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My Name Is Yoon
by Helen Recorvits, Gabi Swiatkowska (Illustrator)Helen Recorvits
Getting to feel at home in a new country
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.
My Name Is Yoon is a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year.
Square Fish
HELEN RECORVITS and GABI SWIATKOWSKA have collaborated on three books about Yoon. My Name Is Yoon was named an ALA Notable Book, among other honors, and Ms. Swiatkowska received the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for her artwork. Ms. Recorvits lives in North Scituate, Rhode Island. Ms. Swiatkowska lives in France.
What People are Saying About This
"With subtle grace, this moving story depicts a Korean girl's difficult adjustment to her new life in America...Swiatkowska's stunningly spare, almost surrealistic paintings enhance the story's message." — Starred, School Library Journal
"As noteworthy for what it leaves out as for what it includes....Yoon may be new to America, but her feelings as an outsider will be recognizable to all children." — Starred, Publishers Weekly
* With subtle grace, this moving story depicts a Korean girl's difficult adjustment to her new life in America. . . . Swiatkowska's stunningly spare, almost surrealistic paintings enhance the story's message." —School Library Journal, starred review
"* As noteworthy for what it leaves out as for what it includes. . . . Yoon may be new to America, but her feelings as an outsider will be recognizable to all children." —Publishers Weekly, starred reivew
"My name is Yoon. I came here from Korea, a country far away," begins Recorvits's (Goodbye, Walter Malinski) first-person narrative, as noteworthy for what it leaves out as for what it includes. Swiatkowska's (Hannah's Bookmobile Christmas) opening spread similarly conveys a sense of starkness, with a landscape of rolling hills and towering trees in small clusters; the serene narrator appears in a white dress. With a turn of the page, readers see Yoon dwarfed by the seemingly endless checked flooring of her new American house. She sits at a large white table where her father teaches her to write her name in English ("I did not like YOON. Lines. Circles. Each standing alone. My name looks happy in Korean. The symbols dance together"). At school, Yoon refuses to write her name. Instead, she fills her paper with other words she learns from the teacher, such as cat. "I wrote CAT on every line. I wanted to be CAT.... My mother would find me and cuddle up close to me." Yoon's words betray her sadness and insecurity at relinquishing some of her Korean identity, while Swiatkowska's painterly artwork translates the girl's fantasies. A close-up of Yoon's face shows feline ears protruding from her jet-black hair, while in the background, a real cat balances on a window sill. A turning point comes when a classmate offers Yoon a cupcake, and the heroine imagines herself as one; her round face a leafed cherry atop the pastry as she floats above the classroom. Yoon may be new to America, but her feelings as an outsider will be recognizable to all children. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
K-Gr 2-A Korean child, feeling at odds in her American school, tries out various personas before accepting her English name. The stunning oil paintings reveal the girl's active imagination, positive attitude, and shining wisdom. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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. (Picture book. 8-10)
My Name Is Yoon 4.1 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 8 reviews.
kjarthur on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
A lovely story about a young Korean girl who is trying to find her place in America. Embracing her differences means that she can be herself and be happy in her home. A touching and to-the-point story.
emgriff on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Yoon has just moved to the United States and is about to start school. When she is taught to print her name in English she rejects it, prefering the way the characters look in Korean and the meaning they have. Because she doesn't identify with "YOON" she imagines her name as the other words she is learning in school: "CAT," "BIRD," and "CUPCAKE." This is a story about adjusting to change while remaining true to one's own identity. Yoon is a likable, believable character who I think many children, especially those who have experienced moving or learning a second language, could identify with. The illustrations are light and painterly, with an unusual surreal quality that takes some getting used to. While I personally find the style unappealing, I feel that the illustrations suit the feel and message of the text well. Recommended for lower elementary school students, especially in areas with a recent immigrant population.
jckeen on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Yoon, an elementary school girl, just moved to the U.S. from Korea. Her parents want her to learn English, but she's not so sure. Through the patient and kind guidance of her teacher, Yoon explores using different words for her name. It is a delightful story that offers a window into the world of an English Language Learner, and a lens through which an ELL can identify.
sjordet on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Yoon, a young girl whose family has immigrated from Korea, experiences her first day in an American school. Yoon thinks her name written in Korean is beautiful and dislikes it written in English. Wishing she had another name, Yoon proclaims to her teacher that her name is "bird" followed by "cat" then "cupcake." As Yoon becomes more acclimated in her new classroom, she grows to accept her name and finally declares, "I am Yoon."This story is perfect for classrooms in which there is an English as a second language learner or a new student in the class from a different country. The story describes the struggle that some new students might face when adjusting to not only a new place but a new culture. "I am Yoon" will help students understand how a new student might feel as they discover their identity in a foreign place. The book is a great teaching tool.
vossc2009 on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
This is story nice because it goes through and dicusses this child that comes to American from Korea. It shows what she struggles with and how she over comes those issues. I think this is a great book for young children to read because it's very realistic. I would read this to first through third graders.
hollster74 on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Yoon and her family have immigrated from Korea to the United States. On her first day of school, she learns to write her name in English. Each day she learns new English words and each time she introduces herself as one of those new words (i.e., Cupcake). This is a touching story in which a little girl struggles to find out who she is in a new country; she eventually establishes her own unique identity by embracing both Korean and American cultures. Yoon is an endearing character, and this is a picture book that has remained one of my favorites long after reading it.
dhender More than 1 year ago
This book is a great example of different perspectives between classmates and countries. Yoon is a brave little girl who has to start all over in a new country while learning a new language. This book would be a great asset to a class with a new, foreign student, or just anyone.
I like this book because I have felt like Yoon did in this book when I came to the US
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