This poignant story of a young girl looking in from the outside of her classmates and the community. She navigates a world that looks down on those that who don't speak English well. She shares the emotions and the challenges of being a young girl who has to translate for her parents to communicate with teachers, community members, etc. In order to protect herself, she shuts down and chooses not to speak at all.
As a retired teacher, I was heartbroken for this child and all those like her. I think this would be a wonderful book to use as a read aloud and create a meaningful discussion with elementary students about ways to work on including all students in recess, conversations, etc.
The author's note was a very good explanation of why this book needed to be written for the author. I know it made me revisit how I need to demonstrate patience and kindness when communicating with others.
If you have young children or students, I recommend this story to share and talk about how we can show compassion for others.

Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'm so thankful that Kao Kalia Yang found her voice in writing. In this beautifully illustrated picture book, she tells the story of how she stopped speaking in school between first and second grade. She manages to convey the heaviness of her emotions which shut down her ability to speak English in a child-friendly way. The ending is a bit abrupt as she shares her wish to have Julia as a friend. Reading the author's note, I learned that did happen, but unfortunately most young readers won't read those notes. They also won't necessarily know that she did ultimately begin to speak English when she was in college. Adults will want to tell children that Kao Kalia did eventually find her voice as they share this with kids struggling to find their own voices.

The Rock in My Throat is a wonderful and needed contribution to children’s literature. The story is heartbreaking, and yet beautiful. Yang gives the reader a glimpse into the traumas that can arise when you must leave your home to move to a new country and are thrown into a world where words are strange and the people impatient. This book is not only perfect for immigrants to see themselves,and children and families who know immigrants to build empathy, but also for any child who struggles to find their words in a world that moves so fast.

The illustrations are exquisite and complement the story in mood and detail. The images deftly reflect the trepidation of young Yang, how nature comforts her, and how her family, teachers, and peers are confused about how to help.

Thank you to Lerner Publishing Group, Carolrhoda Books, Netgalley, and the author and illustrator for early access to this important work.

Beautifully written. You really feel for the child that Kao Kalia Yang was and her struggles to express herself in the English language.

I can relate as a child of an immigrant. I was also a selective mute and labeled “shy” on almost every report card I ever received in grade school. Expressing yourself in another language is often difficult, but even more so when you feel pressured to do so or just cannot think of the words. For sensitive children, this can make it difficult to engage others in conversation and more likely for us to shut down.

This book is important and should be in every classroom. It will help not only the children who can relate to the main character, but also the adults who are so quick to label children instead of understanding what is going on in their minds.

Amazing. So simply conveyed, so moving, so eye-opening. So important and meaningful. The illustrations are beautiful and convey just as much as the words, which are also extremely well-done. The message is weaved in a way that flows, and it is both educational and beautiful. Thank you for sharing this story with me.

—Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thi should be a must read in schools in my opinion. It shows that children can see and sense a lot more than you’d think. They have an amazing intelligence. This girl was so so sweet and smart. Finding your place in this world when nothing belongs to you is hard. And when you are forced into boxes it is even harder. She was so brave.
5/5

In "The Rock in My Throat", Yang gives voice to a story that had stayed trapped inside her for far too long. As a young child, having recently immigrated to the US, she stopped speaking—to speak was to invite criticism from (white) native English speakers, or worse, to become like them. But as a child, this was too hard and mysterious to articulate, and so now Yang is returning to this story to, perhaps, help other young readers understand.

This is beautifully done, both in the intentionality of the text and in the full-page illustrations. The ending is a little abrupt, but I find the choice to leave the story where it ends intriguing; I imagine there was some amount of back-and-forth and consideration about how far the narrative should go. Maybe in the 2020s a child in Yang's position would have more resources available to her and better understanding from the adults around her, but then again...maybe not. I'm glad that this book can be something of a resource in itself.

I'm left wanting to read Yang's memoir "Latehomecomer"—how much story she must have stored up, in those years when she could not yet express herself fully!

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

The Rock in My Throat is a quiet and interesting story on how the child of a Hmong-speaking refugee family faces the challenges attending an English-speaking elementary school and living in America. The vignette in the grocery store is especially heart-wrenching, and the moment in the story that will stick with me the longest.

The artwork is catching, especially the color contrasts and textures that individuated each double spread. I looked through the book several times just to admire how the color palette showed the progression through time from fall through winter into spring.

The tone always feels like it’s in a minor key, even when she’s speaking about positive times at home speaking Hmong with her family. My only wish would be for either a slightly more hopeful ending at the school or a greater emphasis on finding respite in family life at the end.

I read this picture books to my friend’s four-year-old, and while she sat still through all of it, the repetitiveness in relation to its length lost her focus towards the end. I think a reordering of the vignettes may have improved her attention, but that would involve either changing the chronology or adding jumps through time. That said, this book may be targeted at a slightly older population, maybe 1st-3rd grades.

Overall, a solid book, one worth adding to your picture book collection.

