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list price: $9.99
edition:Audiobook
also available: Hardcover eBook
category: Children's Fiction 
published: Apr 2021
ISBN:9781459827936
publisher: Orca Book Publishers

Once Upon an Hour

by Ann Yu-Kyung Choi, illustrated by Soyeon Kim, read by Kirstie Hudson

tagged: asian, date & time, bedtime & dreams
Description

Yu-Rhee, a young Korean girl, wants to know how to tell time using a clock.

Her mother tells her a tale from her childhood based on the traditional Korean practice of timekeeping, where the 12 animals of the zodiac are assigned to 2-hour sections of the 24-hour clock. Told from the point of view of a mountain, the story follows a child as they climb the mountainside in search of a plant to heal their ailing mother. The climb is steep, the path wild and the way difficult. The mountain watches the child struggle and calls on the animals that live on the mountainside to help the child, but as sunlight turns to moonlight, each animal claims to be too busy. Ultimately, Once Upon an Hour is a story about determination and teamwork that shows young readers the importance of helping others.

Orca Book Publishers is pleased to offer Once Upon an Hour in two accessible editions. The audiobook features alternate text descriptions of images, including the cover. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

About the Authors

Ann Yu-Kyung Choi immigrated to Canada from South Korea in 1975. She attended the University of Toronto where she studied English, sociology and education. Her debut novel, Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety (Simon & Schuster), was a 2016 Toronto Book Awards finalist and one of CBC Books’ 12 Best Canadian Debut Novels of 2016. Ann is an educator with the York Region District School Board in Ontario. She lives in Toronto with her family.


Soyeon Kim is a Korean-born artist and educator currently living in Toronto. She is a graduate of the visual arts and education programs at York University and has participated in artist residences at the Hermitage (St. Petersburg, Russia), Spark Box Studios (Picton, Ontario) and the Toronto Public Library. She has illustrated a number of children's picture books, including Once Upon an Hour, You Are Stardust, Wild Ideas, Is This Panama?, Sukaq and the Raven, You Are Never Alone and A Last Goodbye. Soyeon won the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award in 2013.


Kirstie Hudson is an editor and writer in Victoria, British Columbia. She was a reporter and producer with the CBC in Toronto, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Victoria. In her award-winning career as a journalist, Kirstie's work was recognized with a Jack Webster Award, Radio Television Digital News Association Awards and a Gabriel Award. As an instructor at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University, Kirstie shared her love of storytelling with students in writing, communications and journalism. She co-authored Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket with Carey Newman. In 2020, the book was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Nonfiction.

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
Age:
3 to 5
Grade:
p to k
Reading age:
3 to 5
Awards
  • Commended, BC Books for BC Schools
Editorial Reviews

“Illustrations which are inexplicably special…The timeless and universal message of helping others will resonate with listeners of this story whether young or old. This book needs to be part of an elementary school library as well as pre-school and home libraries. By using animals who are active at different times of the day to teach the concept of time, this folktale is especially memorable as well as useful.”

— Must Read Literature

“The repetitive text here is soothing in cadence...Pleasing colours, and the winsome expressions on the face of the hopeful child make readers sympathetic to the situation.”

— CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“A curious premise with captivating illustrations.”

— Kirkus Reviews

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