Young-hee and the Pullocho by Mark James Russell

Young-hee has a responsibility.  She has to watch over her younger brother.  That gets a lot harder when a nasty goblin captures him by offering him a tasty treat and binds him for a year as a slave.  What's she going to tell her mother?

Tuttle Publishing and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book (thank you).  It has been published, so you can get a copy now.

This is a Korean fairy tale with several mini fairy tales told along the way.  All the mythical creatures appear, none of them are terribly honest or terribly nice, but Young-hee is determined to get the pullocho root the goblin wants so she can set her brother free and go home.

One thing that I've seen before that never ceases to amaze me is that all fairy tales seem to be common, no matter what country is telling the tale.  Some of the story might be different but they have the same general theme.  The classics seem to be everywhere, no matter what the culture or beliefs may be.

Young-hee has many tests along the way and keeps persevering even though she's tired, sore, and scared.  She dares to do what most would not.  And she does get her brother back, but not like she thought she would.

This tale is told well and you'll learn more than one fairy tale reading it.  Young-hee should just be grateful that the time passed different in the real world than it did in the strange world.  Or she would have been in a lot more trouble...