September 1, 2021
Gr 2-4-Olive Sun-Hee Oh, an energetic Korean American third grader at Lakeview Elementary in Los Angeles, loves art and her family. When her teacher Mrs. Bramble announces an art show, Olive's whole class is excited. Olive is confident in her talent and offers to help her best friend Marcus. As she sees other students' ideas, however, she becomes riddled with uncertainty about her own project and ability. Despite her grandmother Halmoni's attempts to ease her fears, Olive becomes more nervous as time passes. But her older siblings work with her to help her overcome her artist's block. The themes of family and following your dream can be a little heavy-handed at times; however, references to sibling tiffs and reconciliations will surely resonate. Likable Olive is well written, as is Halmoni. Readers are sure to enjoy glimpses of South Korean customs, vocabulary, and food. Bartel's illustrations add dimension to the plot, and discussion questions are available on back pages. Youngsters who enjoy Monica Brown's "Lola Levine" and Zanib Mian's "Planet Omar" series will like this title, too. VERDICT A sweet story of family, friendship, and daring to dream. Kim's story of a dedicated artist is sure to ring true with children with similar aspirations.-Elena Schuck, Mattacheese M.S., Marstons Mills, MA
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2021
This young artist is in desperate need of inspiration. Olive Oh is the youngest in her family. She is bubbly and a bit messy, and she overflows with creativity, which she believes comes from her lucky red beret made by her grandmother. Her days are eventful as she brainstorms innovative strategies to share with her older brother, sister, mother, and grandmother. (Her father passed away when she was a baby.) When her teacher announces a schoolwide art show, Olive is excited at her chance to prove she's a real artist. However, her lack of ideas, even with the help of her red beret, for the theme "Portraits" grows concerning, especially when her supposedly nonartistic best friend, Marcus Wong, comes up with one before her. As the rest of her peers move forward with their own submissions, Olive starts to question her inspirations and artistic abilities. Eventually some introspection helps her find clarity. Illustrator Bartel provides bold black-and-white cartoons with pops of color that are interspersed throughout the text. Kim touches on themes of identity and family--hers is Korean American, while Marcus' is Chinese American--while writing characters with plenty of spark and embedding cultural terms within her evenly paced narrative. Readers will be amused as those around Olive are unwittingly drawn into her well-meaning messes. Sequel Olive Oh Saves Saturday publishes simultaneously. Olive carries this chapter-book series opener with plenty of spunk and heart. (discussion questions) (Fiction. 6-9)
COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
October 1, 2021
Grades 2-4 Ten chapters tell the story of third-grade Korean American girl Olive Sun-Hee Oh and her dream of becoming a professional artist. Olive lives with her widowed mother, her grandmother, and two older siblings, brother Ray and sister Shelly. Through large print and a first-person voice, Olive describes her joy in finding that her school will be having an art show, where all the students get to create a piece of art for display. Though she believes she is artistic--especially when she wears the bright red beret her grandmother knitted for her--Olive has trouble figuring out what she wants to enter in the show: a sculpture, watercolor, photograph, or something else? As the child hears and sees what other students are making, she remains uninspired and begins to doubt her creative abilities. With the encouragement of her best friend and her family, Olive settles on a project and her high spirits return. Full-page black-and-white illustrations with touches of red interspersed throughout the text, adding interest to this chapter book on self-confidence and creativity.
COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.