K is for Korea by Kyechong Cheung and Prodeepta Das

     Cheung, H., & Das, P. (2008). K is for Korea. London: Frances Lincoln Children's.

       

The web site Once Upon a Bookshelf,  <http://onceuponabookshelf.com/?page_id=797>, features picture books about Korea to include nonfiction books, story books and folk tales.  There is a pair book for numbers: Count your Way through Korea, by James Haskins and illustrated by Dennis Hockerman,  which introduces the numbers one through ten in words, Korean customs and sites. 

The author Hyechong Chung has a Master’s degree in the psychology of education from Sookmyeng Women’s Univerrsity.  She now lives and teaches in England at the North London Korean School.  K is for Korea is the only book published by this author. The author dedicates the book to her family in the United Kingdom and to her mother.

The artist Prodeepta Das has a series of alphabet books which he has illustrated: Bangladesh, Russia, Jamaica, Turkey, Poland, India, and more. 

This series of picture books is a great way to introduce children to photographs with unique images representing letters of the alphabet.  Children are exposed to a variety of faces, objects, and scenes which help them understand the range of human life in different cultures and places. 

The book introduces the division between South Korea and North Korea with maps of the territory.  The note from the author introduces the pride of the author in her country and shows where Seoul is on the map of South Korea.

A variety of concepts are introduced: music, dance, festivals, national treasures, birds and traditional dress, statues, markets, fields, street signs, and much more.  The photographs are beautiful and eye-catching.  

The letters on each page include the upper case letter next to the lower case letter so that children can practice their letters as they say the words represented by the photographs. 

Activities:

1. Have the children choose five letters and find the picture representing        that letter.

2.  Have the children look at the map of Korea and find Seoul and other             cities on the map. 

3.  Have the children take cut-outs of the letters and place them on the             correct pages, repeating the sounds of the letters as they place them. 

Comprehension Questions:

1. What colors are the fans on the page with the fan dance photograph?

2.  What is the national bird of Korea?

3.  How do the children in Korea practice their letters?

4.  Which is your favorite picture in this alphabet book? 

5.  What are some of the same foods both Koreans and Americans like to         eat?