The One Thing You'd Save by Linda Sue Park Illustrator: Robert Sae-Heng
Published by Clarion Books on February 14, 2023 (first published 2021)
Source: Purchased
Genres: Childrens, Poetry
Pages: 80
Format: Paperback
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Libro.fm
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In this provocative discussion-starter about what really matters, Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park's linked poems capture the diverse voices of a middle school class answering the question: "If your house were on fire, what one thing would you save?" Recipient of four starred reviews.
"[Park's] message is powerful: We don't need a great blazing tragedy to determine what we hold most precious in our lives; we can define what's vital through our thoughts and memories, always at hand, in our heads and hearts--safe, where the flames don't reach."--New York Times Book Review
When a teacher asks her class what one thing they would save in an emergency, some students know the answer right away. Others come to their decisions more slowly. And some change their minds when they hear their classmates' responses. A lively dialog ignites as the students discover unexpected facets of one another--and themselves.
With her ear for authentic dialog and knowledge of kids' priorities and emotions, Linda Sue Park brings the varied voices of an inclusive classroom to life through carefully honed, engaging, and instantly accessible verse. Elegantly illustrated with black-and-white by Robert Sae-Heng art throughout.
The One Thing You’d Save is written in verse using a Korean form of poetry called sijo. Sijo is an ancient classic form of poetry with three lines of thirteen to seventeen syllables. They can be either 3 long lines or divided into 6 shorter lines. to be honest, though, i wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for the author’s note at the end. It doesn’t read like poetry to me, for what that’s worth.
In the story, A teacher asks her students what one thing they would save if their home was on fire. Your family and pets are safe, so you don’t have to worry about them. We get to hear each student’s choices and the reasons behind them. And the kids talk about their lives and what’s important to know, with the occasional reminder from the teacher to be respectful.
The kids’ voices felt real and honest. And yes, it made me cry.
About Linda Sue Park
Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard and the NY Times bestseller A Long Walk to Water. Her most recent titles are Gracie Under the Waves, a contemporary middle-grade novel about a girl who loves snorkeling, illustrated by Maxine Vee; My Book and Me, a picture book about the joys of books and reading illustrated by the celebrated Caldecott-Medal artist Chris Raschka; and Smiling Eyes, a lively rhyming text picture book illustrated by Lenny Wen, a joyous celebration of eyes, featuring a variety of Asian eye shapes and hues, for a little boy whose ordinary day is filled with the joys and surprises of seeing and being seen.
Linda Sue is the founder and curator of Allida Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. She serves on the advisory boards of We Need Diverse Books and the Rabbit hOle museum project, and created the kiBooka website, www.kibooka.com, to highlight children’s books created by the Korean diaspora.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
That’s a question that gets you thinking, and I still don’t have an answer, though I think I’ll settle on my photo albums.