Download high-resolution image
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00

Danbi Leads the School Parade

Author Anna Kim
Illustrated by Anna Kim
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00
Ebook
On sale Jul 07, 2020 | 40 Pages | 9780451478917
Preschool - 2
Reading Level: Lexile AD490L | Fountas & Pinnell L
An Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book
 
Meet Danbi, the new girl at school!

Danbi is thrilled to start her new school in America. But a bit nervous too, for when she walks into the classroom, everything goes quiet. Everyone stares. Danbi wants to join in the dances and the games, but she doesn't know the rules and just can't get anything right. Luckily, she isn't one to give up. With a spark of imagination, she makes up a new game and leads her classmates on a parade to remember! Danbi Leads the School Parade introduces readers to an irresistible new character. In this first story, she learns to navigate her two cultures and realizes that when you open your world to others, their world opens up to you.
Anna Kim immigrated to the United States from Korea when she was a child, just like Danbi. She grew up doodling around the edges of her notebooks and on any loose scraps of paper she could find. During her years of teaching music to children, she discovered that drawing stories on sticky notes worked magic for kids who couldn't sit still. Danbi Leads the School Parade is her debut. Anna lives in New York City, in a home full of sticky notes.

Educator Guide for Danbi Leads the School Parade

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

  • HONOR | 2021
    Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APLA)-Literature Award
⭐ "Enchanting illustrations dazzle—particularly through the diverse characters’ hair and facial expressions that detail individuals’ unique traits while celebrating the entire cohort. According to the author’s note, the story is inspired by the creator’s own “bicultural identity,” and the endpapers encapsulate an immigrant child’s journey: the poignant departure and the prosaic pleasures of new friends will resonate with readers of all ages.  Imaginative, irreverent, improvisational fun in kindergarten: Danbi shares a burst of “sweet rain,” complete with a rainbow" --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A sweet and helpful book for children who are nervous about moving or starting a new school—or any big change." --School Library Journal

"The expressive illustrations and the joyful onomatopoeia of the text make this an enjoyable read-aloud and especially reassuring for a child starting at a new school." --Booklist

“Charming illustrations tell the tale of a young Korean immigrant child’s first day of school, from tragedy to triumph. And what kid reading this book wouldn’t identify with Danbi when she thinks, with utter misery, “But nobody would play with me”? Did I already say it was charming? I did, but it bears repeating. Charming, charming, charming” --Betsy Bird, author and creator of the blog A Fuse #8 Production  

“Funny, warmhearted, generous. Energetic and delicate at the same time. (I am) urging everyone I know to buy Danbi [Leads the School Parade]. Danbi will light up the bookshelves of any home.” --Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal-winning author of A Single Shard

 
 
 

Danbi Leads the School Parade - Read Aloud Picture Book | Brightly Storytime

About

An Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book
 
Meet Danbi, the new girl at school!

Danbi is thrilled to start her new school in America. But a bit nervous too, for when she walks into the classroom, everything goes quiet. Everyone stares. Danbi wants to join in the dances and the games, but she doesn't know the rules and just can't get anything right. Luckily, she isn't one to give up. With a spark of imagination, she makes up a new game and leads her classmates on a parade to remember! Danbi Leads the School Parade introduces readers to an irresistible new character. In this first story, she learns to navigate her two cultures and realizes that when you open your world to others, their world opens up to you.

Author

Anna Kim immigrated to the United States from Korea when she was a child, just like Danbi. She grew up doodling around the edges of her notebooks and on any loose scraps of paper she could find. During her years of teaching music to children, she discovered that drawing stories on sticky notes worked magic for kids who couldn't sit still. Danbi Leads the School Parade is her debut. Anna lives in New York City, in a home full of sticky notes.

Guides

Educator Guide for Danbi Leads the School Parade

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Awards

  • HONOR | 2021
    Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APLA)-Literature Award

Praise

⭐ "Enchanting illustrations dazzle—particularly through the diverse characters’ hair and facial expressions that detail individuals’ unique traits while celebrating the entire cohort. According to the author’s note, the story is inspired by the creator’s own “bicultural identity,” and the endpapers encapsulate an immigrant child’s journey: the poignant departure and the prosaic pleasures of new friends will resonate with readers of all ages.  Imaginative, irreverent, improvisational fun in kindergarten: Danbi shares a burst of “sweet rain,” complete with a rainbow" --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A sweet and helpful book for children who are nervous about moving or starting a new school—or any big change." --School Library Journal

"The expressive illustrations and the joyful onomatopoeia of the text make this an enjoyable read-aloud and especially reassuring for a child starting at a new school." --Booklist

“Charming illustrations tell the tale of a young Korean immigrant child’s first day of school, from tragedy to triumph. And what kid reading this book wouldn’t identify with Danbi when she thinks, with utter misery, “But nobody would play with me”? Did I already say it was charming? I did, but it bears repeating. Charming, charming, charming” --Betsy Bird, author and creator of the blog A Fuse #8 Production  

“Funny, warmhearted, generous. Energetic and delicate at the same time. (I am) urging everyone I know to buy Danbi [Leads the School Parade]. Danbi will light up the bookshelves of any home.” --Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal-winning author of A Single Shard

 
 
 

Media

Danbi Leads the School Parade - Read Aloud Picture Book | Brightly Storytime

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more