Ann Martin Bowler, illustrated by Soosoonam Bary,
All About Korea: Stories, Songs, Crafts and More
Tuttle, 2011.

Ages 9-12

All About Korea is a rich trove of activities and information about Korea, compiled by author Ann Martin Bowler both from her own experience as mother to two Korean-born children and from her careful research. In fifteen chapters, appealingly illustrated by Soosoonam Bary, Bowler presents history, games, folktales, some basic Korean language, songs, recipes, and information about holidays, arts and crafts, architecture, and values. A recurrent theme is the Korean emphasis on education. Korean proverbs are scattered through the book. A basic explanation of why the two Koreas are separated is presented, after which the book focuses on South Korea.

Bowler shows an educator’s appreciation of the tone that makes cultural studies attractive to middle grade children, referring to Korean children as kids, for example, while not glossing over the importance of respect for elders and table manners. Children are cautioned to ask grownups for help with certain projects, like those using a knife, but otherwise they are addressed as if they are studying and doing the activities in All About Korea on their own. That seems a less likely scenario, however, than that the book will be a helpful resource for enterprising teachers and parents interested in providing children with hands-on experiences that bring the Korean people and culture alive and augment other educational materials about the country.

Soosoonam Bary’s deft touch with a paintbrush adds tremendously to the appeal of All About Korea. She provides useful illustrations of Bowler’s instructions for making kites and masks as well as lively, stereotype-breaking depictions of modern Korean children in their turtlenecks and anoraks. Her large illustrations of the gentle tigers and disobedient frogs in Korean folk tales; the imposing mountain setting of the great city of Seoul, with its high rises and grand temple complexes; and the interiors of both traditional and contemporary Korean homes are particularly compelling. Bary’s soft lines and delicate colors provide a warm, gentle cohesion to Bowler’s potpourri of details and ideas.

In addition to use in the classroom, the many Korean-American parents and adoptive parents of Korean-born children will be gratified and assisted by Bowler and Bary’s book in instilling in their bicultural children a sense of pride and respect for the Korean people and their country.

Charlotte Richardson
May 2011