The Name Jar

by Yangsook Choi (Author) Yangsook Choi (Illustrator)

The Name Jar
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she?

Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week.

Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce it--Yoon-Hey.

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Paperback
$8.99

ALA/Booklist

The paintings are mostly in gold and earth tones, and the figures have both stature and simplicity--as does the story.
Yangsook Choi
Yangsook Choi grew up in Seoul, Korea. She has written and illustrated several books for young readers, including The Sun Girl and the Moon Boy and Good-bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong by Frances Park and Ginger Park. The first book she illustrated, Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee, was an ALA Notable Book and an IRA-CBC Children's Book Award Winner.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780440417996
Lexile Measure
590
Guided Reading Level
N
Publisher
Dragonfly Books
Publication date
October 14, 2003
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
Library of Congress categories
Identity
Schools
Identity (Philosophical concept)
Names, Personal
Korean Americans

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