Juna and Appa

by Jane Park, Jane Bahk, Felicia Hoshino (Illustrator)

From the creators of the award-winning picture book Juna's Jar, comes a new magical tale where Juna embarks on a journey to help her biggest hero--her Appa!

Juna enjoys helping her father in their dry-cleaning shop on Saturdays. It's their special time together.

One day Juna sees a customer yelling at Appa about a lost jacket. Juna has never seen her father look so worried and becomes determined to help. She sets off on a magical journey in search of the jacket, and along the way meets remarkable animals that show her the different ways that fathers care for their young.

Juna and Appa is a tender ode to fathers and to the many families working behind shop counters.

Genres: Picture Books, Asian Literature, Family, Childrens, Parenting, Magical Realism, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2022

About the author

Jane Park (formerly Bahk) won Lee & Low's New Voices Award for Juna's Jar, which was also recognized with the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Literature and as a Notable Book for a Global Society by the International Literacy Association. Juna and Appa was inspired by her memories of growing up in her family's dry-cleaning shop. Park lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of a 3 star read at our household but I'm pushing up to 4 given the great imagination and fun illustrations, as well as conveying experiences that are not common in picture books.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5yo daughter wanted to read this book repeatedly and I happily indulged her. This is the sequel to Juna’s Jar. Both books feature Juna, a young girl who has a vivid imagination that helps her manage very strong emotions. These are very different books but ultimately both about the relationships that are most sacred to us.

This book is powerful and one that I suspect my kids will remember for the rest of their lives. I will also be a birthday gift for my friend’s kids for years to come and I am certain it will bring the same meaning to them.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to Juna's Jar, this offers a peek into immigrant life.

It's Saturday and Juna is helping her father (Appa) at his dry cleaners store. Mr. Parker begins to shout at Appa about his jacket that appears to be lost. When Appa tells her to sit still so he can look, she daydreams of how she can help him find it.

Park's story opens a window into the entrepreneurial life of many immigrants today. The close father-daughter relationship is touching. Backmatter includes a bit more about the creatures that inhabit Juna's daydreams and an author's note about why she wrote this story.

Illustrations by Felicia Hoshino were rendered in watercolor are delicate and colorful, full of details of things that might be seen in/about a dry cleaning store. Juna is a very appealing little girl with a vivid imagination!

This would be great to use for discussions about immigrants and their value to the community, family stories, and as a mirror/window for others.

Recommended for grades K-3.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A girl tries her father’s patience behind the counter of the family dry-cleaning shop as she helps him search for a customer’s missing jacket. His anger drives her deep into an imaginal realm where she asks the “fathers” of three animal species—a rhea, a water bug, and a Darwin’s frog—to assist with her search, only to find that her own father’s love makes her feel warmer, safer, and more fearless than these creatures. I should hope so! The magical realism in this tale stretches the narrative thread to the point of absurdity, but that’s the world of a 5-year-old. Watercolor illustrations seem a little washed out but include a lot of detail, particularly the depictions of Juna’s imaginary animal and insect friends.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high-quality children's picture book that has much to offer: a multi-dimensional story and beautiful, appealing illustrations whose many details will absorb children's interests. The story combines the daily work day of a little girl with her father and pairs with the girl's fantasy daydreams involving animals whose fathers raise and care for them. The girl and her dad are Korean-American, and a few Korean words are worked in contextually to the story. The animals are most unusual, including fathers who virtually give birth and raise their young. The illustrations are soft and inviting with many details.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming. Juna spends a lot of time with Appa in their drycleaning shop, and it's clear that she has a magical relationship with what someone else might consider the mundane realities of the business. But even on a bad day, when Appa has made a mistake with a customer's order and is clearly very stressed, Juna finds magic at the family business.

I loved how Appa struggled to be both business owner and parent, but then tried to make things right with his daughter after he was short with her and everything ended on a positive note. It was a great example of how parents(grownups) can not only make mistakes in their adult life, but with young people as well.

[Jenny Lacika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely follow up to Juna's Jar, that revisits the magical elements and the multicultural setting that make the first book so charming and unique. This book works well on its own, however, exploring the bond between a father and a child, and acknowledging that there are many different ways to show love. The animals highlighted in the text are not ones you see often in children's books, and there is a bit more info about each in the back matter. The setting of a dry cleaning shop is also unique, and having this peek into the tools of the trade and how Juna interacts with them is wonderful.

[Teresa Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t help but think that the author had tried-and-true lived experiences of being an immigrant because it read like a script from my own childhood. In my case, my Appa was a small business owner of a printing shop, and he faced many of the same challenges described here. Like Juna, I would often daydream about the ways in which I could help my Appa deal with the day-to-day operations of the shop and with rude customers. While I might have initially read the book through the lens of my kids, I have a flood of memories running through my mind as an adult!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Juna is at her dads drycleaners shop helping him. One day a customer comes in looking for his lost jacket. While Appa is looking for the jacket, Juna is trying to help him. She ends up going on a bunch of adventures meeting different parent from the animal kingdom to try and help her dad find the jacket.

Comments: I loved the theme of the book being tha different parents show their love in different ways but using animals to explain it.

App: I would love to have this in my class, maybe use it for a Fathers Day project.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written based on the author's childhood experience of helping and playing in their parent's shop. I love how it mixes imagination with reality, how kids often do. The author's note in the back says"...My hope is that this book provides a mirror for the many kids growing up in their family's shops. For others, it may be a window to get to know the people working behind the shop counters and their kids, who also see their parents as their heroes."

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many sweet layers to this book - father/daughter relationship, helping out at the family business, unique animal fathers (I learned a lot as well!), and some Korean phrases worked in. My favorite aspect is actually what some other reviewers didn't like - I absolutely loved the theme that both kids and adults make mistakes, we try our best to resolve them, but sometimes there isn't clear resolution.
Grateful for the Champaign Public Library for recommending this read!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So similar to Juna's Jar but without the same charm. It's been a lot of years since the first book and this one didn't live up to the level of that one, in my opinion. I did like the relationship between Juna and her father. The "conflict" of the missing jacket was not necessary to the story, and the fact that this wasn't resolved was frustrating.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet father and daughter story where Juna tries to help her dad find a lost jacket belonging to a customer of their dry-cleaning shop. She imagines meeting other creatures in the animal kingdom who have the father figure taking care of their offspring. Includes some info on these creatures at the back of the book.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl explores her father's dry cleaning shop and imagines larger worlds within it while trying to (and not being sure how to) help with a problem her father is having.

The problem the father is having is not resolved in the book, but the anxiety between Juna and her father that results from it is resolved.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Rebecca Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

While her father looks for a lost coat in the dry cleaning store, Juna daydreams of ways to help him, but in the end, they end up going back to their routine.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story about a girl spending time with her father at their family dry cleaners and the power of imagination. I appreciated how the problem wasn’t solved at the end; felt authentic.

[Ashley Moser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, not my favorite. I like the idea of the daughter hanging out in the dad’s shop, but her little dreamscapes were confusing and made the story choppy.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like the story was a little unresolved.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few layers here. Including a white man being the one to complain about the lost jacket (which is never resolved). I can’t get past the giant bug and am still very unhappy about it.