Rice from Heaven A Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans
by Tina Cho
Illustrated by Keum Jin Song
picture book [Ages 4-8]
Excerpt from book:
I am a little grain of rice. How can I help?Appa says we can help in secret. Tonight we will send special balloons carrying rice over the border to North Korea.
In South Korea, Yoori, and other volunteers inflate big helium balloons, tie rice bags to their tails, and give them a strong push to they can soar up over to the other side of the mountain over the border to North Koreans who don’t have enough to eat.
On May 2, 2016 the author helped launch 200 balloons 6 lbs, 9 oz of rice attached to each balloon. The balloons had enough hydrogen to stay airborne for 3 hours to travel a distance of 112 miles to North Korea. This story is a reminder that kindness and bravery is what matters most during times of hardship.