The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

• Title: The Name Jar
• Author: Yangsook Choi
• Publishing: Dragonfly Books, Reprint Edition. Octerber 14th, 2003. 
• Synopsis: This story revolves around the life of a little Korean girl named Unhei. Unhei has just moved from her native Korea to America where she finds herself in a completely different environment in an American school. Unhei is really nervous that her fellow classmates will not like her, so instead of telling her fellow classmates her name, she decides to let her classmates choose her name for her, by putting the names that they would like to  call her in a jar. Her new classmates are fascinated by this new no name girl, and help by filling the jar with name suggestions. While Unhei practices getting accustomed to an American name, one of her fellow classmates discovers her real name and the meaning behind it. On the day of Unhei's name choosing, she is surprised that the name jar is gone and she is encouraged by her fellow classmates to keep her native name and she teaches her fellow classmates how to pronounce it. 
• The language in this book makes the words flow so well and keeps the reader engaged. There is also excellent word choice as well as very good descriptive writing to help paint the picture of the story. 
• I really enjoyed this book and I feel that it addresses an important topic. People come from different backgrounds from all over the world and at times some names you come across may be difficult to say because the originate from a different language. However, everyone has the right to their name and the right to have people respect it. By putting forth effort to understand everyone's names and how to pronounce it, we show respect not only for them as people, but also for their culture. This book does a wonderful job of translating this message for school age children and therefore I think this is an important book for young children to read. 
• While reading this book, I thought of a number of different activities that would go along with it. I thought it would be nice to teach about Korean culture and Korean names. I could have students pick a Korean name out of a hat, research what it means and how to pronounce it, and then have them present it to the class. That way, children can become accustomed to a variety of different names from a different culture. We could also do a lesson about the importance of names and I could have them research their own names and present on their meaning. I found a lesson plan on  the internet that pertains to names that can be found here: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/investigating-names-explore-personal-878.html In addition, I would definitely do a mini lesson on being inclusive of everyone and talk about how that includes knowing how to pronounce everyone's names, not just those you already know. 
• The author Yangsook Choi's website can be found here: http://www.yangsookchoi.com/bio.html
• I also found an excellent book trailer for The Name Jar on YouTube that I would share with my students that can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htuL3YU-Uiw