A Koala for Katie: An Adoption Story [Library Binding]

Jonathan London (Author), Cynthia Jabar (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993 | Age Level: 3 and up

As four-year-old Katie and her parents visit the zoo, Katie wonders aloud where babies come from. She knows that she is adopted and wonders if the baby koala could be happy with a new mommy. This simple, warm story and charming full-color illustrations combine to make the perfect adoption story for young children.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This disquieting story aims straight at the preoccupations likely to visit adopted children. Katie, who thinks "a lot" about babies, wants to know if she grew in her "real mommy's" belly. "Of course . . . " her mother says. "But I'm your real mommy, too." Later the youngster asks, "Why didn't my first mommy want me?" The adoptive mother assures the girl that her birth mother loved her: "She wanted you to have a better life than she could give you"--a concept that few children Katie's age will be able to grasp. After a visit to the zoo, Katie "adopts" a toy koala from the gift shop and, in an excursion to Katie's imaginary world, the book shows her caring for the koala and protecting it from danger. Jabar's intimate, circular compositions reflect the warmth and love that abound in Katie's family while her light touch with her watercolors gives the book mainstream appeal. However, London (see below) focuses more on anxieties about biological vs. adoptive parents than on the love that motivated Katie's parents to extend their family in the first place. An insightful note to parents, by a social worker with the Northwest Adoption Exchange, precedes the story. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Toddler Katie thinks a lot about babies. She wonders why she was never in her adoptive mother's belly and wants to know why her birth mother didn't want her. When she sees a mother and baby koala at the zoo, she wants a toy koala. At home, she plays out her questions. When her mother kisses her goodnight and says, "'I like your baby,'" Katie replies,"'I'm really her mommy now.'" This gentle story presents a few very important concerns of adoptive families in an even, nondidactic manner. Jabar's watercolor illustrations have an upbeat, cartoony brightness that is well balanced with the easy-going, spare text. A "note for parents" opens the book and is entirely unnecessary, as the author and illustrator have done a fine job of creating a picture book that serves a broad, general audience.
Anna Biagioni Hart, Sherwood Regional Library, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Library Binding: 1 pages
• Publisher: Concept Books (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807542091
• ISBN-13: 978-0807542095
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,830,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could Have Been So Much Better, September 24, 2001

By 

Janine C DeLarme (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Koala for Katie: An Adoption Story (Library Binding)

I was so excited to read this new book to my 2 1/2 year old adopted son, but the farther I read, the more disappointed I became. I think the author's (Jonathan London) choice of words in explaining adoption were VERY poorly chosen. When Katie asks about her "real" mother, I just about lost it. Mr. London needs to understand that the adoptive parents ARE the REAL mom and dad. In relating this story to small children he could of at least used real and relevant words like "birth mother/birth parents."

Adopted children can be confused enough as it is, but using this misleading language is totally unnecessary.