Product Description: Nine-year-old Benjamin Koo Andrews, adopted from Korea as an infant, describes what it's like to grow up adopted from another country.
Charming and Informative In many ethnic books, there are descriptions of humorous misunderstandings on the part of the outsiders who are unaware of American culture. In this book, the shoe is on the other foot. Korean Benjamin Koo is adopted by American parents and is flown across the Pacific (with a nurse) to the parents who have seen only a snapshot of their new baby. When their baby arrives dressed in pink, the mother panics. Believing more strongly in cultural clues than in the nurse's assurances, she checks under the baby's clothes to make sure he is a boy. Pink and blue don't mean the same thing in Korea. Suddenly, our customs seem ridiculous. Why shouldn't a boy wear pink?
In straightforward fashion, the story goes on to describe how Benjamin slowly realized he was different from his parents, and he began wondering about his real parents. A wise guidance counselor helped him through most of the questions. When his parents adopted a girl from Brazil, Benjamin was better prepared to deal with the "dumb" questions from strangers, such as "Did they come from the same family?"
Watercolor illustrations are average quality, not Jerry Pinkney but nothing to complain about. They carry the story along well. Incidentally, this is the true experience of a real boy, and Holt International Children's Services is credited for their assistance in the facts of this story.
Story of Korean adoption rings true As the parent of a boy adopted from Korea, I find this story follows ours quite closely. The process and the issues are the same for many adoptive families. The only thing missing from this book is any mention of a birth father. The birth mother's role is handled well, but there is no reference to a birth father. This book starts when Benjamin is nine years old. That's when the real questions about adoption can begin.
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