The ocean calls : a haenyeo mermaid story

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Title:

The ocean calls : a haenyeo mermaid story

Author:

Cho, Tina M., author.

Snow, Jess X., illustrator.

Summary:

Wanting to follow in the footsteps of her free-diving haenyeo grandmother, a young Korean girl dutifully consumes her grandmother's strength-building abalone porridge and practices her breath control before suiting up and overcoming fears to make remarkable discoveries.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 x 27 cm

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Divers -- Juvenile fiction.

Grandmothers -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

Korea (South) -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Snow, Jess X.,

Publisher:

Kokila,

Publication Date:

2020

ISBN:

9781984814869

Publication Information:

New York : Kokila, [2020]

Call Number:

P CHO

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003476416	Picture Books	CHO	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A breathtaking picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world.

Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo just like Grandma. The haenyeo dive off the coast of Jeju Island to pluck treasures from the sea--generations of Korean women have done so for centuries. To Dayeon, the haenyeo are as strong and graceful as mermaids. To give her strength, Dayeon eats Grandma's abalone porridge. She practices holding her breath while they do the dishes. And when Grandma suits up for her next dive, Dayeon grabs her suit, flippers, and goggles. A scary memory of the sea keeps Dayeon clinging to the shore, but with Grandma's guidance, Dayeon comes to appreciate the ocean's many gifts.

Tina Cho's The Ocean Calls , with luminous illustrations by muralist Jess X. Snow, is a classic in the making.

Author Notes

Tina Cho teaches at an international school and writes for the children's and educational markets. Though she grew up in Iowa, she now lives in South Korea. In her free time, she enjoys playing her electronic piano, careful not to bother her many neighbors in the high-rise apartment building she lives in with her family.

Jess X. Snow is a queer migrant Asian Canadian artist, filmmaker, and Pushcart-nominated poet based in Brooklyn. They are working to build a future where migrants and people of color see themselves as heroes on the big screen, city walls, and pages of children's books and feel empowered to create their own art. By merging community arts activism, healing practices, and film in their stories, Jess hopes to encourage others to discover sanctuaries inside themselves.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Grandma is part of an island community of haenyeo--South Korean deep-sea divers. She and her fellow divers, all older women, venture without oxygen deep into the ocean to gather abalone, sea urchins, and other treasures. Dayeon, her granddaughter, wants to be a haenyeo ("You're like a treasure-hunting mermaid," she says admiringly), but she's scared. After an earlier attempt at swimming, "water had filled her ears and nose, burned her eyes, and stung her skin." Grandma shows patience and faith as she listens to her granddaughter's anxiety, then responds: "Can't you hear what the waves are saying? They're calling to us to come home." Striking digital artwork by Snow (Black Girl Magic) captures the swirl of the ocean currents, the contrast between the sun's citrus hues and the ocean's blues, and the bounty of sea life. In one spread, Snow shows grandmother and granddaughter heading for the beach as the sun casts shadows behind them that look like mermaid's tails. Sturdy prose by Cho (Rice from Heaven) highlights a segment of Korean society whose women preserve a vibrant tradition of enterprise, stamina, and cooperation, and Grandma shines as a kind of generous real-life superhero. Back matter offers additional information about "Korea's granny mermaids." Ages 5--8. Author's agent: Adria Goetz, Martin Literary Management. Illustrator's agent: Wendi Gu, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Aug.)