Korean Stories

Bae, Hyun-Joo. New Clothes for New Year's Day. La Jolla, CA.: Kane/Miller, 2007. 1933605294. Ages 2-6.

Young Korean girl excitedly dons her new year's clothing. Illustrations are bright, detailed, and cheerful. Notes at the back of the book describe customs and a labeled drawing tells the Korean name for the various items of clothing.

Balgassi, Haemi. Peacebound trains / by Haemi Balgassi ; illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. New York : Clarion Books, c1996. 0395720931 Ages 6-10.

Sumi lives with her Korean grandmother. Her mother is away in the Army. One lonely day, as Sumi waits to watch a train pass, her grandmother tells her of her escape by train from war torn Seoul during the Korean war.

Kwon, Yoon-duck. My Cat Copies Me. La Jolla, CA.,: Kane/Miller, 2007. 193360526X. Ages 4-8.

Tells of a little girl and her cat. The independent cat doesn't like to be held, but the cat will follow the girl around. Later the girl expands her horizons and copies the cat's activities. (Thus the climbing on top of the bookcase seen on the book cover.) This leads the girl to face her fears and make friends with the outside world. The illustrations are bright and imaginative. They also give us a glimpse into a Korean home and neighborhood.

Lee, Suzy. The Zoo. La Jolla, CA.: Kane/Miller, 2007. 1933605286. Ages 2-6.

A little girl and her parents visit the zoo. She has a wonderful adventure with the animals while her parents frantically search for her. The human world is dull and gray, but the animal world is a rainbow of colors.

Masse, Johanna, 1976- . South Korea. Milwaukee , Wis. : Gareth Stevens Pub., 2002. Ages 10+.

Clear and informative look at South Korea. Excellent photographs, maps, and illustrations.

Park, Frances and Ginger Park. Good-bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong / Frances and Ginger Park ; illustrated by Yangsook Choi. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society, 2002. 0792279859 Ages 4-8

The Park sisters' story begins in Korea as Jangmi and her family pack-up and say good-bye to relatives and friends. Jangmi feels a sense of loss over leaving her culture, language, and homeland behind. The story ends optimistically as Jangmi and her family are warmly welcomed into American culture with an impromptu party of neighbors bringing food and friendship to their new home. Choi's muted and detailed illustrations are superb.

Park, Frances and Ginger Park. The royal bee / by Frances Park and Ginger Park ; illustrations by Christopher Zhong-Yuan Zhang. Honesdale, Pa. : Boyds Mill Press, c2000. ISBN: 1563976145. Ages 4-8.

The Royal Bee takes place in turn of the last century Korea and is a story of overcoming poverty and ignorance.  The events sound quite implausible especially in that it doesn't seem that enough time passed for the scholastic victory portrayed to be possible. However, the tale
is based on the authors' own family history.

Park, Linda Sue. The firekeeper's son / Linda Sue Park ; illustrations by Julie Downing. New York : Clarion, 2004. ISBN 0618133372. Ages 4-8.

Set in the early 1800's, tells of the signal fires lit in Korea to show that all was well. Sang-hee, a young boy, wants nothing more than some excitement. He longs to see the soldiers that would come if the fire was not lit. One evening, he notices that his father did not light the fire. He discovers that his father is injured and Sang-hee is given the responsibility of lighting the fire. Read The Firekeeper's Son to see what Sang-hee does. Illustrations really bring the past alive.

Park, Linda Sue. A Single Shard / Linda Sue Park. New York : Clarion Books, 2001. Ages 10+.

An orphan becomes an apprentice to a master potter in 12th century Korea.

Park, Linda Sue. When my name was Keoko / Linda Sue Park. New York : Clarion Books, c2002. Ages 12+.

Tells of Sun-hee and Tae-yul, Korean children, during the last several years of Korea's occupation by Japan. When My Name Was Keoko Book Report.

Shalant, Phyllis. Look what we've brought you from Korea : crafts, games, recipes, stories, and other cultural activities from Korean Americans / Phyllis Shalant ; illustrated by Soyoo Hyunjoo Park. Morristown, NJ : Julian Messner, c1995. Ages 8-12.

Wide but not deep look at traditional Korean culture including crafts, folklore, and recipes.

Stickler, John. Land of the morning calm / John Stickler ; illustrated by Soma Han. Shen's Books & Supplies, 2003. 1885008228 Ages 8-12.

Colorful and more up-to-date looking than similar books. Brief introduction to major aspects of Korean culture. Covers such topics as clothing, language, religion, dance, music, and food. The book also includes a map of Korea and wonderful illustrations. Each page has the Korean word for the topic discussed written in hangul.