Read fun traditional tales and contemporary stories, fiction and non-fiction children’s books about Korea.

Story of a greedy tiger and thousand year old fox, family makes a favorite Korean dish bibimbap, with recipe, easy reader about living in South Korea today, women deep divers in the ocean, novel of 12th century celadon pottery, Korean sports, food, dance and music, festivals, crafts to make.

 

• Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim.
• Irresistible story about a brother and sister, mysterious tracks leading into the forest, a clever rabbit, friendly cookie-eating goblins, a greedy tiger who cheats at rock, paper, scissors, and thousand year old fox with nine tails. (Picture book)
• Bee-Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park, Ho Baek Lee.
• A little girl helps her mother shop for ingredients for bee-bim bop. Back home, mom stir fries egg pancakes, puts rice on to cook, chops and cooks scallions, carrots, spinach and sprouts, thin slices of beef. The girl rushes to set the table, and everyone sits down to eat, from baby, to mom and dad, and grandmother. In the bowl rice, meat, vegetables are neatly arranged, with egg on top – then “Mix it! Mix like crazy!”
• Bee-bim bop (bibimbap) is a favorite Korean meal of meat, rice and vegetables mixed together. Delightful story, and recipe to make bibimbap at home.
• Korean Children’s Favorite Stories by Kim So-Un, Keong Kyoung-Sim.
• Enchanting collection of Korean folk tales – an old woman tricks a bad tiger and tosses it into the sea, a boy called Talltree, whose father is a tree, three magic pumpkins with carpenters, farmhands, silver and gold inside, a toad fights a deadly snake, student saves a village from a deadly tiger, a warrior rescues three princesses from an ogre. Thirteen traditional stories illustrated in a charming folk art style (the tigers are stellar). (Chapter book)
• A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.
• Twelfth century Korea, Ch’ulp’o is a village of potters, and Min is the most famous. An orphan, Tree-ear, yearns to make the delicate gray-green celadon ware. Tree-ear watches Min at work, and finally asks to work for him, chopping wood, digging and draining clay. Carrying two of Min’s precious vases to the king’s emissary, Tree-ear is beset by robbers, the vases broken, only a single shard is left. (Chapter book)
• No Kimchi for Me! by Aram Kim.
• Little Yoomi doesn’t like smelly, spicy kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of fermented vegetables. Her brothers tease her, but Grandma has a plan – kimchi pancakes (and there’s a recipe for kimchi pancakes). Delightful story that celebrates family and food. (Picture book)
• Living In … South Korea by Chloe Perkins, Tom Woolley.
• Kids can read for themselves about South Korea, home to fifty million people. Spend the day with Min-jun, meet his family, go to school, find out about cities and landscape, learn about the history of South Korea, do tae kwan do and eat typical South Korean food (kimchi bokum bap). (Easy reader)
• The Ocean Calls – A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho, Jess X. Snow.
• Dayeon wants to be like her grandmother, a haenyeo. Together they put on a diving suit, flippers, mask, Grandma also puts on a lead belt. Once in the water they swim like mermaids. Grandma, holding her breath for minutes, dives down and brings up a sea urchin. Daeyon jumps in the water, but she’s afraid, until she remembers her grandmother’s voice.
• “The ocean is your home. Know the sea and find its gifts.”
• Haenyeo are Korean women who dive deep into the ocean to catch abalone, sea urchins and other shellfish to sell. This is an old tradition continued to this day. (Picture book)
• All About Korea: Stories, Songs, Crafts and More by Ann Martin Bowler, Soosoonam Barg.
• Get to know the people, history, and culture of Korea – geography (it’s mountainous), family traditions and customs, folk tales, religions, games, sports, food, dance and music, festivals, plus stories, songs, crafts to make. (Illustrated chapter book)