KOREAN AMERICANS

Realistic fiction

Nonfiction

Traditional

Biography

Historical fiction

Poetry

Fantasy

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NOTE: RECENTLY ADDED TITLES APPEAR IN RED.

Realistic Fiction:

Balgassi, H. (1997). Tae’s sonata. New York: Clarion. (4-6)

A novel about a Korean eighth grader, a recent immigrant to the United States, coming to terms with her background. “Tae is a Korean-American eighth grader. It’s bad enough that her social studies teacher assigns her South Korea for her class project, but he also pairs her with popular Josh Morgan which garners her the spite of a popular clique of girls. . . . The characters are familiar and believable and aspects of Korean life are well incorporated into the story. . . . Well written and appealing.” (amazon.com; School Library Journal)

Bercaw, E. C. (2000). Halmoni’s day. Illustrated by R. Hunt. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. (K-3)

Jennifer’s grandmother, Halmoni, is visiting all the way from Korea--and she’s arrived just in time for Grandparents’ Day at school. Halmoni doesn’t speak English, and Jennifer isn’t sure what the day will be like...for herself or Halmoni. But as this moving story shows, there are many ways to express love--ways that bridge differences in generations and cultures. (amazon.com)

Bunting, E. (2001). Jin Woo. Illustrated by C. K. Soentpiet. New York: Clarion. (K-3)

David likes his family the way it has always been, just him and Mom and Dad. He never wanted to be a big brother. And he certainly didn’t want Jin Woo, the little baby from Korea, to join the family. Now Jin Woo is getting all the attention, and David feels as if no one cares about him anymore. But then a surprising letter helps him to understand that being a brother can mean being surrounded with more love than ever. Eve Bunting and Chris Soentpiet bring the same deep emotion that distinguished their previous collaboration, So Far from the Sea, to this moving story of an adoptive family that has love to spare. (amazon.com)

Choi, S. N. (1993). Halmoni and the picnic. Illustrated by K. M. Dugan. New York: Houghton Mifflin. (K-3)

One of the few picture books reflecting a Korean-American experience, the lovely story describes the difficulties Yunmi’s newly arrived grandmother faces while adjusting to life in New York City. In an effort to cheer Halmoni, Yunmi invites her grandmother to chaperone at the annual class picnic in Central Park. With gentle, glowing detail, the art and text weave a touching tale. (Horn Book, 1994)

Choi, S. N. (1997). Yunmi and Halmoni’s trip. Illustrated by K. M. Dugan. New York: Houghton Mifflin. (K-3)

Yunmi and her grandmother, Halmoni, are going to Korea, where Halmoni lived before she moved to New York City. While Yunmi enjoys seeing Korea and meeting her relatives, she feels like an outsider and longs to have Halmoni to herself again. She also fears that Halmoni will not return home to New York with her. Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip vividly and gracefully crosses cultural and generational boundaries. (amazon.com)

Choi, Y. (2001). The name jar. New York: Knopf. (K-3)

Unhei has just come with her family from Korea and is starting school. Her name is pronounced Yoon-hye, which means grace, but she feels awkward about it after some teasing on the school bus. She decides to choose an American name, and her classmates oblige her by filling a glass jar with their suggestions. Her mother reminds her that she and her grandmother went to a name master for Unhei’s name, and Unhei practices stamping her name with the beautiful name stamp her grandmother gave her. Finally, Unhei decides to keep her own name, and one of her classmates even has a stamp made for himself with the Korean characters for friend. The paintings are mostly in gold and earth tones, and the figures have both stature and simplicity--as does the story. (Booklist)

Girard, L. W. (1992). We adopted you, Benjamin Koo. Illustrated by L. Shute. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman. (2-5)

Nine-year-old Benjamin Koo Andrews, adopted from Korea as an infant, describes what it’s like to grow up adopted from another country. (amazon.com)

Heo, Y. (1995). Father’s rubber shoes. New York: Orchard Books. (K-3)

