Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Children’s picture books

DANBI LEADS THE SCHOOL PARADE

Anna Kim

Meet Danbi, the new girl at school!

Danbi is thrilled to start at her new school in a new country. But a bit nervous too, for when she walks into the classroom, everything goes quiet. Everyone stares. Danbi wants to join in the dances and the games, but she doesn't know the rules and just can't get anything right. Luckily, she isn't one to give up. With a spark of imagination, she makes up a new game and leads her classmates on a parade to remember! Danbi Leads the School Parade introduces readers to an irresistible new character. In this first story, she learns to navigate her two cultures and realizes that when you open your world to others, their world opens up to you.

Key Selling Points
#OWNVOICES: Anna Kim is a debut author-illustrator and Korean immigrant who has created an original immigration story.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL PROMOTION: This back-to-school story will stand out from the competition with its immigration theme.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: The themes of appreciation and acceptance of new cultures resonate as Danbi makes new friends and introduces them to her world.
RISING STAR: Viking won the project in a competitive 10-house auction and signed up a second book from the author.
IMAGINATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS: The art is sweet and playful, reminiscent of Marla Frazee, taking readers on a colorful, wild journey.
Series Overview: An original first day of school story about a young Korean girl navigating two cultures.

Anna Kim immigrated to the United States from Korea when she was a child, just like Danbi. She grew up doodling around the edges of her notebooks and on any loose scraps of paper she could find. During her years of teaching music to children, she discovered that drawing stories on sticky notes worked magic for kids who couldn't sit still. Danbi Leads the School Parade is her debut. Anna lives in New York City, in a home full of sticky notes.

Available products
Book Published 2020-07-07 by Viking Children’s Books

Comments

Introducing an ingenuous girl who has just moved from South Korea to the U.S. with her parents, Kim's debut radiates positivity, inclusivity, and hope... South Koreanborn Kim (who, like her heroine, emigrated to the U.S. as a child) offers upbeat illustrations of the children in action, which magnify the story's high spirits - and Danbi's triumph.

A sweet and helpful book for children who are nervous about moving or starting a new school - or any big change.

Funny, warmhearted, generous. Energetic and delicate at the same time. (I am) urging everyone I know to buy Danbi [Leads the School Parade]. Danbi will light up the bookshelves of any home.

Danbi's new kid problems aren't necessarily specific to the immigration experience, but plenty of viewers who have found themselves in a new country will understand the cultural connection to food and identity, and it's refreshing that Danbi's classmates find joy in celebrating her culture rather than her assimilation.

The expressive illustrations and the joyful onomatopoeia of the text make this an enjoyable read-aloud and especially reassuring for a child starting at a new school.

Food, dance, and music combine for magic that transcends language barriers... Enchanting illustrations dazzle... and the endpapers encapsulate an immigrant child's journey: the poignant departure and the prosaic pleasures of new friends will resonate with readers of all ages. Imaginative, irreverent, improvisational fun in kindergarten.

Charming illustrations tell the tale of a young Korean immigrant child's first day of school, from tragedy to triumph. And what kid reading this book wouldn't identify with Danbi when she thinks, with utter misery, "But nobody would play with me"? Did I already say it was charming? I did, but it bears repeating. Charming, charming, charming.