The Very Pink Unicorn

As if being the new kid in class isn't already hard enough, Unhei was afraid that no one would be able to pronounce her name.  After careful consideration, she began a search for her own American name but soon enough her classmates realized that helping her see the special meaning in her own personal name was much more important. The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi shows the difficulties non-American people face when they come to live in the United States of America.  The pictures in the book really give the story life as they carefully express the story through them.  Her classmates helping her to figure out why her own name is unique helps build character and helps to get to know a classmate better as well as helping them with a personal matter.  Many Asian families migrate to the United States where they end up changing their children's names so that they will fit in with American culture.  Li becomes Michael, Chien-Shiung becomes Katie and so on.  ...

The Colors of Us, written and illustrated by Karen Katz, is about a little girl named Lena who wants to paint a self-portrait using brown paint for her skin tone.  The simple statement "brown is brown" leads Lena and her mother to take a stroll down their block to help Lena understand that there are a plethora of browns all around her.  The Color of Us can be defined as a type of memoir picturebook.  It gives an account of someone's personal life while adding pictures for likeness and representation.  The use of every color brown sheds light on the exact meaning of the title as well as providing visual examples for readers who may be just as curious to know why brown is not just brown and what "cinnamon" and "toffy" actually look like. This book allows the reader to fully grasp the concept of how many colors truly surround us all.  Karen Katz shows an exciting and creative way of describing everyday people that we always see to make them ...