The Name Jar By Yangsook Choi

I recently read The Name Jar, this story is about a Korean girl named Unhei who moves to America and begins at a new school. Unhei's grandmother has given her a wood block with a stamp of her Korean name on it. On the bus many of the kids ask what her name is and she says Unhei but no one can say it correctly. She enters her new classroom and some of the student's immediately ask what her name. She knows everyone will probably have trouble saying her name so just answers by saying she hasn't picked one yet. Her teacher makes a name jar for her and sets it on her desk and many of the students bring names to put in the jar for Unhei to pick from. She goes home and thinks about all the new names she can choose from but none of them fit her. Later when her mother and her visit the Korean Grocery store, Mr. Kim tells Unhei that her names means grace for a gracefully girl. This makes Unhei proud of her name. Unhei decides to keep her names and realizes how special and how no other name can fit her like hers. She tells the class about her name and how to correctly say it. I thought this was a wonderful book to share with new students that might have different names or for children who are having problems liking their names. I think this would be a great book to read parts of and then have your students learn about their names and what the mean. This can help students take ownerships and pride in themselves as well.