Choi, Yangsook. The Name Jar. Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. Reprint of 2001 copyrighted book. Unpaged. $17.99. 978-0-375-80613-1. Grades K-5. 

Unhei is new to America from Korea, and she’s worried, mostly about kids mispronouncing her name. When her teacher introduces her to the class, she decides to wait and possibly choose a different name. “I haven’t picked one yet, but I’ll let you know by next week.” That night, her mother tells her how they chose her name, and that it means Grace. Unhei tries new names at home, but none of them sound right for her. At school the next day, she finds a jar on her desk with pieces of paper in it. Each piece of paper has a name suggested by her classmates: Daisy, Tamela, etc.  When classmate Joey presses her, “Don’t you have any name?” Unhei decides to show him her name using the wooden block ink stamp given to her by her grandmother. Joey thinks it’s beautiful, and they walk to the school bus together. That night, Unhei receives a letter from her Grandma, and she sees Joey at the Korean grocery. The next day at school, the name jar is missing. Unhei and her classmates search but do not find it. Then Joey approaches her at the end of the day to say he took the name jar because he wanted her to keep her own name. Also, the grocery store owner, Mr. Kim, has given Joey a name stamp like Unhei’s; this stamp spells, “friend,” and Unhei and Joey realize that they are friends.   

THOUGHTS: This is a very kind way to show friendship arising from self-acceptance and acceptance of others. Unhei learns courage in herself and her cultural background.  

Picture Book          Melissa Scott, Shenango Area SD