Tol is the Korean celebration of a child’s first birthday. In the celebration, the baby’s family plays the prophecy game, toljabee which predicts what the baby will be when she grows up.
Author Kate Aver Avraham and Illustrator Anne Sibley O’Brien, both the mothers of Korean daughters, released the sweet picture book, What Will You Be, Sara Mee? (Charlesbridge) in February 2010.
And what will the book Sara Mee be? That was the topic of tea with Anne Sibley O’Brien. Has the Korean community found her book yet? Is it time to connect with Anne’s extensive Korean contacts?
And why have we waited so long to start? Well, Anne has been booked solid with school visits, new book projects, her daughter’s wedding, and her active blog, Coloring Between the Lines: Reflections on Race, Culture and Children’s Books. No worries. Its is never too late to start marketing work. How about we create a tol for the book on tol?
We set our sights (first) on a children’s museum event that creates a ‘photo booth’ for babies and toddlers to dress in the beautiful tol dress and sit behind its plentiful table. Here is the table as it appears in Anne’s illustration:
