FICTION

The Rock in My Throat

by Kao Kalia Yang (text) & illus. by Jiemei Lin
Lerner/Carolrhoda. Mar. 2024. 32p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781728445687.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2-4–Kalia is struggling to learn to speak English and when she sees people being impatient with her mother’s similar struggle, the child decides that she won’t speak either. Her parents want to know why she chooses not to speak, but she can’t verbalize why, even in her home language of Hmong. Her mother says to her in the Hmong, “I don’t know why you don’t speak at school”; the translation is only found at the end of the book. The muted palette and graphic nature of the artwork give a feeling of separation and loneliness to Kalia’s dilemma. The Hmong embroidery on the endpapers adds to a celebration of culture in a lovely lesson on communicating and finding one’s voice.
VERDICT This beautifully illustrated picture book fills a need in any collection on immigrant experiences.
Reviewed by Debbie Tanner , Jun 28, 2024

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