Sumi is a Korean-American girl who lives with her grandmother, whom she calls Harmony (which means grandmother in Korean), on East Blossom Hill. Her mother is in the army and Sumi is homesick for her. Sumi watches the trains in the valley below hoping that someday her mother will be on one. The train whistle reminds Sumi's grandmother of when the Korean War took place. She and her family escaped from Seoul, Korea just before the war came. This marked a very sorrowful time in Harmony's life because she had to leave her husband behind in Seoul to travel to Pusan, which was safe. Though her husband loved her, he insisted that he needed to take part in the war by being a soldier.
I like this book because it has great description. You can read it when you want to read a good book but you don't have too much time to read. It is a mixture between a chapter book and a picture book. The illustrations are amazing. The writer involoves you in the story so you can imagine everything that is happening as if it was happening to you. It was very easy for me to put myself in the place of the characters in the book so I could "be in the story".
This is an excellent book. It is the best picture or short story I've ever read. The pictures illustrate the writing well and add something to the book. I would recommend it to anyone over the age of 9. It is a very emotional book and the author clearly describes the sad events in the characters' lives.

This is a magnificent book for readers of all ages to enjoy and explore. Younger children may enjoy it on it's simplest level of a child missing a mother. Older readers will enjoy learning about the effects of war on family and friends. Everyone will savor the gracious art of the illustrator and will feel the story through his heartfelt interpretation of the author's words. Haemi Balgassi has truly written this story from her heart and tears and we are more than fortunate to be able share her family's history. Every classroom should own a copy of this wonderful history lesson

In this profoundly moving and beautifully illustrated picture storybook, Haemi Balgassi tells the story of the train which carried South Korean citizens south, away from the reach of North Korean invading troops. Structured as a story within a story, the book carries with it a sense of history, the terror and loss of war, and the hope that causes the most damaged humans to live for the future. This book is a TRIUMPH!

tea's sonata is a good book. i would give it a 5 because it was so good and romantic. i enjoyed the end the most because josh came to sit with her because he liked her which she probbably had wished for. the book was so interesting and i enjoyed it with my class. it has being the best book i have read so far. the book also taught me a lesson like tae did.

This was a very good book with a character you could really relate to. I am Korean, and it was very interesting and amusing to see the Korean words such as umma and oppa. I could really relate to Tae and understood what she was going through. Even people who are not Korean could enjoy this book. Tae's Sonata is a well written book that describes and totally follows the troubles of being a teenager and feeling like an outcast.

This is a wonderful book. It made me feel really good to know that Josh, the boy Tae likes, isn't a jerk like the other Royals. Tae's feelings are really believable. I could really relate to her, especially when her best friend Meg betrays her. Read this book to find out how!