My Name Is Yoon
Yoon’s substitute words make her resistance visible while preserving the cultural meaning of a name translated as shining wisdom.
My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvits is estimated to take about 10 minutes to read aloud (890 words, 1 sentence a spread). Best for ages 4-6.
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- Estimated read-aloud time
- about 10 minutesEstimated read-aloud time
- Words
- 890Word count
- Sentences per spread
- 1Text density
- Re-read tolerance
- 3/5holds up
- Vocabulary level
- 3/5a few new words
- Best for
- Ages 4-6Age range
Our review
Newly arrived Yoon dislikes how her Korean name looks in English and writes “cat,” “bird,” and “cupcake” instead. Her experiments show both resistance and imagination until the teacher’s welcome helps the English letters begin to feel like her own name.
Invite correct pronunciation without asking a child to simplify or replace their name. Your Name Is a Song uses rhythm to answer repeated school mispronunciation; My Name Is Yoon stays closer to migration, a new alphabet, and the child’s ambivalence about belonging.
Before you buy it
The eventual comfort is gentle, but children adapting to a new language may not resolve name loss as quickly.
Themes
- names
- Korean families
- moving countries
- school
- writing
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