Publisher: Random House Children's Book
Honors and Awards:
John Newbery Medal (2021)
Book Summary:
This book was written by Tae Keller, and won the Newberry Award. It is a fantasy based on a young girl called Lily and her grandmother, Halmoni. Halmoni is full of Asian wisdom and possesses healing powers, that she shares within her White community. As Halmoni ages, Lily, her mom, and sister Sam move in with Halmoni to be close with her and this is where the magical tiger becomes visible to Lily. Her grandmother has bottled up many stories of sadness over the years, and Lily elicits the help of the magical tiger to free her grandmother from the past. This book's theme is based on magical realism incorporating family, heritage, folklore, myth and grief.
Reading Level:
Lexile Measure: 590L
Guided Reading Level: V
Page count: 304
Vocabulary
Instinctive - apparently unconscious or automatic.
Squelch - making a soft sucking sound, like walking heavily through mud.
Stereotype - a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of an idea or thing.
Auspicious - success, and favorable.
Elaborate - involving many carefully arranged parts or details.
Prognosis - a forecast of the likely outcome of a situation.
Canopy - an ornamental cloth covering hung or held up over something, such as a bed or a throne.
Resources to Support Text
Building / activating schema
Read article about Tigers' place in Korean Folktales
Lesson Activity
Lily, her mother, and her sister move to Washington to take care of Halmoni (which means grandma in Korean). The entire novel is about stories involving Halmoni's past, including the 'stories' Halmoni stole from the tigers; Lily learns that stories can bring up strong emotions and she will do anything to save her halmoni's life.
Create a Flipgrid: answer the following questions by recording yourself expressing your ideas and reflection:
Think about a story the grown-ups around you tell you over and over, and create a Flipgrid recording retelling it or reflecting on why this is important.
Recommended grade level:
3rd - 7th grade
Common Core State Standard
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
Key words or phrases
Magical tiger
Halmoni
QAG - Quiet Asian Girl
Korean Folklore
Shim Cheong, the Devoted Daughter
Korean society
Traditions
Values
Diverse cultures
Before reading activity
Read the article about Korean Folklore on this page. Talk with a classmate either in partners or as a group about the meaning that tigers hold in Korean culture and folklore.
During reading activity
While reading the book, the reader will notice that Lily is often times referred to as a "QAG" - a Quiet Asian Girl. On page 20, Lily calls her a QAG. Write about the ways that is fits into a stereotype. How do you think Lily does or does not fit this label throughout the book?
After reading activity
Create a storyboard that identifies 2 themes from the book, examples of themes provided below. On the storyboard worksheet include the following:
Create 2 images / illustrations for the example that represents the theme, incorporating appropriate scenes, character, and items.
Write a short description of each of the examples
Examples of themes in the book:
Family - Lily moves to Washington with her mother and sister to take care of her Halmoni.
Korean Culture - The theme of Korean culture is frequently mentioned throughout the book.
Storytelling - The novel is based around the stories of Halmoni's past and the stories she stole from the tigers.
Identity - Lily is a quiet girl, and often times feels invisible. She wants to start being more outgoing and brave, and wants to shake off the stereotypical label of QAG, or Quiet Asian Girl.
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