Chi-Hoon: A Korean Girl

Crisp and colorful photographs highlight this ``up-close and personal'' glimpse of a week in the life of an eight-year-old Korean girl. Kim Chi-hoon lives with her older sister and parents in an island neighborhood of Seoul called Yoido. Through McMahon's narrative and entries in Chi-hoon's diary (which she is required to keep for school), readers are taken on a whirlwind tour of Korean culture. From culinary traditions to day trips in the city to everyday family life, a world both familiar (sibling rivalry; playing tennis; bike riding) and vastly different (tremendous pressure to perform well at school; a lingering belief amongst the older generation that girls are second-best) is revealed. In its zeal to cover as much ground as possible, the book is somewhat text-heavy; nevertheless, the spirited Chi-hoon emerges as a thoroughly sympathetic character. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)