Juna's Jar
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
After Juna's best friend moves away, Juna, an imaginative Korean American girl, goes on magical adventures by way of her special kimchi jar.
Juna and her best friend, Hector, have many adventures together, and they love to collect things in empty kimchi jars. Then one day, Hector moves away without having a chance to say good-bye. Juna is heartbroken and left to wonder who will on go on adventures with her. Determined to find Hector, Juna turns to her special kimchi jar for help each night. She plunges into the depths of the ocean, swings on vines through the jungle, and flies through the night sky in search of her friend. What Juna learns is that adventure -- and new friends -- can be found in the most unexpected places.
Coupled with dreamy watercolor illustrations by Felicia Hoshino, Juna's Jar is a heart-warming and whimsical tale about the power of the imagination.
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Jane Park (formerly Bahk) won Lee & Low's New Voices Award for Juna's Jar, which was also recognized with the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Literature and as a Notable Book for a Global Society by the International Literacy Association. Juna and Appa was inspired by her memories of growing up in her family's dry-cleaning shop. Park lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can visit her online at janeparkbooks.com.
Felicia Hoshino is an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer who also illustrated Lee & Low's Juna's Jar, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, and Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin. In addition to creating mixed-media images for children's books and magazines, she enjoys painting children's portraits, cooking with her husband, and decorating the walls at home with art created by her son and daughter. Hoshino lives in her native San Francisco, California, with her family. You can visit her online at felishino.com.
"Juna is adorable, her facial expressions matching the honest emotion of the text. The role played by the book's title object is compelling as well, and you might want to prepare for a first reading to a child by having a jar of similar size and shape on hand." -- The New York Times
"Bahk's comforting picture-book debut, effortlessly multicultural, sparkles with the promise of imagination and friendship." -- Booklist
"The steady narrative repetition as Juna sleeps and seeks offers a reassuring pattern for children who might be missing their own Hectors. . . Fills a need for those children who find themselves adrift when their closest friends seemingly disappear." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Bahk never loses sight of the very real emotions that drive her pensive, curious, and openhearted heroine." -- Publishers Weekly
"Charming soft watercolor illustrations and a sweet story that tugs at the imagination provide a flight of fancy that youngsters will enjoy hearing again and again. . . Use this title in preschool storytimes or in the classroom to stimulate leaps of imagination." -- School Library Journal
"Debut author Jane Bahk introduces a charming young heroine with an imagination that helps her deal with her best friend leaving the neighborhood. . . Hoshino's playful approach makes clear what's real and what's in Juna's imagination." -- Shelf Awareness
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
Best Multicultural Books - Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature
Grand Canyon Reader Award - Arizona Library Association
Junior Library Guild Selection
New Voices Award Winner - Lee & Low Books
Notable Books for a Global Society - International Literacy Association (ILA)