Yungsu is homesick for his native Korea, so his father tells a story from his own childhood to explain why they have come to America. The next day, proud of his father and his heritage, Yungsu shares some Korean food with a classmate, opening the door for a friendship between them. Heo’s innovative compositions reflect Yungsu’s blossoming feelings of security in his place in his family and, finally, in the world. (Horn Book, 1996)

Himelblau, L. (2005). The trouble begins. Delacorte. (4-6)

Du Nguyen is finally home. Except he’s never even met his family. And home is an ocean away from everything he’s ever known. Du’s mother, father, brother, and two sisters immigrated to California when he was just a baby. Du and his grandmother had to stay behind in the Philippines.
But now, 10 years later, Du has finally joined his family. And the trouble begins.
What’s so great about this place, anyway? Du wonders. Kids at school call him Doo-doo, and it’s hard to muster a good comeback when he can’t think of the right words in English.
Only his grandmother understands who Du really is. “You are a dragon,” she says. But for Du to feel like a dragon, he must untangle the trouble he finds himself in and call upon the strength he knows he’s always carried inside. (amazon.com)

Kraus, J. H. (1993). Tall boy’s journey. Illustrated by K. Ritz. Minneapolis, MN: First Avenue Editions. (4-6)

After his beloved grandmother dies, an orphaned Korean boy, Kim Moo Yong, is adopted by an American couple. When he arrives in the United States, full of fear, anger, and confusion, an understanding Korean-American man helps him adjust and bridges the gap between Kim Moo Yong and his adoptive parents. Kraus compellingly depicts Kim Moo Yong’s inner journey and his new family’s love and patience. (Horn Book, 1993)

Lee, M. G. (1999). F is for fabuloso. New York: Camelot. (5-6)

Jin-Ha fails her math test, but her Korean immigrant parents believe her when she says an F is a good mark. Guilty and desperate to make up her grade, she gets tutoring from Grant Hartwig, a hockey player with family expectations to live up to as well. Cross-cultural confusions are delicately portrayed, the pressures Jin-Ha faces are realistic, and the tentative junior-high attraction is sweet. (Horn Book, 1999)

Lee, M. G. (1995). If it hadn’t been for Yoon Jun. New York: Avon. (5-6)

Alice Larsen is a popular seventh grader who considers herself one hundred percent American, and she is not happy when her father wants her to befriend the geeky new kid to learn more about her Korean heritage. (amazon.com)

Paek, M. & Paek, R. (1988). Aekyung’s dream. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press. (1-4)

A young Korean immigrant learns to adjust to her new life in America by heeding the words of an ancient Korean king. (Borders.com)

Pak, S. (2001). Dear Juno. Illustrated by S. K. Hartung. New York: Puffin. (K-3)

Although Juno, a Korean-American boy, cannot read the letter he receives from his grandmother in Seoul, he understands what it means from the photograph and dried flower enclosed and decides to send a similar letter back to her. (Borders.com)

Park, L. S. (2005). Project Mulberry. Clarion. (4-7)

When Julia Song moves with her family to Plainfield, IL, where they are the only Korean family in town, she becomes good friends with her neighbor Patrick. They have joined the Wiggle (Work-Grow-Give-Live) Club, and they need a project for the state fair. Animal husbandry is their category of choice, but what can they raise in their suburban neighborhood? When Julia’s mother suggests silkworms, Patrick is enthusiastic, but Julia is not. Raising silkworms is so Korean, and she wants a real American project. Still, she agrees to the idea. When she realizes that to get the silk, the worms must die, her anguish clearly indicates how much her attitude has changed. At the end of almost every chapter, Park and her young protagonist discuss the story inside the story: where the author’s ideas came from, how the characters take on a life of their own, how questions raised in the book continue to percolate inside some readers’ minds when it is finished. This lively interaction provides an interesting parallel to the silkworm project as it moves from idea to reality. Julia, a feisty seventh grader, concludes that it is important to know what you don’t know, an insight that she has as she grapples with her mother’s attitude toward blacks. Park appropriately leaves Julia wondering what’s behind her mother’s prejudices in certain situations. As the novel progresses, Patrick and Julia negotiate the ups and downs of their friendship, and Julia begins to show a gradual change in attitude toward her younger brother. This skillfully written tale will have wide appeal. (School Library Journal)

