My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. 32 p., Farrar/Frances Foster, 2003. When children move to a new country, they may feel alone and estranged. Yoon's family moves to the United States from Korea. Her father tells her that she has to learn how to write her name using the Western alphabet. Yoon doesn't like this - she likes it in Korean, the way it's always been. She likes the connection of that written form with her name's meaning, Shining Wisdom. When Yoon starts school, her teacher's first lesson is about a cat. She doesn't want to write "Yoon" on her paper, so she writes "CAT." On another day, she writes "BIRD" instead, and on another day, "CUPCAKE." Each time, the word is what she wants to be, in some way. As this is happening, she is beginning to make friends, her teacher is growing to like her, and she's learning things at school. When her mother expresses pride in this, Yoon can consider the possibility that America could be a good home for her. "Maybe different is good, too." Now she's willing to write "YOON" in English, and feels confident that it still means Shining Wisdom when written that way. Illustrated with expressive, light-filled paintings, this story helps children manage the complex feelings that immigration brings. Ages 4-7