Young readers will love this story of how four Chinese babies come to be welcomed into new families in North America. Especially powerful is the depiction of those who are traveling to China to get their children. A couple from Miami, a pair of women from Vashon Island near Seattle, a single mom in Minnesota, and couple with a Japanese surname in Toronto, Canada all set out for the city of Guangzhou, in China. Meanwhile, “Still asleep, Wu Li smacked her lips, Li Shen burped, Qian Ye yawned, and Chun Mei Ni snored.” The parallel depictions of the soon-to-be parents and the soon-to-be adopted children across the ocean help to create the sense of family right from the beginning. The seven parents become a group in China and exchange stories and expectations as they make their way to the White Swan Hotel, their home away from home, while they arrange to meet and adopt their beautiful daughters. Dr. Aoki uses her own experiences with adoption as the basis for this account, co-authored by Okimoto (Dear Ichiro, not reviewed, etc.), who has written before about Asian-Americans and is herself the daughter of an adoptee. So’s (Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats, below, etc.) effervescent watercolors in a vibrant and colorful palette add much to the presentation of a story that will intrigue and interest both those who are adopted and those who are not. A must buy for all libraries and a lovely gift for new families of all stripes. (extensive afterword) (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-16453-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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