Customer Reviews

The Name Jar

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I love this book because it reinforces the idea that people have a right to their given names and that they have a right to expect people to learn how to pronounce them. I work with many Chinese, Korean and Japanese students and it is common for these kids to feel the obligation to change their name, allow teachers and students mispronounce them if they do use their given names, and their parents often tell them to get used to it rather than teaching them to assert themselves and expect people to learn how to pronounce them. If the child feels that they have a right to their name, the keep it, teach people how to pronounce it and feel better about themselves. If they change it, the given name still pops up on paperwork, people still mispronounce it and they are always trying to hide it away before it pops up again. Accepting your name and teaching people how to pronounce it, provides people with empowerment and a sense of some control over their lives. It helps a lot in the acculturaltion process.

Yangsook (Rachel) Choi has written AND illustrated another illuminating book. Unhei has moved from South Korea with her family to America; she has brought her clothes, bags, and a name "chop" stamp from her grandmother. Her schoolmates cannot pronounce her name on the bus, so she doesn't reveal her name to her classmates. Is it good to be different? Should she embrace her difference? In America she can still eat seaweed and kimchi; she can shop at Kim's Market and Fadil's Falafel. But maybe a name of Amanda, Miranda, Daisy, or Tamela would be better than Unhei (Yoon-hye). The kids at school put name suggestions in a jar on her desk, but on the day she will choose her name, the jar has disappeared. Who took it? What will Unhei decide to do? Did Mr. Cocotos her teacher have a hand in this? Will all the kids want to choose a new name? A must read for every elementary school.

Excellent piece of literature that addresses the emotional impact of change. The Name Jar pulls at the core of American assimilation and a loss of individuality to appease the intolerance of differences. Unhei must adjust to a new country, culture, school, and classmates, while she finds the transition from Korea to America difficult.

Unhei is starting school in America. Although she has a lovely Korean name that means "grace," she thinks maybe she would like a more American sounding name. Her classmates make a name jar and offers suggestions. This story is affirming of the multicultural experience. When Unhei complains about her name, saying that she doesn't want to be different, her mother counters, "You are different, Unhei....That's a good thing!" Choi superbly illustrates her own story. The characters, though simply painted, have expressive faces.

Clutching the small wooden block with the characters of her Korean name carved into it, Unhei worries about being accepted and fitting in at her new school and new country. When she finds that the children have difficulty pronouncing her name, she decides to pick a new American name. Sensing her difficulty in choosing a name, Unhei's classmates create a name jar with suggestions for her. Finally, with the help of a new friend, she not only chooses a name that reflects her heritage and culture but also inspires her classmates to better understand cultural differences and similarities.

Yangsook Choi's charming story and illustrations explore issues of assimilation and cultural duality faced by immigrant children and their American classmates. It could well serve as the basis for classroom discussions of these issues and would be a welcome addition to class libraries.

i enjoyed this book. i was in the book store one day and it caught my eye so i flipped through it, and i'm glad i did. its about a little girl who comes from korea and moved to north america. she goes to school and doesn't want to tell the class her name because it is different, so she says she doesn't have a name, so her classmates make a name jar for her and put in names that she can use. then she gets a letter from her grandmother who is still in korea saying how much she loves her and in the letter was a seal with her name on it. after getting this she is once again proud of her name and goes back to school and tells her class mates her real name and what it means (i apologize if i got some of the details mixed up it was a while back that i read it). this book was a tear jerker for me. i'm not korean, nor have i had major problem with my name (though people often mispronounce it when reading it), but the struggle for the acceptance of one's self and one's own difference in comparison to others is something we all go through, and this story successfully displays that struggle and overcoming that struggle in a simple way. i think its a good way to get children to understand that though they are different, they will be accepted by someone, and opens them up to other cultures at the same time. worth the read.

Unhei is a little taken aback when the other students misunderstand her name and tease her about it. So she decides to get an American name.

On and on, she talks to various people, she shows kids her name stamp, she collects name suggestions, and eventually she decides to keep her own name. (What a surprise.)

It's a very predictable story. Nice illustrations and well told for what it is, but nothing is exactly going to surprise you here.

I chose this book to introduce my children to literature written about Korean culture in America. We love the parallels to our life- a Halmoni living far away, a young girl nervous about school and fitting in with her classmates, and especially that the title character shares her Korean name with my daughter! This story crosses cultural differences to embrace the concepts of family love, friendship, cultural sensitivity and self esteem. What a wonderful story!The Name Jar

As a Korean immigrant myself, I enjoyed the book. I am a middle school teacher and I used this book to help teach diversity. At the end of the book I gave each student a slip of paper with their name, the origin of their name, and the meaning. THEY LOVED IT!

Great story :) Can't wait to read it to my Transitional Kindergarten Kids! It will be a great introduction to learning about our names.