This book sheds light on how hard it can be for an immigrant child who's new to the United States schools. It's scary to feel alone and left out simply based on not being understood by others. This book teaches that we all should be patient, kind, and welcoming. I felt that the ending was a bit unresolved but maybe that is the point. The point is that no child should feel like they don't have a voice and can't speak for themselves. They should feel accepted by their peers and encouraged more.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young girl who has moved to America. Talking to people is hard for her especially when she has selective mutism.
It is a story with heart and empathy for those who have this same struggle.

Book Title: The Rock in My Throat
Author: Kao Kalia Yang
Publisher: Lerner-Publishing Group –Carolrhoda Books
Genre: Biography and Memoirs, Children’s Nonfiction
Pub Date: March 5, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 32

This book is a beautiful illustration which was a delightful surprise to me
Several years ago a new neighbor who recently moved from another state joined our book club and told us her youngest daughter wasn't adjusting to the move and now wouldn't speak.
The Doctor told her she had "Selective Mutism".
The term certainly was new to all of us. Needless to say, this story got my attention!

Author, Kao Kalia Yang is an award-winning Hmong-American writer. She is a graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University.
She stopped talking at age seven in the first grade. At first no one noticed then didn’t know why.
As mentioned she is Hmong-American - The Hmong are an ethnic minority residing in Southeast Asia. They don't have a country to call their own.
This story is about immigration, their native language, and in this case the ‘selective muteness’ Kao Kalia as well as other immigrants often experience.
She says it felt like a rock had become lodged in her throat and kept growing heaver

She later tells us that she stopped wanting to speak the language spoken by people who disrespected and humiliated her Hmong mother and her language.
The Hmong are an ethnic minority residing in Southeast Asia. They don't have a country to call their own.

Thank NetGalley and Lerner-Publishing Group –Carolrhoda Books for this amazingly beautiful early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 5, 2024

This book was very interesting, a little sad, and a true story. It is about a young, immigrant girl, who stopped speaking. Particularly she stop speaking English. She sees how hard her mother has it trying to learn English and get around in an English world , when she doesn’t speak English. And her little act of rebellion of not speaking English lasted for decades. This book doesn’t have a happy ending, and it doesn’t tell you how to stop this behavior. It says this is me and this is how I was feeling. The way to help other children in similar situations feel seen. to feel that they’re not alone in their immigration status or their language barriers.

Beautiful. Made me feel all of the feelings, the struggles of the young protagonist and her refugee family, and how the young girl loses her language, her voice at school. I appreciate that it didn't tie things up in a bow at the end -I still had that melancholy feeling, but there was a whisper of hope and change. Poignant picture book. I recommend it!

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Powerful story all ages need to read. Readers meet Kao as she hides and watches her classmates at recess. She shares her thoughts with us and shows us the active world inside herself. Her description for not talking is that she has a rock in her throat. It grows larger as her emotions swirl and she becomes more scared of interacting with others. Yang takes readers through her time with family and interacting with others. Kao is a selective mute who won't speak English. She speaks Hmong at home and feels safe there. By the end of the story, readers see hope that she will reach out and find a friend.
Readers may pick up on the fact that this is an autobiographical story if they note the author's name matches the main character's. The author provides further insight at the end of the book and shares more on how she learned to face challenges and did find friendship.
Take time to study the artwork and see the small details that weave together to support the text.

This picture book memoir recalls the youth of a Hmong girl whose family left Southeast Asia as refugees. Young children will learn new languages, but the adults will often struggle. The author felt humiliation at the way English speakers treated her mother who had trouble communicating her thoughts. In her shame and anger she became a selective mute, speaking Hmong at home, but refusing to speak at school where she needed to speak English. The book teaches a lesson in acceptance and tolerance to youngsters. Children who speak English as a Second Language can identify with the author’s feelings and may be helped by the story. This book is a must read for anyone who teaches ESL or works in a school with a diverse population.

I received a temporary digital copy of this book for review from Carolrhoda Books through Netgalley. I can honestly recommend this book. This is a serious book that should be read with an adult to discuss the ideas presented.

The Rock in My Throat is an emotional and touching story about a girl who emigrates to the US from Thailand and struggles to adjust to the new culture and language. I found it incredibly heartfelt and relatable.

I love diverse picture books, most especially ones that tell stories from people who struggled to find their voice when they were young. This picture book is for the ones who saw how their immigrant parents were treated and were frustrated with it.

Fantastic book! Optimistic book. I never realized how much immigrants from other countries struggled to find their voice and speak English in the United States. Sad but uplifting book! Kudos to Kao Kalia Yang for writing such a thought provoking book.

A beautiful book about finding your voice amidst a world that doesn't want to hear you speak in another language. Kalia is afraid of speaking in English because her family speaks Hmong and she doesn't want to judged for not saying the right words in English. This picture book about her struggle with selective mutism as a child living in a world that spoke English is beautifully descriptive and poet at times as she explains the feeling of not speaking as a "rock in my throat."

A book that could be relatable for any child who has to learn a new language and be different than others in a new country or a different cultural society. A book that could teach empathy and understanding when it comes to accepting refugees.