Yoon and the Jade Bracelet [Hardcover]

Helen Recorvits (Author), Gabi Swiatkowska (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

It is Yoon’s birthday and all she wants is a jump rope so she can play with the other girls in the school yard. Instead, Yoon’s mother gives her a Korean storybook about a silly girl who is tricked by a tiger. Yoon also receives a jade bracelet that once belonged to her grandmother. The next day at school, a girl offers to teach Yoon how to jump rope, but for a price: she wants to borrow the jade bracelet. When Yoon tries to get her bracelet back, the girl swears it belongs to her. Yoon must use the lessons learned in her storybook and her “Shining Wisdom” to retrieve the precious keepsake.

In this third book featuring Yoon, lush impressionistic dreamscapes evoke a simple and timeless message: it is possible to trick a tiger.

 

Yoon and the Jade Bracelet is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2—The child first introduced in My Name Is Yoon (2003) and Yoon and the Christmas Mitten (2006, both Farrar) returns in a story centered on her birthday. Yoon longs for a jump rope in order to join the other girls on the playground. Instead she receives a book and a precious family bracelet with her name, meaning "Shining Wisdom," engraved inside in Korean. Yoon is tricked into lending it to an older girl who promises to teach her how to jump rope. But when the girl refuses to return the bracelet, Yoon must figure some way to get it back. This story opens like the others, with the protagonist stating, "My name is Yoon. I came here from Korea, a country far away." It allows readers to discover aspects of Korean culture and to learn how a Korean-American child reconciles her two worlds. Swiatkowska's illustrations are full of texture, and her brushstrokes continue to become more open and loose. Here, the paintings occupy a large number of spreads, and backgrounds are completely filled with single colors, sometimes bold reds and aquas, other times more muted olives and grays. The large textured strokes, thickly applied paint, and distorted forms are in keeping with the symbolism of the jade bracelet and the imagery in the folktale that Yoon receives as birthday gifts.—Kim T. Ha, Elkridge Branch Library, MD
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From Booklist

Instead of the jump rope Yoon wants, her mother gives her a book about a girl who outwits a tiger and a beautiful jade bracelet that was once her own. At school, an older girl asks lonely Yoon to let her borrow the bracelet. When the bully refuses to return it, Yoon, like the girl who outwitted the tiger, uses her quick thinking to recover her treasure. Children will appreciate the justice meted in this third story about Yoon and her Korean American family. The accomplished art has a childlike naïveté that fits the gentle story. Grades K-3. --Linda Perkins

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374386897
• ISBN-13: 978-0374386894
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 10 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Helen Recorvits was born in Rhode Island and graduated from Rhode Island College with a degree in education and psychology. She went on to earn a Master's degree and also a certification in gifted and talented education. A former educator, Helen now devotes her time to writing and to speaking at conferences and literary events.

Her first novel, GOODBYE WALTER MALINSKI(Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999) was chosen a National Council for Social Studies Notable Trade Book, and her second novel WHERE HEROES HIDE(2002) also received many fine reviews.

In 2003, her first picture book MY NAME IS YOON was published by FSG. YOON was chosen as an outstanding book of the year by the New York Is Book Country Committee, and was also named an ALA Notable Children's Book and an IRA Notable Books for a Global Society. It was listed as a Best Book of the Year by Child Magazine,Family Magazine, Bank Street Books, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, and it was also a Booklist Editors' Choice. YOON also received the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award.

YOON AND THE CHRISTMAS MITTEN (2006) was chosen an NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies book.

YOON AND THE JADE BRACELET(2008)
was chosen a Society of School Librarians International Honor Book and a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year.

Her books have been translated into Danish, French, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.

Helen says,"I remember my mother reading to me when I was two years old. My favorite books were Cinderella and The Pokey Little Puppy. I began writing my own stories and sharing them with my cousins when I was eight years old. When I was a teenager, I wrote a weekly column for a local newspaper."

Today Helen, mother of two grown sons, lives with her husband in the peaceful, woodsy town of Glocester, Rhode Island. Helen says, "I love reading and writing stories about interesting characters -- people trying to find their place in life, people with hope in their hearts."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story with a good lesson, January 7, 2010

By 

Kristi (Ann Arbor, MI, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yoon and the Jade Bracelet (Hardcover)

This is a nicely illustrated story with a good message and my 2.5 year old twins request it from time to time. Yoon receives a Korean story book about a girl who is tricked by a tiger for her birthday, when all she really wants is a jumprope. Her mom also hands down her precious jade bracelet to Yoon. Yoon is tricked at school by a tiger girl, but in the end she outwits her. I like that the story talks about an immigrant girl who is adjusting to life in a new country where she is hoping to meet new friends.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from Books That Heal Kids, August 31, 2011

By 

Books That Heal Kids "Roxanne" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yoon and the Jade Bracelet (Hardcover)

I'm an elementary school counselor and this was thoroughly enjoyed by all of the classes I read to at the end of last year. It's got a lot of good stuff in it regarding friendship, telling the truth, being proud of who you are, and stealing. Even though it was easy to focus on the older girl and how she had wronged Yoon. It become apparent to the kids that Yoon actually played a part in getting herself in this circumstance. Some great discussion questions we pondered: Why are some kids willing to sacrifice who they are and their values for a friendship? When faced with a tough decision, how can we motivate ourselves to do the right thing? How can we stay true ourselves? I also loved the cultural angle - there is definitely a struggle for some kids to fit in for fear of being rejected.