Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
A young immigrant from Korea helps us understand what it feels like to go to school in a new country, to learn a new language, to write in a strange orthography. In Korean, her name means Shining Wisdom, and the symbols for it dance together. But Yoon does not like America, where everything is strange, and the letters of her name don't dance at all. At school, although she can write her name, she chooses not to. Each day, when the teacher asks her to write "Yoon," she writes a different word for what she would rather be: a cat, a bird, a cupcake. But gradually she makes a friend and, with the help of a sympathetic teacher, she accepts being "Yoon," and America. Swiatkowski tells her visual version of the story in full and double-page paintings, some naturalistic, some surreal, in tactile images that exclude all but salient details. Yoon is an appealing girl, whose wishes produce dream-like scenes to help her deal with her new life. Interior spaces open up through doors and windows on to more distant landscapes, inviting us to join her in her desire to be back in Korea. We feel her final delighted satisfaction at writing her name in English now, knowing it still means Shining Wisdom. 2003, Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Skye Suttie (Children's Literature)
Yoon does not want to learn how to write her name in English. Her family recently moved to America from Korea and she is homesick. Yoon does not want to lose her culture by writing her name in English. In Korean, the characters of her name look happy and "dance together," while her name in English consists of lines and circles, "each standing alone." Yoon struggles with the cultural differences while she is in school and avoids writing her name in English. Instead Yoon writes the names of objects she sees such as cats, birds and cupcakes. Yoon imagines herself as each of these things, which gives her a sense of security, freedom and acceptance. The illustrations vividly reflect Yoon's thoughts. Yoon soon realizes she will not relinquish her Korean identity by writing her name in English. This understanding is reinforced through the illustrations as they reflect her eventual cultural balance. This transformation is a bit premature, but the themes of acknowledging and accepting differences while preserving individuality offer positive reinforcements for children from multiple cultural backgrounds. 2003, Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Joan Kindig, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Here is a splendid multicultural book about a little Korean girl unhappy about giving up the beautiful Korean representation of her name for the dull Y-O-O-N of American writing. When she starts school she feels isolated and apart from everyone else. When the teacher asks her to write her name, she writes c-a-t instead. The next day she writes b-i-r-d as she continues to resist sharing her name and having it Americanized. Once another little girl befriends her and Yoon begins to see herself in this new country, she writes Y-O-O-N for her teacher who rewards her with a giant, welcoming hug. She is still Yoon and it still means "Shining Wisdom"--it just looks a little different. This story seemed so realistic to me. A young child who feels so separate might very well dig her heels in on the one issue that matters to her--her name. The illustrations are unusual (perspective, mainly) and whimsical. Overall, a wonderful story of acculturation. 2003, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $16.00. Ages 7 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 5))
An unhappy young immigrant seeks, and at last regains, a sense of self in this atmospheric, expressionistically illustrated episode. Instead of writing her own name on her papers at school, Yoon calls herself "Cat," then "Bird"-"I wanted to be BIRD. I wanted to fly, fly back to Korea"-and even, after a classmate's friendly culinary overture, "Cupcake." Ultimately, she finds her balance again: "I write my name in English now. It still means Shining Wisdom." Swiatkowska internalizes Yoon's adjustment, both by depicting her escape fantasies literally, and by placing figures against expanses of wall that are either empty of decoration, or contain windows opening onto distant, elaborate landscapes. Reminiscent of Allen Say's work for its tone, theme, and neatly drafted, often metaphorical art, this strongly communicates Yoon's feelings in words and pictures both. She is also surrounded by supportive adults, and her cultural heritage, though specified, is given such a low profile that she becomes a sort of everychild, with whom many young readers faced with a similar sense of displacement will identify. 2003, Frances Foster/Farrar Straus & Giroux, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 8 to 10. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2003 (Vol. 56, No. 8))
Yoon does not like the way her name appears when it is printed in English, since the separated letters look as lonely as she feels after moving from Korea to America. She therefore gently refuses to practice writing her name, revealing a subtle sense of humor by choosing instead to write "cat," "bird," and "cupcake." With her parents' encouragement, however, she soon makes a friend, gains her teacher's love, and begins to feel that "maybe America will be a good home." Recorvits' simple text will be accessible, both emotionally and linguistically, to kids struggling with new places and new languages, and there's a quiet shape to the story that makes it satisfying as well as reassuring. Swiatkowska's textured gouache paintings keep viewers firmly attuned to Yoon's changing perceptions of her situation. The artist manipulates perspective from page to page so that the audience senses the distance Yoon feels from other people in her strange new country, the intimacy she feels first with the creations of her own imagination and then with a new friend and her teacher as she begins to find her place in her new home. Yoon discovers that her name, written in Korean or English, "still means Shining Wisdom"; her story will instill a bit of that wisdom in children who are coming to America, as well as to those who will welcome them as friends. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Foster/Farrar, 32p, $16.00. Ages 4-7 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2003)
Adjusting to a new country isn't easy for Yoon, who has recently arrived in America from Korea. In protest, she refuses to print her name in English at school, writing a variety of other words instead. Once she makes a friend and realizes that her teacher likes her, she triumphantly prints her name. Muted paintings with an almost surrealistic quality dramatically heighten the poignant story. Category: Picture Books. 2003, Farrar/Foster, 32pp, $16.00. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Janie Barron (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 1))
This is a very touching story about a young Korean girl and her family's move to the United States. The young girl is very unwilling to write her name in the English style. She thinks the Korean style is much better. Her teacher tries to get her to write her name, as do her mother and father, but she writes cat, bird, and cupcake instead. She is not happy in the United States. Finally, she makes a friend and begins to write her name, Yoon, in the English manner. This is a good book to show the inner feeling of a child who must adjust to a new country and customs. Fiction. Grades K-3. 2003, Frances Foster/Farrar Straus Giroux, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 5 to 9.