Language | English |