My Freedom Trip: A Child's Escape from North Korea

Written by Frances Park and Ginger Park

Narrated by Ali Ahn

Frances and Ginger Park, authors of both children's books and young adult novels, based this inspiring and deeply affecting tale on their own mother's childhood. Winner of the International Reading Association Award, My Freedom Trip features a courageous girl named Soo who makes a desperate bid for freedom by journeying from North Korea to South Korea. Her father awaits across the border, but to achieve her new life, Soo must leave her mother behind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490608365

Frances Park

Frances Park is a Korean American author of books for children and adults. She has received multiple awards for her work, including the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award, the IRA-CBC Teachers’ Choice Award, the Notable Books for a Global Society Award, the Paterson Prize Book Award for Young Readers, and the Bank Street Book Award, among others. She lives in a suburb of Washington, DC.

Reviews for My Freedom Trip

[aleciadesselle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A story about a young girls escape from North Korea to freedom in South Korea. Though the escape from North Korea brought a great gift it also came with a great sacrifice. My Freedom Trip is beautifully told by the grandchildren of Soo, the main character. It includes lush oil paintings and translated Korean language.

[matthewbloome · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sad but true story. Really brings the whole North and South Korea dispute into a new light. Simple text and with a pretty easy connection available between this and Underground Railroad books.

[lyndahuntley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a multicultural picture book about a young Korean girl, named Soo whose father leaves to get into South Korea after being invaded before it becomes too dangerous to escape. Later, he pays guide to get Soo to bring her to the border undetected. She miraculously makes it, even after the soldier sees her. The Korean War breaks out and her mother does not get to come.I really enjoyed this story. It is filled with vocabulary from the North Korean culture. It made me feel sad to know that she was separated from her mother. The pictures add so much depth to the culture.I would use this book to show different cultures and experiences that people from other parts of the world may have. In the front of the book there are Korean Characters which are place throughout the pictures. I would have the students find them at find out what they mean as defined in the book. We could also play games to pretend to get past the soldier or to be very quiet as an extension activity.