World Famous Comics: The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale
The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale
By: Grace Lin Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Albert Whitman & Company Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 28 Publication Date: September 30, 2007 Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Product Description: (Ages 4-8) There is an ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects all those who are destined to be together. A king and queen rule a beautiful and peaceful land. They should be full of joy and contentment, but they both feel a strange pain that worsens every day.
Then a peddler's magic spectacles reveal a red thread pulling at each of their hearts. The king and queen know they must follow the thread-wherever it may lead. Grace Lin's lovely adoption fairy tale is for all children-and the parents who would search the world to find them.
Perfect I am a mother of a 4 year old boy adopted through the foster care system at two years. We have read many books about adoption together. Very few books relate to his story and he's never "loved" any of them. This story is beautifully writen and poetic. The visual of the red thread was so powerful that we talk about "our threads" now. While this book is about a girl adopted from China, it is a fairytale with Kings and Queens and captures attention from the begining of the story. It also touches the one thing that most books miss; the parents and child are meant to be together regardless of how. The look on my son's face when I explained how I felt before and after we found each other, was priceless. By the way, this is the first book I've ever felt the need to review.
Great book! I am excited about this book! There are so few great children's books about adoption, and I love that this one makes such a beautiful picture.
disturbing book I truly enjoy Grace Lin's work and I am surprised that she would publish a book with such disturbing images. I adopted my daughter from China when she was one. I read this book to her when she was 4 years old. She was very upset by the image of a red thread causing her father and me terrible pain while we waited to be united with her. She was especially upset by the passages in which the King and Queen try to imagine what is at the other end of the thread. Much of what they imagine is scary. Because the thread is connected to the baby waiting to be adopted my daughter felt as though she had caused pain to her father and me while we waited for her. For weeks after we read the book, I had to reassure her that she did not cause us pain and that the story was just pretend. I understand that the author is trying to convey that it is hard and sometimes painful to wait to be united with your child, but for some kids the images in this book can be taken in the wrong way. I myself was upset by the book. I believe that it is important to share with your child the fact that there is both joy and pain inherent in adoption, but not with these images.
Delightful and heartwarming My two Chinese born daughters love this book. They are 3 and 5 years old, and find the fairy tale nature of the story easy to understand and also that it relates in real life to their own personal stories. I have also sent this to a friend with an adopted Native American daughter, and the cross cultural theme also works for them. A wonderful book.
A wonderful story for all adoptive families My 3 1/2 year old daughter was adopted from South Korea, not China, and this story is just as relevant for us. We look for our invisible, unbreakable red thread and talk about the connection we have. This is a good bedtime, snuggle story - not too long and not too short - with good vocabulary words to learn (famine, drought, peddler, spectacles, etc.) I change a few of the words towards the end: "Who does this baby belong with?" (instead of "to") and the people in the strange land "speak" (not "chatter"). These are minor issues in this overall wonderful book.
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