Dear Juno*

Book: Dear Juno *
Author: Soyung Pak
Copyright Date: 1999
Suggested Level: Pre K-Grade 3
Genre: Picture
Summary: A young boy who can not read Seoul and his grandmother who can not read English “write” to each other and communicate through pictures and symbols.
Reaction: This book has such a touching and encouraging meaning. Juno was too impatient to wait for his parents to translate the letter his grandmother sent him but he could tell from her enclosed pictures what she was trying to say and wrote back to her through pictures and objects. His grandmother sent him a box of colored pencils to encourage him to keep “writing” her letters and they communicated back and forth
through symbolism and art. This book portrays communication across distances, geographically and linguistically as well encouraging children to find their own solutions.
Uses: Writing and drawing exercises dealing with symbolism i.e. students can be asked to “write” someone a letter using pictures and objects.