On Thursday, December 1, well-known author, illustrator, and publisher, Mr. Ho Baek Lee, visited elementary school students in an event sponsored by the YISS libraries, PTO, TongBang Books, and HarperCollins Publishers. Mr. Lee is the illustrator of Linda Sue Park’s Bee-bim Bop!, a book beloved by many in the YISS community. He is also a gifted storyteller and his One Night Out was chosen by the New York Times as one of the best children's books of 2003.

Over three sessions, Mr. Lee shared his experiences of creating stories and artwork. Kindergarten through 3rd grade listened to One Night Out and followed Mr. Lee’s exemplary rabbit sketches to make their own creative bunnies. Throughout the session, Mr. Lee gave advice and encouragement to our students.

For 4th and 5th grade, Mr. Lee read from Bee-bim Bop! and explained the traditional Korean color concept behind the ingredients used in the dish. However, he emphasized that bibimbap is what you want to make of it. Then, students were allowed to craft their own theoretical dishes by drawing the individual ingredients and diagramming where they would go in the bowl. At the end of the session, students shared their work and received words of praise from the author/illustrator.

The visit of Ho Baek Lee certainly left our students hungry for more, and the school hopes to welcome more authors later in the year.