By Linda Sue Park
Illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng
Boston: Clarion Books, 2021. Verse fiction. 65 pgs.
Imagine that your house is on fire. Your family and pets are all safe, and you are allowed to save one thing. Your one, most important thing. Any size. What would you save? This is the question that Ms. Chang asks her classroom full of students, and their answers might surprise you. Of the diverse group of students, some kids give funny answers, or sweet answers, or serious answers but all reflect the deep thinking skills of middle grade readers.
This is a quiet and beautiful novel told using a Korean form of poetry called sijo. Charming greyscale illustrations match the deceptively simple verse and work in tandem to prompt deep reflection. There is power in sharing our stories and talking about what matters to us, this book makes this clear.
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