As a gifted apothecary, he has amazing instincts for unleashing the potential of magical-seeming plants. Raffa Santana is a healer, not a fighter. Wing and Claw: Beast of Stone by Linda Sue Park In this book, a family spends all day preparing this little girl’s favorite meal. It’s popular in restaurants but it evolved as a way to use up all the leftovers. Will it go well? Ī light-hearted rhyming picture book on a favorite Korean national dish. Sumi doesn’t speak English and today is her very first day of school ever. Sumi’s First Day of School Everby Soyung Pak In any case, ride the trend and enjoy these 10 Korean American children’s books with your children.īest #OwnVoices Korean American Children’s Booksġ0. We lived near Korea Town in Los Angeles for many years so we equate good Korean food with small but clean “dives”. My husband and I found it amusing when we visited NYC a few years ago that the big trend was upscale, fancy Korean restaurants. And if you use food to tell the story of a culture as I do, Korean cuisine is the Next Big Thing.

Their collective memories of the old country are still fresh, as are their immigrant experience. Korean-American authors have unique stories to tell. Īnd the Korean immigrants, more so than other Asian nationalities, have made it to the United States in pursuit of higher education, and thus, when they stayed, they were able to land squarely in the middle class.

I think it’s because the Korean immigration story is a fairly new one that began in earnest after the Korean War. When my 4th grader did a unit on immigration, they covered many nationalities (she did Japan), but not Korea. And like the Irish, there is a vein of melancholy that runs through their DNA. Like the Irish, they have a penchant for drinking and fighting. Like the Irish, they have a strong culture despite a long history of invasion and occupation. My husband is Korean and I joke that the Koreans are nicknamed “The Irish of Asia.” Enjoy these 10 Korean American children’s books to read with your children.

Inside: Korean-America authors have unique stories to share.

Rice from Heaven by Tina M. Cho