Published by Holiday House
Summary: Yoomi is a dedicated taekwondo student looking forward to earning her yellow belt. On the day of the test, she and the other white belt kids kick and punch with no problem. When it comes to breaking a board, though, Yoomi is afraid of getting hurt and stops just short of the board. Her teacher assures her she can try again, but Yoomi becomes so anxious about not being able to break the board that she stops going to class. Her grandmother doesn’t try to force her to go but tells Yoomi that she is going to stop trying to learn how to use the computer to call her sister in Korea. Yoomi encourages her to keep trying, and eventually Grandma succeeds. Yoomi gets the point and returns to class the next day, where she finally breaks the board and gets her yellow belt. Includes additional information about taekwondo. 40 pages; ages 4-8.
Pros: This story of persistence is populated with adorable animals. Grandma wisely shows rather than tells, and Yoomi shows courage in continuing to try something that is difficult for her.
Cons: Master Cho is a scarily large rabbit…approximately the same size as one of the adult judges, a tiger, yet the mouse adult judge fits into the palm of the tiger’s hand (paw).
May 3, 2022 at 04:11PM Janet Dawson