Disliking her name as written in English, Korean-born Yoon, or “shining wisdom,” refers to herself as “cat,” “bird,” and “cupcake,” as a way to feel more comfortable in her new school and new country. (Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award, 2004)
- ISBN: 9780374351144
- Author: Recorvits, Helen
- Illustrator: Swiatkowska, Gabi
- Published: 2003 , Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
- Themes: Identity, Names, School life
- Descriptors: Awards, Korea, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction
- No. of pages: 32
Loosing the script of a name is hard for children because the symbols gives the name meaning. In this case, Yoon’s name means ‘shining wisdom’ and her opinion, the Hangul symbols dance together and look happy. Yoon’s struggles with her name and her identity surface as she tries out other names such as cat, bird and cupcake, giving fancy to her desire to change into those objects so she can either return back to Korea or make new friends. As he negotiates all these names, her patient teacher waits until she is comfortable being Yoon, the first step in adapting to her new home.
Similar books – Loosing the script
Yoko Writes Her Name (Rosemary Wells) – Yoko is originally from Japan and is entering kindergarten in the US. She is proud of her name’s meaning and the way her name looks in Japanese script. When two of her classmates think she is scribbling, it takes another special friend to initiate a ‘script exchange’ that validates all that Yoko knows about script in literacy Japanese style.
The Name Jar (Yangsook Choi) – Through the friendship of a little boy who is curious about her real name, Unhei learns she does not have to adopt an ‘American’ name but can keep her Korean name and just teach her other classmates how to pronounce it. In the process the little boy discovers how to write his name in Hangul.