Pellegrini, N. (1991). Families are different. New York: Holiday House. (K-3)

In her first children’s book, Pellegrini takes on the voice of her younger adopted daughter, Nico, who explains that she and her sister come from Korea; they don’t look like their parents- -“I grew in someone else’s belly, but my mom and dad are the ones who promised to love and take care of me forever.” Comparing her family to others she knows, Nico discovers nine other patterns--varied in size, color, composition, and family resemblances--all “glued together with...love.” Like real people, the ones in Pellegrini’s serviceable illustrations are a little homely, but they effectively communicate their mutual affection. Warm, attractive, and useful. (Kirkus Reviews, 1991)

Recorvits, H. (2003). My name is Yoon. Illustrated by G. Swiatkowska. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (K-2)

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!
Helen Recorvits’s spare and inspiring story about a little girl finding her place in a new country is given luminous pictures filled with surprising vistas and dreamscapes by Gabi Swiatkowska. (amazon.com)

Soyung, P. (2003). Sumi’s first day of school. Illustrated by J. U. Kim. Viking. (K-1)

Sumi, a Korean American child, is lonely and afraid when she starts school, but with the help of a kind teacher and a friendly classmate, she comes to realize that school may be "not-so-lonely, not-so-scary, not-so-mean.” Simple words and clear, brightly colored expressive pictures stay true to the small child’s perspective, showing close up her confusion and hurt. When Sumi first enters the classroom, she’s shown outside the group; but when she gets to know a girl in the schoolyard, their arms are parallel as they draw pictures in the dirt. As in Recorvits’ My Name Is Yoon [BKL Mr 15 03], the honesty will touch kids. Pak acknowledges the meanness (one boy "stuck out his tongue . . . squished his eyes”), and even non-immigrant newcomers to school will recognize the feeling of dislocation and the language and gestures that seem to make no sense. (Booklist)

Wong, J. S. (2000). The trip back home. Illustrated by B. Jia. New York: Harcourt. (K-3)

Simple and poetic, this unadorned story of a young girl’s trip to Korea to visit her relatives has an appealing circular structure in which gifts and hugs are exchanged at the beginning and end of the visit. The rural household is very traditional, with no hint of contemporary life. Based on Wong’s own experience, the themes of family love and nonverbal communication are lovingly portrayed in the text and the quiet watercolors. (Horn Book, 2001)

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Nonfiction:

Haskins, J. (1990). Count your way through Korea. Illustrated by D. Hockerman. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. (1-3)

The book contains a brief introduction to the land, peoples, and traditions of the country. Words for numbers one to ten are introduced in the native language. Each number and select words in each entry have pronunciation guides. The device is successful, playful, but somewhat contrived. The brief introduction puts the country and its language into a useful perspective. (Horn Book, 1990)

Kim, R. & Turk, R. (1998). I am Korean American (Our American Family Series). New York: Powerkids Press. (1-4)

A Korean-American child talks about aspects of her Korean heritage, including clothing, foods, and customs. (Borders.com)

McMahon, P. (1998). Chi-Hoon: A Korean girl. Photographs by M. F. O’Brien. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press. (1-4)

A typical week in the life of a high-spirited eight-year-old in Seoul, emphasizing her wish to be properly dutiful and respectful (paramount cultural values in Korea) in order to win a prize at school, with excerpts from her diary (the days in Korean characters) and a wealth of information about names, foods, schools, and the city of Seoul. McMahon is candid about the tension between traditional attitudes toward females and the more equitable practices favored by younger Koreans. (Kirkus Reviews, 1993)

Nahm, A. C. (1992). I love Korea. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International Corporation. (3-5)

A highlight of Korean lifestyles, history, folktales, poems and songs with stories and songs that reflect the wit and humor of a people who have overcome difficulties in their history. Bilingual English and Korean. The best book for learning about Korea. (Asia for Kids 2000 – 2001 Educational Catalog, p. 31)

