The following is a list that describes Linda Sue Parks picture books, 1^st to most current.

The Firekeeper’s Son

illustrated by Julie Downing, Clarion Books, March 22, 2004, 40 pages, age 4 to 8

In Korea in the early 1800s, news from the countryside reached the king by means of signal fires. On one mountaintop after another, a fire was lit when all was well. If the king did not see a fire, that meant trouble, and he would send out his army.

Linda Sue Park’s first picture book for Clarion is about Sang-hee, son of the village firekeeper. When his father is unable to light the fire one night, young Sang-hee must take his place. Sang-hee knows how important it is for the fire to be lit—but he wishes that he could see soldiers ... just once.

Mountains, firelight and shadow, and Sunhee’s struggle with a hard choice are rendered in radiant paintings, which tell their own story of a turning point in a child’s life.

Mung-Mung: a Fold-Out Book of Animal Sounds

illustrated by Diane Bigda, Charlesbridge, 2004, 36 pages, ages 2-7

“What kind of animal says ‘Mung-Mung, BoBo, Gav-Gav, Wow-Wow,’ or ‘Woof-Woof?’ Fold out the page to find it's a dog. Successive gatefolds hide farm or household animals, but the onomatopoeic words from their mouths come from languages as diverse as Korean, Turkish, Swedish, and Hindi ... Bidga’s lightly lined, pastel illustrations are beautiful and surprisingly lively, full of interesting type faces for each of the words and accompanied by tiny, but clear labels for the language of each. Not all toddlers will grasp the concept of different languages, but all will enjoy guessing what animal comes next. And it'll have them nuff-nuffing all the way home.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A multilingual guessing game for the youngest children. Each spread begins with the question, ‘What kind of animal says...’ and features a variety of sounds in playful handwritten typefaces. Opening a flap reveals the answer. Several languages from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are included, as well as the sound in English to tip off youngsters. Bigda's cotton-candy-colored gouache artwork displays a lightness of line and a jazzy, free-form feel that blends well with the simple fare. The pages of onomatopoeic sounds are bright and artful (at least to someone able to read them) but young audiences may wiggle impatiently to open the flaps.” —Marge Loch-Wouters, School Library Journal

Yum! Yuck! a Fold-Out Book of People Sounds

co-authored by Julia Durango, illustrated by Sue Ramá, Charlesbridge, 2005, 36 pages, ages 2-7

“In this follow-up to Mung-Mung: A Foldout Book of Animal Sounds, Park and Durango present the sounds people make to express such things as distaste, laughter, and surprise. The outer pages of the foldouts detail people sounds in various languages and dialects, such as Danish, Yoruba, Korean, and Farsi. These words and phrases, surrounded by pastel borders, are accompanied by children expressing these sounds with clear facial expressions and gestures. On the inner pages, the English translation is revealed along with Rama's ink, watercolor, and crayon illustrations of these youngsters enacting a scenario that would prompt a yuck, yum, or yikes response. Younger children may need help to understand some of the scenes, particularly why an overturned spice cart causes the children's yummy ice cream to turn yucky. The final pages include an authors’ note on the difficulty of translating people sounds as well as the origins of the lesser-known languages. This original offering is a delightful addition to the canon of multicultural picture books and a fun read-aloud guessing game.” —Rachel G. Payne, School Library Journal

“Park follows Mung-Mung: A Foldout Book of Animal Sounds with an equally international array of human exclamations—in about two dozen tongues, and uttered by a multicultural cast of children depicted on foldout leaves. Placed in a busy marketplace in Ramá’s vigorously drawn, digitally finished watercolors, the children go from simple pleasure to a chorus of dismay—‘Oh-gah!’ (Yoruba) ‘Ay!’ (Spanish) ‘Oy!’ (Polish) ‘Oo-wah!’ (Japanese) ‘Yikes!’ (English)—when furnished with replacements. English equivalents all come last, and are hidden beneath the folds, which gives young audiences a chance to try out the less familiar sounds while guessing what emotion is being expressed. The authors head off potential cavils by noting at the end that variants, both of expression and of pronunciation, exist within each language.” —Kirkus Reviews

What Does Bunny See?

illustrated by Maggie Smith Clarion Books, March 28, 2005 Language: English, 32 pages, ages 4-8

A rabbit explores a garden, finding flowers of every color, before hopping home for a nap and dreams of rainbows.

Rhyming clues invite the reader to answer the question: What does bunny see?

With sprightly verses and cheerful illustrations, each turn of the page yields a colorful surprise. This book was inspired by the work of textile artist Eve Botelho. To see more of Eve's amazing work, visit her website.

Bee-bim Bop!

illustrated by Ho Baek Lee Clarion Books (Sept 12, 2005), Language: English, 32 pages, ages 4-8

Bee-bim bop ("mix-mix rice") is a traditional Korean dish. In bouncy rhyming text, a hungry child tells of helping her mother make bee-bim bop: shopping, preparing ingredients, setting the table, and sitting down to enjoy a favorite meal.

The enthusiasm of the narrartor is conveyed in the whimsical illustrations, which bring details from the artist’s childhood in Korea to his depiction of a modern Korean-American family.

The book includes Linda Sue’s own bee-bim bop recipe!

Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo Poems

Illustrated by Istvan Banyai Clarion Books, 2007, 48 pages, ages 4 and up

A sijo, a traditional Korean verse form, has a fixed number of stressed syllables and a humorous or ironic twist at the end. Like haiku, sijo are brief and accessible, and the witty last line winds up each poem with a surprise. The verses in this book illuminate funny, unexpected, amazing aspects of the everyday—of breakfast, thunder and lightning, houseplants, tennis, freshly laundered socks. Carefully crafted and deceptively simple, Linda Sue Park’s sijo are a pleasure to read and an irresistible invitation to experiment with an unfamiliar poetic form. Istvan Banyai’s irrepressibly giddy and sophisticated illustrations add a one-of-a-kind luster to a book that is truly a gem.