This book would work well for Primary ages because of the emphasis on spelling and begins to touch on difficult topics like immigration. This book is about a young girl named Yoon who doesn't like the way her name looks in English and is having trouble adjusting to life in America. This book could be used to discuss more difficult topics such as immigration. It can also be used in the classroom as a way to make Asian American students feel noticed and appreciated.

Yoon's name means shining wisdom, and when she writes it in Korean, it looks happy, like dancing figures. But her father tells her that she must learn to write it in English. In English, all the lines and circles stand alone, which is just how Yoon feels in the United States. Yoon isn't sure that she wants to be YOON. At her new school, she tries out different names--maybe CAT or BIRD. Maybe CUPCAKE!

Helen Recorvits's spare and inspiring story about a little girl finding her place in a new country is given luminous pictures filled with surprising vistas and dreamscapes by Gabi Swiatkowska.

My Name Is Yoon is a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year.

This is a story about a young Korean girl coming to America and learning to accept herself and find a new joy within her new school and while learning a new language. As she learns new words, she tries them on. Cat, bird, cupcake, and then embraces herself as Yoon. It would be a very good resource for children who are struggling to find themselves and their place in the world and to help other children welcome those children as well.

Goodreads Review:
Yoon's name means Shining Wisdom, and when she writes it in Korean, it looks happy, like dancing figures. But her father tells her that she must learn to write it in English. In English, all the lines and circles stand alone, which is just how Yoon feels in the United States. Yoon isn't sure that she wants to be YOON. At her new school, she tries out different names – maybe CAT or BIRD. Maybe CUPCAKE!

Helen Recorvits's spare and inspiring story about a little girl finding her place in a new country is given luminous pictures filled with surprising vistas and dreamscapes by Gabi Swiatkowska.

My Name Is Yoon is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

"An unhappy young immigrant seeks, and at last regains, a sense of self in this atmospheric, expressionistically illustrated episode. Instead of writing her own name on her papers at school, Yoon calls herself “Cat,” then “Bird”—“I wanted to be BIRD. I wanted to fly, fly back to Korea”—and even, after a classmate’s friendly culinary overture, “Cupcake.” Ultimately, she finds her balance again: “I write my name in English now. It still means Shining Wisdom.” Swiatkowska internalizes Yoon’s adjustment, both by depicting her escape fantasies literally, and by placing figures against expanses of wall that are either empty of decoration, or contain windows opening onto distant, elaborate landscapes. Reminiscent of Allen Say’s work for its tone, theme, and neatly drafted, often metaphorical art, this strongly communicates Yoon’s feelings in words and pictures both. She is also surrounded by supportive adults, and her cultural heritage, though specified, is given such a low profile that she becomes a sort of everychild, with whom many young readers faced with a similar sense of displacement will identify. (Picture book. 8-10)" www.kirkusreviews.com