The Name Jar

Title:  The Name Jar

Author:  Yangsook Choi

Illustrator:  Yangsook Choi

Publishing Company:  Dragonfly books

Copyright date: 2001

Number of pages:  40

Genre: Multicultural

I chose this book because of the title.  I was looking for another multicultural book and this title just caught my attention.  Then, as I read the information on the back of the book I realized this was a story that many children could relate too.  This young Korean child is the new kid in class.  She is experiencing the same aches and qualms that any new kid might face; however, he feels her situation is worse on account of the fact that nobody can pronounce her name.  She tells her classmates that she will pick a name by next week.  This, of course, spurs a ton of excitement and interest from her classmates.  They decide to fill a glass jar with a variety of names for her to choose from.  This book is about being proud of who you are and accepting your differences, and similarities, as well. 

          The illustrator in this book uses pastels and oil paints to create these beautiful images.  The colors are bright and vivid.  They really help the pictures to have depth and appear to come alive throughout the book’s pages.   The text is placed in an informal type setting.  The words are placed on top of the pictures.  The pictures in this book really help to tell the story, and it would not be the same without them.

This book is appropriate for readers of all ages; in particular, any student who has ever been the ‘new kid’ in the class.  I would use this book any time that I had a new student.  I would use this book to encourage students to explore different cultures.  I would use this book if we were talking about different cultures of the world.  It would be a wonderful book to use as a motivator to get the children reading.  This would be a good boo to use for showing students that they should be proud of who they are no matter what circumstance they may find themselves.    This book has no awards at this time.