I Am the Subway

by Kim Hyo-eun, Deborah Smith (Translator)

Overview

A cinematic journey through the Seoul subway that masterfully portrays the many unique lives we travel alongside whenever we take the train. A poetic translation of the bestselling Korean picture book.

SIX STARRED REVIEWS

★ “Lucky readers, climb aboard: extraordinary explorations await.” —Shelf Awareness

★ “I Am the Subway makes for an unforgettable journey.” —Bookpage

★ “[S]ensitive, closely observed portraits.” —Publishers Weekly

★ “A contemplative, poignant rendering of everyday journeys.” —Kirkus Reviews

★ “[B]eautiful and unusual.” —Youth Services Book Review

★ “Bewitching.” —Foreword

Accompanied by the constant, rumbling ba-dum ba-dum of its passage through the city, the subway has stories to tell. Between sunrise and sunset, it welcomes and farewells people, and holds them—along with their joys, hopes, fears, and memories—in its embrace.

Originally published in Korean and brought to English-speaking audiences with the help of renowned translator Deborah Smith (The Vegetarian), I Am the Subway vividly reflects the shared humanity that can be found in crowded metropolitan cities.

• A wonderful gift for parents, carers, and grandparents of train-loving children
• Perfect for teachers and librarians looking for books that share global experiences and lives from an own-voice perspective
• Great for fans of Next Stop Grand Central Station by Maira Kalman, Subway by Christopher Neiman, and Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robertson

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950354658
Publisher:	Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
Publication date:	08/03/2021
Pages:	52
Product dimensions:	10.25(w) x 9.45(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD700L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kim Hyo-eun studied textile design at college and illustration at the Ibpil Future Illustration Research Institute. Books written and illustrated by Kim Hyo-eun include I Am the Subway. Picture books with illustrations created by Kim include A Baby on a Train, A Starry Flower Wall, The Place We Walk Becomes the Road, and Minji and a Squirrel.

Deborah Smith is an internationally renowned translator. She founded Tilted Axis Press to learn, share, and support a more nuanced and equitable awareness of our mutually entangled lives. In 2016 she was co-winner of the Man Booker International Prize for Literature, alongside author Han Kang, for her translation of The Vegetarian.

Editorial Reviews

★“[S]ensitive, closely observed portraits of Seoul’s subway passengers…in this quiet treasure of a tale, every person in the crowd has a story, a family they love, and dreams they cherish.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★“In this picture book, a subway train shares intimate stories while ferrying passengers around Seoul…A contemplative, poignant rendering of everyday journeys.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★“A bestselling Korean picture book is translated to bring this entrancing tale of “the unique lives of strangers you might never meet again” to a new audience. Told from the perspective of the Seoul subway, the story peels back layers on the people who board, reminding us that everyone we encounter has a story we don’t know. Bewitching.”—Foreword, starred review

★“In this beautiful and unusual book, first-person narration by a subway tells us all about the regulars who ride its cars in busy Seoul each day…Perfect for subway enthusiasts, kids who live in the city and think about their fellow train passengers, and for those who don’t but wonder what the experience would be like. If a class is studying Korea, this would be a fascinating unit activator.” —Youth Services Book Review, starred review

“As the narrator (a subway train!) starts describing its life and the lives of its riders, gray faceless figures take on detail and luminous color—a trove of richness we had no access to when they were strangers to us. A brilliant turnaround, a great concept and an endearing book. Not to mention its elegant design and beautiful watercolor.” —Paul O. Zelinsky, Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator of The Wheels on the Bus, The New York Times

“This is a love song, a poem to a means of transportation, an excuse to talk about a beloved city and a true invitation to get to meet the people of Seoul, getting to know their names, their joys, their hopes, and of course, the stations they come to and from.” —Geek Dad

“[A] celebration of humanity, diversity and people of all walks of life.” —Books Grow Minds

“Journey through the Seoul subway as it ba-dum, ba-dums across the city and dip into the many lives that rely on it each day. Striking the perfect balance of being a universal story while staying deeply rooted in it’s sense of place, any reader who uses public transportation regularly will see echoes of their experiences in the crowded train cars. The illustrations, soft and expressive, are an important layer to the reading experience, adding more details and colors as the individual stories of each passenger unfolds.” —Stephanie Heinz, bookseller at Print Bookstore 

“Having lived in South Korea for a couple years I am so happy to read this beautiful celebration of the small moments that happen everyday all around us in the most mundane yet fantastic of places.” —Ryan Kimmett, bookseller at Kismet Books 

“The subway leads the reader on a journey of the heart, experiencing each new arrival with their story and thus their humanity. Poetic and powerful, this book has led me on not only a journey through Seoul but the experience of moments in the day and a connection to each rider.” —Jesica Sweedler-DeHart, librarian at Neill Public Library

"Dazzling … A gorgeous celebration of Seoul and its people." —Waking Brain Cells

"One of the most beautiful books, and it’s narrated all by the actual subway! [A] lovely reminder that everyone we see in passing has a rich backstory." —The Tiny Activists

"This poetic and quietly vivid day in the life of the Seoul subway is one of our absolute favorite books this year." —Avery and Augustine, Books for Diversity