Patterson, W. & Kim, H. (1993). The Koreans in America. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner. (4-6)

Surveys the immigration of Koreans to America from 1903 to the present time and identifies the contributions of individual Koreans to American life and culture. (Borders.com)

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Traditional:

Choi, Y. (1997). The Sun Girl and the Moon Boy. New York: Knopf. (1-3)

This Korean folktale, a variant of the Red Riding Hood tale, tells how a hungry tiger swallows a woman whole, then tricks her children into letting him into their house. Quick-witted, they keep the tiger at bay for a time, but their eventual escape—they’re turned into the sun and the moon--is determined by the helping hand of their mother. The rich colors and provocative angles of the illustrations enhance the simple text. (Horn Book, 1998)

Climo, S. (1996). The Korean Cinderella. Illustrated by R. Heller. New York: HarperTrophy. (K-3)

Children will delight in comparing this version of the familiar story with the one they already know. A frog, sparrows, and an ox help Pear Blossom find happiness in a manner different from that of the traditional fairy godmother, but the end result is the same. Ancient Korean patterns are carefully woven into the illustrations. (Horn Book, 1993)

Han, S. C. (1999). The rabbit’s tail: A story from Korea. Illustrated by R. Wehrman. New York: Henry Holt. (K-3)

Everyone knows that rabbits have short, fluffy tails. But this wasn’t always the case. In this captivating version of a Korean folktale, a tiger tells a rabbit the story of how he narrowly escaped being eaten by an evil creature. Amazed that anything could scare a tiger, the curious rabbit dashes off to see the creature. The tiger warns him not to go, but the rabbit doesn’t listen and gets himself in a spot of trouble that changes all rabbits forever. Illustrated with dramatic detail and vibrant hues, The Rabbit’s Tail will transport young readers to a time deep in Korea’s folktale tradition. (amazon.com)

Heo, Y. (1996). The green frogs: A Korean folktale. New York: Houghton Mifflin. (K-3)

Misbehaving at every opportunity, two young frogs hop about recklessly, get dirty in the mud, and croak loudly, until their naughty habits land them in an unfortunate predicament, in a retelling of a Korean folktale. (amazon.com)

Kim, D. (1998). Long, long time ago: Korean folk tales. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International Corporation. (K-3)

20 of the most wonderful stories from Korea are whimsically illustrated in soft warm water colors. Learn about the rabbit who outwits a tiger, the lazy man who wished he was an ox, and many more. (Asia for Kids 2000 – 2001 Educational Catalog, p. 29)

San Souci, D. (1999). In the moonlight mist: A Korean tale. Illustrated by E. K. Neilan. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press. (K-3)

When a poor woodcutter saves an enchanted deer, he is granted his wish for a wife and children. The deer teaches him how to capture a heavenly maiden who bathes in a moonlit lake, but he loses her a year later when she flies off to heaven, their baby in her arms. In a happily-ever-after ending, he is reunited with his family in the heavenly kingdom. The acrylic paintings extend the well-told text and add cultural details. (Horn Book, 1999)

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Biography

Stewart, M. (2000). Se Ri Pak: The drive to win. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. (4-6)

In 1998, Se Ri Pak won the U.S. Women’s Open, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Championship, and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year. She shot the lowest score ever for an LPGA tournament, and her 10-under-par 61 at the Jamie Farr Classic went into the record books as the best round of golf in LPGA history. Declared “a national treasure”, this phenomenal athlete from the Republic of South Korea was only twenty years old. In her quest to be the best, Se Ri endured loneliness, isolation, and a training program that was at times unorthodox and harsh. However, her greatest challenges may lie beyond the links as she struggles to become an independent woman while finding a way to “...honor her father, serve the game, and blend two very different cultures together....” (Borders.com)

Yoo, P. (2005). Sixteen years in sixteen seconds: The Sammy Lee story. Illustrated by D. Lee. Lee & Low. (2-4)

