by Anna Kim (Author) Anna Kim (Illustrator)
Meet Danbi, the new girl at school!
Danbi is thrilled to start her new school in America. But a bit nervous too, for when she walks into the classroom, everything goes quiet. Everyone stares. Danbi wants to join in the dances and the games, but she doesn't know the rules and just can't get anything right. Luckily, she isn't one to give up.
With a spark of imagination, she makes up a new game and leads her classmates on a parade to remember! Danbi Leads the School Parade introduces readers to an irresistible new character. In this first story, she learns to navigate her two cultures and realizes that when you open your world to others, their world opens up to you.
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Danbi, an immigrant from Korea, is feeling anxious on her first day of school in America. Her heart pounds as she enters the classroom. Everyone stares at her. Even though many of the class activities and games are new, she participates as best as she can. During lunchtime, kids are curious about how to use her chopsticks, so she shows them and then leads them on a musical parade around the school. Kim, a debut author, has created detailed illustrations in soft colors, highlighting Danbi's fears and then the brighter spots in a brand new setting. VERDICT A sweet and helpful book for children who are nervous about moving or starting a new school—or any big change.—Noureen Qadir-Jafar, Syosset Lib., NY
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Introducing an ingenuous girl who has just moved from South Korea to the U.S. with her parents, Kim's debut radiates positivity, inclusivity, and hope. Danbi bravely enters her classroom on the first day at her new school to encounter a gaggle of staring, curious kids who speak a different language than she does. Though Danbi initially feels excluded when she tries unsuccessfully to join in new activities, her mood soon brightens. When it's time to open their lunches, Danbi thinks, "That, I knew how to do!" and she shares her meal ("Yams in honey, crystal dumplings," and more) with her impressed classmates, offering a chopsticks lesson that erupts--joyously--into cacophonous, makeshift music-making and a playground parade. South Korean-born Kim (who, like her heroine, emigrated to the U.S. as a child) offers upbeat illustrations of the children in action, which magnify the story's high spirits--and Danbi's triumph. Ages 3-7. (July)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.