Sunday Funday in Koreatown (Yoomi, Friends, and Family)

by Aram Kim (Author)

Yoomi and Daddy are going to Koreatown today! This story celebrates family, resilience, and Korean culture.

Yoomi has planned the perfect Sunday! But the shirt she wants to wear is in the laundry. And she doesn't have the seaweed she needs for a kimbap breakfast.

So Yoomi wears another shirt and eats a different breakfast, and she and Daddy take a bus to Koreatown, where they read Korean books, eat Korean treats such as patbingsu and tteokbokki, and visit Grandma. Though Yoomi's perfect day is filled with mishaps and things don't always go her way, Yoomi learns the advantages of being resilient and open-minded. Yoomi's imperfect day is better than she ever could have imagined!

A family recipe for kimbap is included.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Don't miss the rest of the Yoomi, Friends, and Family books, including:

No Kimchi for Me! (A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Bank Street Best Book, and Best Book for Family Literacy)

Let's Go to Taekwondo (A Junior Library Gold Standard Selection)

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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1--Yoomi (an anthropomorphic black-and-white cat) loves her Sunday Fundays, but this one is turning out all wrong. Her favorite cartoon is preempted by soccer. She can't have kimbap for breakfast because they're out of rice, and her favorite shirt is too wet from washing to wear. At least she still has her Funday bus trip to Koreatown with her dad. But even in Koreatown disappointment follows. The book Yoomi wants to read is already checked out from the bookmobile. At the Korean grocery, someone eats the last hotdog twist (her favorite) seconds before she can get it. The patbingsoo she tries is good, but moments later bright red tteokbokki gets splashed all over her second favorite shirt. Sunday Funday is officially ruined! Luckily, the last stop is to visit Grandma, who saves the day. Her sweater makes a perfect dress for Yoomi, and together they read Yoomi's library book, which turns out to be pretty good. Kim's conversational text and colorful cartoon illustration style will be familiar to those who have read her two previous Yoomi titles and completely accessible to those who haven't. The detailed illustrations show Koreatown in all its glory and poor Yoomi in all her disappointment. Plus, the variety of animals Kim uses to populate her story is impressive and worthy of notice. Contains an author's description of Koreatown, his family recipe for kimbap, and an illustration of how to make the shaved ice dessert patbingsoo. VERDICT A story everyone can relate to with the bonus of Korean cultural information.--Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Lib., Troy, NH

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

A story everyone can relate to with the bonus of Korean cultural information. —School Library Journal

Once again Kim explores universal experiences, in this case bad days, while highlighting the comforts and joys of Korean culture, her signature bright and colorful cartoons drawing attention to all the small, delectable details of Koreatown. . . . Sweet and accessible: Readers will savor Yoomi's latest adventure.—Kirkus Reviews
Aram Kim
Aram Kim is a New York-based illustrator and designer who grew up in South Korea. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, she is the author of Cat on the Bus and No Kimchi for Me!, which was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780823444472
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Holiday House
Publication date
March 16, 2021
Series
Yoomi, Friends, and Family
BISAC categories
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Fathers and daughters
Korean Americans
Resilience (Personality trait)
Koreatowns

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