Two excellent new books about adoption
Uma Krishnaswami's picture book,
Bringing Asha Home (Lee & Low, September 2006), illustrated by
Jamel Akib, provides an alternative answer to the "where do babies come from?" question. Eight-year-old Arun longs to celebrate the wonderful brother-sister holiday of Rakhi, but must wait months before Asha arrives from India. A perfect choice for a parent who wants to introduce the process of adoption to an older sibling, this book will also spark a re-telling of a family's own impatient waiting for a child. Teachers can use it to explore the concept of waiting for good things in general -- like spring, festival days, and babies, adopted
or biological. I especially appreciated that neither text nor pictures make a fuss about the fact that the family is interracial. This makes
Bringing Asha Home a prototype of a new generation of picture books where multiculturalism is celebrated but not allowed to commandeer the plot. For more reviews, visit
Big A little a, the
Asian Reporter,
PaperTigers, or
Cynsations. (
Note: this book was sent to me by the publisher.)
A forthcoming middle reader by a member of the
Class of 2k7, Rose Kent,
Kimchi & Calamari (HarperCollins, April 2007) also features a multiracial family as a secondary theme. This funny, touching story is a
coming-of-age tale told in first person by a main character that boys -- and girls -- are going to love. I can already hear them clamoring for a sequel. A delightful supporting cast of characters, a strong voice, and an honest exploration of adoption and ethnic identity from a fourteen-year-old's perspective make this a five-star book for kids between cultures. My only fear is that the cover might serve as a roadblock instead of a lure, especially for young guy readers -- could somebody at HarperCollins please explain the reasoning behind it? For more, read
Chicken Spaghetti's take or a review from
A Year of Reading. (
Note: this book was sent to me by the author's daughter, who is serving as her publicist.)
Uma Krishnaswami's picture book, Bringing Asha Home (Lee & Low, September 2006), illustrated by Jamel Akib, provides an alternative answer to the "where do babies come from?" question. Eight-year-old Arun longs to celebrate the wonderful brother-sister holiday of Rakhi, but must wait months before Asha arrives from India. A perfect choice for a parent who wants to introduce the process of adoption to an older sibling, this book will also spark a re-telling of a family's own impatient waiting for a child. Teachers can use it to explore the concept of waiting for good things in general -- like spring, festival days, and babies, adopted or biological. I especially appreciated that neither text nor pictures make a fuss about the fact that the family is interracial. This makes Bringing Asha Home a prototype of a new generation of picture books where multiculturalism is celebrated but not allowed to commandeer the plot. For more reviews, visit Big A little a, the Asian Reporter, PaperTigers, or Cynsations. (Note: this book was sent to me by the publisher.)
A forthcoming middle reader by a member of the Class of 2k7, Rose Kent, Kimchi & Calamari (HarperCollins, April 2007) also features a multiracial family as a secondary theme. This funny, touching story is a coming-of-age tale told in first person by a main character that boys -- and girls -- are going to love. I can already hear them clamoring for a sequel. A delightful supporting cast of characters, a strong voice, and an honest exploration of adoption and ethnic identity from a fourteen-year-old's perspective make this a five-star book for kids between cultures. My only fear is that the cover might serve as a roadblock instead of a lure, especially for young guy readers -- could somebody at HarperCollins please explain the reasoning behind it? For more, read Chicken Spaghetti's take or a review from A Year of Reading. (Note: this book was sent to me by the author's daughter, who is serving as her publicist.)
6 comments:
Mitali, do you think that the food on the cover of Kimchi & Calamari would make more girls than boys want to pick it up?
I was just at the local Barnes & Noble and found Rickshaw Girl face out in the new books area in the kids' section. Great placement! I bought two! One for me and one for a friend.
mommi did u find the book clamari
from zippewroonki
he he he unceal is sleeping i bitted his ear
from zipperwroonski
Susan,
I'm just sad because the protagonist is such a great guy character -- I'd love to have seen a rendition of him on the cover ... that would lure boy readers more than a bowl of ... is that chicken spaghetti?
Mitali
And for those of you wondering, Zipperwroonski is my lab puppy and he is fully cyber-conversant, obviously ...
Also, Rose informs me that her daughter is no longer serving as her publicist ... she has found a real job. But I thought getting her daughter's note along with the book was so sweet, I'm leaving it in the original post.
Mitali, you're right--Joseph IS a great guy character. I think kids are going to love Rose Kent's novel.
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