Yoko writes her name perfectly - in Japanese. Her classmates Sylvia and Olive call it "scribbling" and say she won't graduate from kindergarten. Yoko's classmate Angelo, however, asks Yoko to show him her "secret language" and he helps her with English. The teacher, Mrs. Jenkins, says that Japanese would be the class's second language. Soon, the whole class learns to write their names in Japanese - except Olive and Sylvia, until Yoko helps them. ( )

36 months - my daughter really enjoyed this book. She liked pretending to read the English and Japanese words in the top corners. We have talked a lot about languages as we learn ASL and A little bit of French so books that talk about languages further enhance the understanding. ( )

I really loved this book! I loved it for many reasons. The first of which being the pastel-like illustrations. Unlike many of the books I have read lately, the illustrations in this book were more subtle, and less bright/bold. I also loved how this book had a multicultural aspect. At first, I was puzzled as to why the girl's mother said her handwriting was so good, and yet, her classmates thought otherwise. I quickly realized that it was because she was writing in another language. I loved how the teacher decided to make Japanese the class's second language and for everyone to learn to write their name! I really enjoyed this book, and would certainly keep it in my classroom library. ( )

Book for early readers about what literacy really is and means. Yoko is in kindergarten and knows how to write her name in Japanese. Some of the other students don't recognize the Kanji and think she is not smart enough to graduate from her class. They tease Yoko. However, Angelo recognizes that her ability to write in Japanese make her special and together they teach one another English and Japanese.

Great introduction to inclusion and acceptance as well as viewing what you think you know (what is literacy) through another lens. Can be used as a conversation starter about sensitivity and true intelligence. ( )

Yoko Writes Her Name is the story of a young girl (kitten) from Japan who has come to the United States and started going to school. All of the students are learning how to write their name, and Yoko begins to be made fun of because she is "not writing her name, she is just writing signs and symbols!" The teacher eventually realizes that students are making fun of Yoko for the way she writes, so she has Yoko give a lesson to the class on writing in Japanese. The two girls that were making fun of Yoko immediately stop because they are now afraid that they will be unable to write their names in Japanese. ( )