GoodBye, 382 Shin Dang Dong

by Frances Park

Overview

A beautiful picture book with a reassuring message and multicultural appeal. Jangmi, a young Korean girl, can't bear the thought of leaving her home at 382 Shin Dang Dong and moving to America. This sensitive story follows Jangmi as she gradually adjusts to her new neighborhood in Massachusetts, meets a young friend and begins to fell comfortable once again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780792279853
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/2002
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 11.15(h) x 0.34(d)
Lexile:	620L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Frances Park and Ginger Park are sisters who were born in the United States to Korean immigrants. They have co-authored three other children’s books focusing on Korea and Korean Americans, including My Freedom Trip, an IRA Children’s Book Award winner. Goodbye, 382 Shin Dang Dong is based on the experience of their older sister.

Editorial Reviews

"My heart beats in two places" begins this tale of an eight-year-old Korean girl who moves to America with her parents. The authors (My Freedom Trip), inspired by events in the life of their older sister, trace young Jangmi's last day at home-on the eve of monsoon season, filled with reluctant goodbyes-and her first day in her new country. "I didn't want to go to America and make new friends. I didn't want to leave my best friend, Kisuni," Jangmi says. The narrative works in subtle parallels: a going-away party with family and friends ("Everybody ate and sang traditional Korean songs and celebrated in a sad way") gives way to "a parade of neighbors... carrying plates of curious food" in her new American neighborhood; she leaves behind a willow tree in Korea to discover a maple in her yard in Massachusetts-and she makes a friend who "giggled-just like Kisuni!" Choi (Nim and the War Effort) effectively contrasts the landscapes and customs of the two cultures, including a Korean city skyline and a glorious array of foods at the farewell luncheon, as well as the row houses in Massachusetts and Jangmi's first exposure to casseroles. The book nimbly charts the common anxieties of a child moving to a new place, from worries about making friends to the strangeness of new surroundings. Choi's oil paintings, with their subdued, saturated colors and perspectives that emphasize Jangmi's loneliness, create an effective backdrop for this resonant tale. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1-3-Jangmi looks sadly at her room. The hand-painted scrolls and colorful fans have been removed from the walls and the silk cushions and straw mats are no longer on the waxed floor in preparation for her family's move from Korea to the U.S. She takes one last visit to the open-air market with her friend Kisuni to buy chummy, her favorite melon. After a farewell party, Jangmi and her friend promise to write to one another. Jangmi's first reaction to her new home in Brighton, MA, is to see only the differences. However, she begins to feel more at home when her familiar possessions arrive and she meets her new neighbors, including a girl her own age. The oil paintings done in a simple, childlike style are formally framed with white space. While this quiet story explores the universal fear of change in rather predictable ways, children will find the details of cultural differences and the immigrant experience well evoked.-Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Though the subject of moving day is a popular theme, the Parks (Where on Earth is My Bagel, 2001, etc.) provide a unique perspective on the experience. Jangmi relates her memories of her move from her Korean home to America when she was eight years old. She wakes to the beginning of the monsoon rains on her roof in her room stripped of all her belongings that her parents have packed in a big brown box marked "Lovely Things." Her best friend, Kisuni, arrives and at the market they pick out their favorite food for the farewell luncheon that day. They sit under the willow tree and share the chummy, a type of melon, sad to soon be separated. At the luncheon, family and friends "celebrate in a sad way" with traditional foods and Korean songs: "Love, laughter and tears ripple through the house." Four days later, Jangmi and her parents arrive to begin a new life in Brighton, Massachusetts. As Jangmi arranges her "lovely things" in her own room, all of the neighbors arrive with "plates of curious food" and "something called casseroles." Jangmi meets a girl called Mary who asks what kind of food Jangmi eats in Korea. When Dad translates the question and Jangmi answers "Chummy," Mary giggles—just like Kisuni. The parallels of life in Korea and America are smartly conceived, and young readers will immediately identify with Jangmi and her friends. Korean terms, easily recognized in the context, add richness. Choi’s (Earthquake, 2001, etc.) oils on the opposite page of the text are simple and focus on the young girl, though the two countries are distinct in the illustrations. A gentle and loving story perfectly pitched to its audience. (Fiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews