Overview

Nou loves her family, and she likes the brown house where they live, surrounded by trees with sheltering branches. But the young Hmong American girl’s sense of safety and belonging is shattered after she wakes one day to find a hateful message spray-painted on the family’s mailbox: ""Asians Go Home."" So Nou asks her parents if they can leave. Nou’s question leads her on a journey to discover where each member of her family finds home. For her father, it is in his songs. For her mother, it is in the garden. In a world that doesn’t always welcome her, where can Nou find home? This extraordinary story from author Kao Kalia Yang and illustrator Seo Kim tenderly explores how a young girl navigates racism and ultimately turns to writing, creating a home for herself on the page—and in the world.

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9798765619858

Table of Contents

Reviews

""A resonating, inspiring story that encourages creative resilience and strength.""—Kirkus Reviews

""In this heartrending but hopeful story that celebrates family ties and the imagination, swooping, surreal floral details are set against lovely textured backgrounds, while tilted images and masses of swirls reflect Nou's discombobulation. Still, her sweet spirit and wide dreams overcome all.""—starred, Foreword Reviews ""Visually expressing the story's emotional shifts in digital, largely shadowless illustrations that mimic graphite, pastels, and watercolor, Kim renders tumult in dense scribbles that morph into sketchbook-like renderings as Nou builds a home, and returns to serenity, by drawing and writing.""—Publishers Weekly ""Nou narrates the story, sensitively portraying the child's experiences being treated as an ""outsider.""""—Booklist ""A resonating, inspiring story that encourages creative resilience and strength.""—Kirkus Reviews

""In this heartrending but hopeful story that celebrates family ties and the imagination, swooping, surreal floral details are set against lovely textured backgrounds, while tilted images and masses of swirls reflect Nou's discombobulation. Still, her sweet spirit and wide dreams overcome all.""—starred, Foreword Reviews ""Visually expressing the story's emotional shifts in digital, largely shadowless illustrations that mimic graphite, pastels, and watercolor, Kim renders tumult in dense scribbles that morph into sketchbook-like renderings as Nou builds a home, and returns to serenity, by drawing and writing.""—Publishers Weekly ""A powerful story with beautiful illustrations that not only calls out the hate that is in the world today but also provides a message of hope for those who are in search of a creative outlet to find their proverbial home.""—School Library Journal ""Nou narrates the story, sensitively portraying the child's experiences being treated as an ""outsider.""""—Booklist ""A resonating, inspiring story that encourages creative resilience and strength.""—Kirkus Reviews

""In this heartrending but hopeful story that celebrates family ties and the imagination, swooping, surreal floral details are set against lovely textured backgrounds, while tilted images and masses of swirls reflect Nou's discombobulation. Still, her sweet spirit and wide dreams overcome all.""—starred, Foreword Reviews ""This is a stunning picture book appropriate for any elementary-aged student, as the themes are relatable and appropriate. . . . This book is wonderful, either read aloud or independently. Reviewer Rating: 5""—Children's Literature ""Visually expressing the story's emotional shifts in digital, largely shadowless illustrations that mimic graphite, pastels, and watercolor, Kim renders tumult in dense scribbles that morph into sketchbook-like renderings as Nou builds a home, and returns to serenity, by drawing and writing.""—Publishers Weekly ""A powerful story with beautiful illustrations that not only calls out the hate that is in the world today but also provides a message of hope for those who are in search of a creative outlet to find their proverbial home.""—School Library Journal ""Nou narrates the story, sensitively portraying the child's experiences being treated as an ""outsider.""""—Booklist ""A resonating, inspiring story that encourages creative resilience and strength.""—Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American writer, teacher and public speaker. Born in the refugee camps of Thailand to a family that escaped the genocide of the Secret War in Laos, she came to America at the age six. Yang holds degrees from Carleton College and Columbia University. Her work has won numerous awards and recognition including multiple Minnesota Book Awards, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, an ALA Notable Children's Book Award, the 2023 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Dayton's Literary Peace Prize, and a PEN USA Award in Nonfiction. Seo Kim received her MFA in illustration practice from Maryland Institute College of Art. A South Korean native, she divides her time between Busan and Baltimore. Seo lives with her family in Baltimore, Maryland, where she teaches illustration at Towson University.

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