Customer Reviews

Babies Can't Eat Kimchee!

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this book in our local library and we ended up loving it. Being a Korean-American, I just had to check it out based on the title. This is a great book on many levels. First, it is beautifully illustrated. Second, it really speaks to the dilemma of an older sibling with a new baby sibling. My 4 year old loves her 9-month sister but feels tormented by her at the same time. You can tell from her face as I read her this book that she felt identified with the main character. Third, the book takes a multi-cultural bend without trying too hard. What a delight.

We picked up this book from the library and my 3 year old loves it so much that we ended up extending it 3 times. Now I am just buying our own copy! The art is really pretty and the story line helps her read out some words by herself.

My kimchi loving 2.5 year old twins have a baby brother and they very much identify with this book. They love to talk about what their brother can't do and what he doesn't know...and anticipate almost every line in the pages, pre-empting me when I read it to them. They are also very into the part where the story talks about what they can do teach their baby and how they will help the baby learn to dance and dress up in hanbok for the 1st birthday celebration (both of which they will actually do in real life). It is a book that really speaks to my girls and me. I only wish that there were a version with a baby boy, but my girls don't seem to mind anyway.

Babies can't do much. They can't eat kimchee, they can't dance ballet, they don't play dress-up, and they don't know anything. All babies are good for is making a ruckus. But babies often grow into little sisters and then whole new worlds of teaching and friendship open.

Babies Can't Eat Kimchee! is a delight to the senses. The unique illustrations are bright and expressive with a textured look and they perfectly complement the text. The text is true-to-life and reads aloud well with plenty of room for dramatic inflection.

I especially enjoyed the multi-cultural bent of this story. Though this book is written from a Korean perspective, I feel it is important for all children, especially those who live in multi-cultural families, to see other cultures represented in their picture books. Babies Can't Eat Kimchee! is a fabulous addition to a multi-cultural library. My only question is this: can we get a boy version?

Armchair Interviews says: Nice to see multicultural books.

I bought this for my daughter's 2nd birthday so she could read about the relationship between another older sister and her baby sister. She relates and gets excited to talk about her sister when we read this book. Excellent story and entertaining illustrations. You don't have to be Korean to like this book. We're not and we love it.

This multicultural picture book centers on a Korean-American big sister, who initially glares angrily at her baby sister while enumerating the many things babies can't do, such as eat kimchee or spaghetti, or dance like a ballerina. The sister then imagines the many things she'll teach her sibling as the baby grows, until the baby interrupts her reverie with a loud cry, perfectly captured on the page with a firework-like explosion of color on a striking two-page spread. This title is an excellent book to read with new siblings of any nationality since it touches on universal issues, but is likely to be particularly appealing to Korean-American families, who will identify with special cultural traditions depicted such as a traditional Korean gown the baby wears for her first birthday. The illustrations in this book are particularly noteworthy for their brilliantly colored, expressionistic style carried out with cut strips of paper collaged with black ink drawings on mylar film. The emphasis on bright orange, red, yellow, gold and other warm colors captures the emotions of the big sister very effectively. Highly recommended for children three through six.

We're a multi-ethnic family-my husband is native Korean and I'm Scottish. We're always on the hunt for neat multicultural books, and the fact that this one is 'gently' Korean tips the scales from 'cute' to PERFECT! I agree with the other reviewer that they did it classy without trying so hard that it's obnoxious. As a kimchi-eating family, it was a great tie-in; since we JUST had a new baby it was even more perfect for our 2.5yo to read with us while completely identifying with the main character. She even makes the same faces...it's so cute! She absolutely loved the page asking if she could teach the baby a new song...then she turns the page and the baby SCREAMS. Wow, they really know what that's like! Great book, excellently done, and I haven't even mentioned the fantastic colors and artistry that clearly went into it. Hands down recommended 100% :)

"Babies Can't Eat Kimchee!" is a wonderful book for any expectant parent with a toddler. It is a great tool to show all of the things that the toddler will be able to do that the baby will not. Be prepared to explain what kimchee is though if your child does not already know. We even tried some after reading the book. Babies may not be able to eat kimchee, but my 3 year old loves it. Even if it is "a little spicy". Overall I would recommend for any expectant parent, Asian or not.

A bright little girl is getting used to being a big sister. She thinks about all the things she can do that her new sibling can't, such as eating kimchee, a spicy Korean delicacy.

This is a sweet little book that is told from a Korean perspective and educates readers in some Korean customs and foods. It is an excellent way of learning about Korean customs. There is even a glossary.

My 4 year old daughter loves this book! I am half Korean and have been trying to share a bit of their heritage with them through books. She is just eating kimchee now and thinks it's HILARIOUS to say Babies Can't Eat Kimchee! LOL