After reading "A Year of Impossible Goodbyes" I was curious to see if Sook Nyul Choi had written any picture books. After entering a search in the curriculum lab, I found this book! Halmoni is the Grandmother of Yunmi and had recently moved to New York City from Korea. Yunmi is extremely close with Halmoni, and worried about how lonely and unhappy she seems to be when Yunmi is away at school all day. When Yunmi's teacher announces that they will need a chaperon for their class picnic at central park, her 2 friends ask if Halmoni can come. The 3 girls think it will be exactly what Halmoni needs.
The story is quite predictable and lacks energy at certain points. However, I thought it was satisfying and genuine. And, as far as I know, it is not very common to come across picture books that tell the tale of an elderly Korean woman's immigrant experience. It is important to present children with literature that has differing perspectives. With this one being from the Korean-American perspective, it would be the perfect book to have on a classroom book shelf. It is tremendously rich in culture, from the clothes Halmoni wears to the "kimbap" and barley tea she prepares for the picnic. The incorporation of Korean vocabulary nicely distributed throughout the book is a great touch.
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