Throughout May, the Center for Global Education at Asia Society, in partnership with Holiday House Publishing presents Stories of Heritage: Asian American Voices in Children's Literature an #ownvoices reading series that spotlights the work of Asian American children’s book authors.

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!

Join acclaimed children’s book author Aram Kim as she reads from Sunday in Funday in Koreatown, followed by a discussion on the inspiration behind the book, diversity in children’s literature, and more.

Speakers 

Aram Kim is a New York-based children's book author/illustrator and a picture book designer. She was born in Ohio, spent her childhood in South Korea, and now lives in Queens, NY. She is an advocate for diversity in children's literature, and the creator of the Multicultural Children's Book Day poster for 2018.

Her debut picture book Cat on the Bus was called a “beautifully designed visual work” by School Library Journal and included in the Children’s Choice Reading List 2017 by ILA/CBC, as well as New York Public Library’s summer reading list 2018. No Kimchi For Me!, about family, food, intergenerational connections, has universal themes, and at the same time celebrates Korean culture. It was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year 2018, and 2018 A Baker’s Dozen: The Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy by The Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Its sequel Let’s Go to Taekwondo! (Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year 2021) came out in April 2020 and the following book in the Yoomi, Friends and Family series, Sunday Funday in Koreatown came out in March 2021. Both are also selected as Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection.

Other readings in the series include:

My Tree, written by Hope Lim and illustrated by Il Sung Na

Watercress, written by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason Chin

Purchase your copy of all of the books we will feature in this series at Yu and Me Books! 

Partners

Holiday House publishes timeless books for young readers. We strive to carry on the legacy of a prestigious and award-winning catalog of books by fostering meaningful relationships with our creators. We publish enlightening, educational, and entertaining books while promoting a culture of excellence, independence, growth, and adaptability. We are committed to maintaining the trust we have established with our community of booksellers, educators, librarians, parents, and caregivers through years of producing quality books.