Picture Book Around the World: Reading Through Korea I’m working hard on my Picture Book Around the World sequel to Picture Book Preschool, my preschool read aloud curriculum for homeschooling your preschooler or kindergartner. This week at Semicolon, we’re going to continue to visit Korea through the medium of a treasure trove of picture books featuring that country and its children.

As Minji plays hairdresser with her pet dog as the subject of hair-styling efforts, things get a little messy. This one reminded me of The Cat in the Hat, or even better, one of my favorite picture books of all time, Peter Spier’s Oh, Were They Ever Happy!

Minji’s attempts at styling (and coloring) her dog’s hair are shown opposite pictures of a lady at a real hair salon, also getting her hair done. Minji’s hairdressing experiments with the dog somehow mirror the actions that the salon hairdresser is taking with the lady’s hair. The ending surprised and delighted me, and I predict that children will feel the same.

Author Eun-hee Choung also did the illustrations, and I’ll admit that the pictures are a little too fuzzy and indistinct for my tastes. I would have preferred more sharpness and detail, but each to his own. Actually, as I compare the covers, the illustrations are similar in style to the Peter Spier illustrations in Oh, Were They Ever Happy. You may love the illustrations. I also think the dog could have used a name, if only for the purposes of my review.

Even with those minor caveats, Minji’s Salon is one my favorites of all the Korean picture books that I’ve reviewed so far. If you have girls (or boys) who like to play dress-up and hair salon, this book would hit just the right spot.

Picture Book Around the World: Reading Through Korea I’m working hard on my Picture Book Around the World sequel to Picture Book Preschool, my preschool read aloud curriculum for homeschooling your preschooler or kindergartner. This week at Semicolon, we’re going to be visiting Korea through the medium of a treasure trove of picture books featuring that country and its children.

An adorable little Korean girl puts on her new clothes for New Year’s Day. She’s wearing:
Saekdong jeogori–a jacket made of colorful fabric. The one in the book has a rainbow of stripes down the sleeves with tiny images on the vest part.

Norigae–a charm that hangs from the jacket. I might skip this part of the text if I didn’t want to explain good luck charms to my read aloud buddy.

Chima–a red silk skirt.

Baessi Danggi–a decorated headband.

Ttitdon–a special ornament to link the charm to the jacket.

Jumeoni–a lucky bag.

Jobawi–a hat worn behind the headband to keep her head warm.

Beoseon–cotton socks with embroidered decorations on them.

Kkotsin–leather shoes covered with embroidered silk.

The book shows the unnamed little girl putting on each piece of her new wardrobe—all by herself and very carefully. In one picture the girl tumbles head over heels as she pulls on her new socks. In another, she struggles with her hair ribbon, until she gets it just right. One page does mention the “good luck charm” and “lucky bag”, but the emphasis is on starting out the new year with new clothes and a new attitude.

This picture book was originally published in Korea, and the illustrations are crisp, bright, colorful, and confined, to give a brilliant introduction to traditional Korean clothes and furnishings. In fact, the text is OK, but it’s the pictures in this one that shine. Read this one to your little girl, and she will want her own Korean New Year’s outfit. Time to play dress-up.

Other reviews:
Kelly at BigALittleA: “It’s a simple, yet beautiful and optimistic tale, completed by Hyun-Joo Bae’s stunning illustrations.”

The Miss Rumphius Effect: “Reading this made me reflect back on all those days of grade school when I waited anxiously to put on my “best” new outfit for that important first day. You can’t help but feel the excitement of the young girl as she dresses from head to toe.”

Jama’s Alphabet Soup: “There is joy in each piece, from the crimson silk skirt, to the rainbow-striped jacket, delicate socks embroidered with flowers, to the hair ribbon of red and gold.”