"Absolutely took my breath away … Expressive, tender, cinematic, and unique in so many ways - I've never really read a book like it before … Impossible not to walk away with a sense of wonder with each read." —Inclusive Storytime

"A gorgeous picture book about the lives and thoughts of subway goers. It’s an imaginative picture book that’s beautifully illustrated … an excellent read aloud." —Baby Librarians

"Beautifully highlights how all of us have our own unique story and how public transport brings with it a shared humanity that helps all of those stories intersect whether we realize it or not." —Kid Lit is Magic

"Brilliant … With creamy, cinematic illustrations, this read offers a portrait of individual everyday journeys, reflecting our shared humanity even in the most crowded of metropolitan areas." —Mai Story Book Library

★“Magnificent … Kim insightfully acknowledges "the unique lives of strangers you might never meet again" on spread after spectacular watercolor spread, the diverse passengers each caught in a single moment in time … Lucky readers, climb aboard: extraordinary explorations await.”
–Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness, starred review

“I Am the Subway encourages us to think about the strangers around us and feel empathy toward them … Watercolor artwork captures both the bustling character of Seoul and the strange, liminal nature of a subway train making it unique and full of personality — perfect for a book that personifies the subway itself.”
–GeekMom

“[O]ne of the finest picture-book portraits of city life that I have ever read.”
—Imogen Carter, The Observer

“[A] poetic journey through the Korean subway, narrated by the train itself.”
—The Guardian, best children's books of 2022

From the Publisher

“This is a love song, a poem to a means of transportation, an excuse to talk about a beloved city and a true invitation to get to meet the people of Seoul, getting to know their names, their joys, their hopes, and of course, the stations they come to and from.”

Geek Dad

‘The way that the first-person narrative bounces between the train and some (but not all) of its passengers is certainly atypical for a traditional American narrative, but luscious and lovely in its unfamiliarity. The watercolour technique of translucent people coming into colour as the train ‘meets’ them is fascinating, and a semi-anthropomorphised narrator who has known some of its passengers since they were born and can recognise others by their shoes alone is captivating and wholly original.’

Booklist - Becca Worthington

“Journey through the Seoul subway as it ba-dum, ba-dums across the city and dip into the many lives that rely on it each day. Striking the perfect balance of being a universal story while staying deeply rooted in it's sense of place, any reader who uses public transportation regularly will see echoes of their experiences in the crowded train cars. The illustrations, soft and expressive, are an important layer to the reading experience, adding more details and colors as the individual stories of each passenger unfolds.”

Stephanie Heinz

“[A] celebration of humanity, diversity and people of all walks of life.”

Books Grow Minds

“The subway leads the reader on a journey of the heart, experiencing each new arrival with their story and thus their humanity. Poetic and powerful, this book has led me on not only a journey through Seoul but the experience of moments in the day and a connection to each rider.”

Jesica Sweedler-DeHart

“Having lived in South Korea for a couple years I am so happy to read this beautiful celebration of the small moments that happen everyday all around us in the most mundane yet fantastic of places.”

bookseller at Kismet Books Ryan Kimmett

“In this beautiful and unusual book, first-person narration by a subway tells us all about the regulars who ride its cars in busy Seoul each day. The free-verse passages by the empathetic transportation system have a rhythmic style that recalls the rocking of the cars. Meanwhile, its regular riders each get a short passage to tell their own stories… This book perfectly encapsulates the wonder of crowds; how what looks like a seething mass (on what we learn is one of the world’s largest underground systems), is made up of individuals with unique and touching stories.”

Youth Services Book Review starred review - Susan Harari

“A bestselling Korean picture book is translated to bring this entrancing tale of “the unique lives of strangers you might never meet again” to a new audience. Told from the perspective of the Seoul subway, the story peels back layers on the people who board, reminding us that everyone we encounter has a story we don’t know. Bewitching.”

Foreword starred review

★ 2021-06-02
A mass-transit vehicle conveys the life of a metropolis from dawn to dusk.

In this picture book, a subway train shares intimate stories while ferrying passengers around Seoul. Its mechanical, rhythmic, motion—“ba-dum, ba-dum”—echoes the city’s heartbeat, pulsating through a collective memory and quotidian history. Together, readers encounter myriad travelers and glimpse individual lives: Mr. Wanju rushing to and from work, yearning to be with his daughter; Granny returning from the sea with the morning’s catch to “cook a feast for [her] girls”; Lee Do-young, 29, jobless, “not sure what’s next.” Watercolor washes establish figures and shapes at once suggestive and formalistic; artful lines and gradations detail features, facial expressions, and hairstyles, defining unique human beings amid a sea of anonymity. Jung Yu-seon—former “cry-baby, sleepy-head, scaredy-cat”—whirls between household chores and child care, maintaining a frenetic pace from which she takes respite in the subway’s “embrace.” As a witness, this anthropomorphized vehicle poetically parallels the cobbler Mr. Jae-sung, because they both can “tell so much about a person just from looking at their shoes” and “guess the paths they might have walked.” Reflective observations, along with the circuitous route, create dynamic tension against the train’s linear trajectory and the passage of time, prompting readers to pause—and perhaps ponder the fleeting encounters with “strangers you might never meet again.”

A contemplative, poignant rendering of everyday journeys. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews