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GOOD-BYE, 382 SHIN DANG DONG

Name: GOOD-BYE, 382 SHIN DANG DONG
Author: Frances Park
ISBN: 0-7922-7985-9

by Frances Park & Ginger Park & illustrated by Yangsook Choi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2002

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Though the subject of moving day is a popular theme, the Parks (Where on Earth is My Bagel, 2001, etc.) provide a unique perspective on the experience. Jangmi relates her memories of her move from her Korean home to America when she was eight years old. She wakes to the beginning of the monsoon rains on her roof in her room stripped of all her belongings that her parents have packed in a big brown box marked “Lovely Things.” Her best friend, Kisuni, arrives and at the market they pick out their favorite food for the farewell luncheon that day. They sit under the willow tree and share the chummy, a type of melon, sad to soon be separated. At the luncheon, family and friends “celebrate in a sad way” with traditional foods and Korean songs: “Love, laughter and tears ripple through the house.” Four days later, Jangmi and her parents arrive to begin a new life in Brighton, Massachusetts. As Jangmi arranges her “lovely things” in her own room, all of the neighbors arrive with “plates of curious food” and “something called casseroles.” Jangmi meets a girl called Mary who asks what kind of food Jangmi eats in Korea. When Dad translates the question and Jangmi answers “Chummy,” Mary giggles—just like Kisuni. The parallels of life in Korea and America are smartly conceived, and young readers will immediately identify with Jangmi and her friends. Korean terms, easily recognized in the context, add richness. Choi’s (Earthquake, 2001, etc.) oils on the opposite page of the text are simple and focus on the young girl, though the two countries are distinct in the illustrations. A gentle and loving story perfectly pitched to its audience. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-7922-7985-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: National Geographic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HAVE A GOOD DAY CAFE
by Frances Park & Ginger Park & illustrated by Katherine Potter

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE ON EARTH IS MY BAGEL?
by Frances Park & Ginger Park & illustrated by Grace Lin

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FREEDOM TRIP
by Frances Park & Ginger Park & illustrated by Debra Reid Jenkins

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THE DOG THAT DUG FOR DINOSAURS

by Shirley Redmond & illustrated by Simon Sullivan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2004

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This easy reader for children reading at the fluency level recounts the story of a girl named Mary Ann Anning and her dog, Tray. They lived on the coast of England in the early 1800s, although the time frame is given only as “a long, long time ago.” Mary Ann and Tray became famous for their discoveries of fossils, including dinosaur bones. They discovered the first pterodactyl found in England, and the name was assigned to their fossil. The story focuses a little too much on the dog, and the title misses a great opportunity to completely acknowledge a girl accomplishing something important in the scientific world, especially in a much earlier era and without formal training or education. Despite this drawback, both Mary Ann and Tray are appealing characters and the discovery of the fossils and subsequent notice from scientists, collectors, and even royalty is appealing and well written. Sullivan’s illustrations provide intriguing period details in costumes, tools, and buildings, as well as a clever front endpaper of fossil-strewn ground covered with muddy paw prints. (Easy reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-689-85708-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Aladdin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT'S SPACE ROCKETS

From the Professor Astro Cat series

by Dominic Walliman ; illustrated by Ben Newman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.

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The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.

Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.

Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)