Picture Book Around the World: Reading Through Korea I’m working hard on my Picture Book Around the World sequel to Picture Book Preschool, my preschool read aloud curriculum for homeschooling your preschooler or kindergartner. This week at Semicolon, we’re going to be visiting Korea through the medium of a treasure trove of picture books featuring that country and its children.

Soo Min comes from Korea to join her adoptive family in the United States. Everything is strange and foreign to her, except for Goyangi, the cat. When Goyangi slips out the open front door and is lost, Soo Min feels lost and alone, too, and only the return of Goyangi the cat can make Soo Min feel at home in this new place.

This book is unlike the others I’ve reviewed this week in that it’s set in the U.S, not in Korea. However, the story gives insight into Korean culture and life, highlighting Korean vocabulary and opening the door to empathy for young readers who can imagine what it would feel like to be a new place where they couldn’t understand the language or the customs. Goyangi the cat becomes a familiar comfort for Soo Min as she navigates her new life in America.

Christine McDonnell, the author of this simple adoption story, is the mother of two Korean-born children. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, the illustrators are a married couple who used “paper collage and acrylic and oil paint” to create the artwork in the book. “The Patterns used in the paper collage were selected to reflect the Eastern and Western worlds of Soo Min.” Korean words written in Korean hanja are embedded into each of the illustrations.

So, are you ready to earn some Korean words (with English spelling, not hanja)?

Anyah=No
Ah-po=hurt
Gom=teddy bear
Mok-da=eat
Jip=house
Bahp=rice
Chim-dae=bed
Po-po=kiss
Omah=mother
Apah=dad
Goyangi=cat

We have a dog named Domo, from the Japanese (abreviated) “thank you”. Maybe our next cat, a very unlikely acquisition, will be named Goyangi, if I can figure out how to pronounce the word. This picture book is informative, but it doesn’t include a pronunciation guide.

Picture Book Around the World: Reading Through Korea

“We live in an important village,” Sang-hee’s father said.

The village doesn’t look very important to Sang-hee. However, it is a special place because Sang-hee’s father climbs the mountain near the coastal village in Korea every evening to light the watchfire. Then the firekeeper on the next mountain sees the fire that signals that everything is peaceful, no invaders, and he lights his fire as a signal to the next firekeeper and so on, all the way to the king’s palace in central Korea. The king sees the series of mountaintop watchfires and knows that his kingdom is safe.

If there is no fire, it means that the kingdom of Korea is in danger, and the king will send brave, noble soldiers to defend the land. Sang-hee knows the importance of peace in the land but wishes he could see the king’s soldiers just once. What will Sang-hee do when one night the watchfire doesn’t appear?

In an Author’s Note at the end of the book, Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park says that the bonfire signal system was used in Korea up until the late nineteenth century to protect the land from invasion. The actual system of fires was more complicated and extensive than the simple chain of watchfires presented in this picture book, but as a vehicle for character development and for conveying some information about the history and culture of Korea, the “firekeeper system” is a friendly and constructive image.

Sang-hee finds himself in a situation where he must decide whether to take responsibility and live up to his position as the firekeeper’s son, or to indulge his own fantasies at the expense of developing his character. It’s a decision that all of us, both children and adults, face frequently.

Julie Downing’s watercolor paintings bring out the colors and beauty of early nineteenth century Korea for those of us (me sometimes) who tend to think of the past in shades of gray. One illustration in particular (pages 18-19) is all purples and greens and yellows with a stunning late evening feel to it as Sang-hee and his mother look to the mountain and realize that something is wrong because the evening watchfire has not been lit.

Linda Sue Park is an exceptionally talented Korean American author who won the Newbery Award for her historical fiction novel, A Single Shard. She’s written several other books for young adults and middle grade readers, including Seesaw Girl, The Kite Fighters, A Long Walk to Water, and Keeping Score. Other picture books by Ms. Park include The Third Gift, a Christmas story about where the wise men may have gotten the gift of myrrh, and Bee-Bim Bop!, a book about a family cooking rice Korean-style.