When Yu-Rhee’s mother tells her it’s bedtime, she asks how her mother knows that. Her mother tells her a tale from her own childhood based on the ancient practice of telling time using the 12 animals of the Asian zodiac. The story is told from the point of view of a mountain that wants to help a young girl find a plant that will heal her sick mother. None of the animals will help because they are too busy which saddens the mountain causing it to cry. The mountainside’s tears turn to snow. It is then that the 12 animals each help the girl find the needed plant and for her to return to her home and ailing mother.

This is a delightful story about helping other to succeed in doing a task she cannot do alone. The illustrations are charming and delightful.

If you have small children, grandchildren, nieces and/or nephews, this book should be on your Christmas list for one or more of those children. If you have no children in your life, buy the book for yourself and enjoy this tale and the illustrations.

My thanks to Orca Books and NetGalley for an eARC.

Yu-Rhee, a young Korean girl wants to know how to tell time using a clock. Her mother tells the story of the Korean practice of timekeeping, where 12 animals of the zodiac are assigned to 2-hour sections of the 24-hour clock.⠀
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The story goes like this. A girl climbs a mountain in search of a plant to heal her ailing mother. The mountain takes pity on the girl and asks the animals on the mountain to help the little girl. The animals are all busy and refuse to help the girl first. After that, they take pity on her and help in her mission.⠀
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I loved reading about the 12 animals, rabbits, mouse, tiger, and others. I also liked the unique and colorful illustrations. At the end of the story, Yu-Rhee goes to sleep in the hour of the dog. This a good book to teach kids the concept of time and hours.

A young girl wonders how her mother knows when it's bedtime, and her mother tells her a story about the zodiac animals and how to use them to tell time. In the story, a young child climbs a mountain in search of an herb to help their mother, who is ill. The mountain takes pity on the child, and asks the zodiac animals to help, but they each find an excuse not to. Finally, when the child begins singing a sad song, the animals come around and help, each doing a part in gathering the herbs, carrying the herbs to the child, feeding and watching over the child, and finally seeing the child safely home. In thanks, the mountain gives the animals the gift of time, divided into the hours in which they each helped the child. This time telling method is a Korean custom, dividing the day and night into two hour increments, each ruled by one of the zodiac animals, an example of which is shown in the last illustration. The artwork is dreamy and beautiful, done in a cut paper diorama style that gives a 3D, layered effect to the spreads; the style is just magical. A lovely bedtime story, definitely recommended.

#OnceUponanHour #NetGalley

Ann Y.K. Choi is an educator I came to know of through The FOLD as one of the stellar moderators on some thought provoking panels. She is also a teacher in the York District School Board and Once Upon An Hour, illustrated by Soyeon Kim is her first picture book. A beautiful bedtime story about how the animals of the Korean zodiac help a little child who is searching for a healing plant to help her ill mother.

Once Upon an Hour is a lyrical journey up the mountain and down the mountain and back home again. Mountain is the benevolent figure, asking for the help of all the animals, the animals of the morning, afternoon, evening and night. I appreciate that the animals don’t jump at the chance to help the child, they are too busy with their usual business of the time of day. However, their sentiment changes when they see the child, Yu-Rhee, struggling and help her to pick the doraji flower and return home. Written in true storytelling fashion, it harkens back to a traditional Korean tale about how the animals came to represent times during the day.

The illustrations by Soyeon Kim are stunning. Her beautiful illustrative style of paper cut illustrations placed effortlessly together in a diorama and photographed for the picture book adds dimension to the story.

Orca Book Publishers have masterfully paired two women of Korean heritage to bring this beautiful traditional story to life. An Own Voices story to add to your bookshelf as a reminder of the infinite beauty of all the stories of the world.

Lovely tale of the Korean zodiac animals and how they are used to tell time as a little girl goes on a quest to find healing herbs for her sick mother. Illustrations were very nice!.

When young Yu-Rhee is told by her mother that it is time for bed she is curious how her mother knows. She sees the hands on the clock but they are meaningless to her. She wants to understand. The mother's answer goes far beyond the numbers of the clock as she retells the story that her grandmother told her as a child. The story told to generations of young in Korea as they sought to understand time. It is a story that shows the love between a mother and child and the importance of determination and teamwork.. It is based on the belief that the 12 animals of the zodiac are responsible for each 2 hour segment of our 24 hour day.. In the beautiful flowing words of the mountain and the imaginative illustrations the reader is lead through each segment of the day as we learn how the actions of each animal flows into the next part of the day and the next animal.
This book is recommended for children ages 3-5 as they explore and try to make sense of the world around them. It is a beautiful look into the Korean culture of love for family and nature. .

Once Upon An Hour is about a young girl learning to tell time. Her mother tells her an old Korean tale. I love getting to hear a fable from a different culture, but felt that this was too long. I started to lose focus while reading it. I think it would be the same for kids, especially those with short attention spans.