April 17, 2013

Bee Bim Bop! – Building a Multi-Ethnic Children’s Library

Bee-Bim Bop! is so cute. The rhymes are fun and rhytmic, and Ho Baek Lee’s illustrations are sweet and playful.

The book tells the story of a child and mother preparing bee-bim bop, or bibim bop a Korean dish of rice and toppings. At the end of the book Park includes a recipe for bee-bim bop with the instructions broken down for what a child can do and what the adult should do. This would be an excellent book to include in a unit on food or cooking. I recommend Bee-Bim Bop! for home or classroom libraries.

I’ve read two other books by Linda Sue Park, Archer’s Quest and A Single Shard (Newbery Medal Book); but Bee-Bim Bop! is Park’s first picture book that I have read, and after visiting her web page I realize I have a lot of catching up to do, she has at least fifteen other books that I have not read yet ( a mix of novels and picture books). Archer’s Quest tells the story of a young Korean American boy in America who meets an ancient Korean leader. A Single Shard tells the story of an orphan in 12th Century Korea who desperately wants to learn pottery.