This inspirational biography recognizes the life of the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal, at the 1948 Games in London. Even though he grew up in California when "people of color” were only allowed to use the public swimming pools one day a week, Lee was never discouraged from his dream. In college, he made an agreement with his father that he would keep good enough grades to enter medical school, but continue to enter diving competitions. Yoo brings the biography to a dramatic conclusion with the 16 seconds of a three-and-a-half somersault dive. Lee’s painterly illustrations give texture and depth to the full-page spreads. More than a story about discrimination and unfair treatment, this story shows one young man’s determination and resolve toward accomplishing a goal in life. (School Library Journal)

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Historical Fiction

Balgassi, H. (2000). Peacebound trains. Illustrated by C. K. Soentpiet. New York: Houghton Mifflin. (3-5)

Sumi’s grandmother tells the story of her family’s escape from Seoul during the Korean War, while they watch the trains which will eventually bring her mother back from army service. (card catalog)

Park, L. S. (2003). A single shard. New York: Yearling. (4-6)

Tree-ear is an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean potters’ village. For a long time he is content living with Crane-man under a bridge barely surviving on scraps of food. All that changes when he sees master potter Min making his beautiful pottery. Tree-ear sneaks back to Min’s workplace and dreams of creating his own pots someday. When he accidentally breaks a pot, he must work for the master to pay for the damage. Though the work is long and hard, Tree-ear is eager to learn. Then he is sent to the King’s Court to show the master’s pottery. Little does Tree-ear know that this difficult and dangerous journey will change his life forever. (amazon.com)

Park, L. S. (2001). Seesaw girl. Illustrated by J. & M. Tseng. New York: Young Yearling. (4-6)

Jade never ventures beyond the walls of her family’s Inner Court; in seventeenth-century Korea, a girl of good family does not leave home until she marries. She is enthralled by her older brother’s stories about trips to the market and to the ancestral grave sites in the mountains, about reading and painting, about his conversations with their father about business and politics and adventures only boys can have. Jade accepts her destiny, and yet she is endlessly curious about what lies beyond the walls. A lively story with a vividly realized historical setting, "Seesaw Girl” recounts Jade Blossom’s daring attempts to enlarge her world. (amazon.com)

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Poetry

Wong, J. S. (1996). A suitcase of seaweed and other poems. New York: Margaret McElderry. (4-6)

In this collection’s three sections -- Korean Poems, Chinese Poems, and American Poems-- quiet lyric poems acknowledge proudly, subtly, and with occasional touches of irony and humor the distinct strands within the weave of cultures of which Wong is a part. A few of the poems rhyme, but the best of them are written in free verse that is wistful, revealing, and direct. (Horn Book, 1996)

Wong, J. S. (1994). Good Luck Gold and other poems. New York: Scott Foresman. (4-6)

The collection of poems, most written from the point of view of a young Asian-American girl, capture loving and poignant recollections of family members and tell of moments where American, Chinese, and Korean cultures meet or clash. (Horn Book, 1995)

Wong, J. S. (2000). This next New Year. Illustrated by Y. Choi. New York: Farrar/Frances Foster. (K-3)

A young boy prepares for Chinese New Year with rituals and wide hopes, in this illustrated, free verse poem. The narrator, who is half Korean, describes how he and his friends, like so many people in a multicultural society, celebrate the holiday with a modern blend of adopted and inherited traditions: the boy’s mother makes traditional Korean new year soup; Evelyn, part Hopi and Mexican, loves the money-stuffed red envelopes from her Singaporean neighbor; and Glenn, part French and German, “calls it Chinese New Year, too, even though he celebrates it at his house by eating Thai food to go.” At home, the boy cleans the house, “so it can soak up good luck like an empty sponge,” grooms himself, and pledges to be brave and positive—“none of that can't do, don't have, why me.” Choi’s smooth, brightly colored paintings--filled with firecrackers, dragons, and other cultural symbols--ably illustrate the optimistic activity and the yearning in the accessible, rhythmic text. Children of diverse backgrounds will connect with the boy’s earnest desire to help change the family’s luck and realize his own potential. (Booklist)

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Fantasy

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