Sarang Saves the School

In an uplifting authorial picture book debut, Di Roma Howley introduces a spirited protagonist whose innovative idea helps forestall the closing of the school in her seaside South Korean village. One of just three students, Sarang enjoys the positives of few classmates, including “time for questions both big and small” and short lunch lines. But when it seems that the school must close due to declining enrollment, she tells her worries to her grandmother, Halmeoni, who recalls longing to attend classes as a child but having to work and care for family, instead—a recollection that sparks Sarang to thoughtful, and mutually beneficial, action that keeps the school going. Oh’s carefully lit digital illustrations emphasize Sarang’s sunny optimism, and fond intergenerational interactions depict shared learning and wisdom at every age. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–7. (July)