By Jeri Watts, Illustrated by Hyewon Yum  ( Candlewick Press – 2016 )

When Hee Jun’s family moves from Korea to West Virginia, he struggles to adjust to his new home, where none of his classmates look like him and he can’t understand anything the teacher says. Little by little Hee Jun begins to learn English and make friends. One day, when he is invited to a friend’s house for the first time, he sees a flower he recognizes from his grandmother’s garden in Korea. He brings a shoot of the flower, Mugunghwa (“Rose of Sharon” in English), to his grandmother, who plants the “piece of home” in their new garden.

韓国からウェストバージニア州に家族と共に移ったHee Junは、新しい生活や学校に慣れるのに大変であった。それでも少しずつ新しい環境を受け入れていった。ある日、初めてクラスメイトに誘われて彼の家を訪ねた時、韓国の祖母の家に植えてあった花と同じ花を見つけた。そのムクゲ(大韓民国の国花)の花を祖母の為に一株もらい、祖母は米国の家の庭に”故郷の思い”を植え込んだ。

By Bernard Waber, Illustrated by Suzy Lee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – 2015)

A father and daughter walk through their neighborhood, brimming with question-such as “What else?” and “How come?”- as they explore their world. With a tenderly written story and glorious illustrations, this book is the ultimate celebration of a child’ curiosity, and of a father and daughter’s deep and abiding love for each other.

父と娘が近所を散策しながら、矢継ぎ早に　”他には？”　や　”どうして？”　の質問を交わす。日常の一こまを素晴らしいイラストによって描いたこの絵本は、子どもの好奇心と、父と娘の強い愛の絆を、心から祝福している。