Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter [Paperback]

Joan I. Siegel (Author), Joel Solonche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

A collection of poems written for and about an adopted two-year-old Chinese daughter by her adoptive parents, this book is of special interest to families of adopted children, Chinese and otherwise, and to lovers of fine poetry. Written in the distinctive voices of both mother and father, the poems explore the joys and troubles of parenthood and the experiences of becoming a family.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Unable to conceive a child, Siegel and Solonche adopted an abandoned Chinese baby and, both nearing 50, embarked on parentage. Each fills half this book with poems reacting to and meditating on their experience. Both focus intensely on the being and doings of Emily, their peach girl. Siegel sees China and all nature in the child, generally and particularly; one of her finest poems, "To the Chinese Mothers," conjures the emotions of all the Chinese mothers who have had to give up their children as well as of the one mother who had to give up this baby girl. Solonche characteristically wraps himself in the moments of Emily's and his interactions, often repeating a phrase within a poem as if it were a refrain in the song of fatherhood; when he looks beyond the present, it is the future rather than, like Siegel, the past that he envisions. Thanks to their poetic skill and emotional wisdom, Siegel and Solonche create not treacly inspiration but a testament of love and faith in humanity. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"...this collection captures moments - sacred, joyous, sorrowful and silly - that make up the lives of these amazing girls from China" -- David Youtz, Families with Children from China

"Thanks to their poetic skill and emotional wisdom, Siegel and Solonche create...a testament of love and faith in humanity." -- Ray Olson, Booklist, American Library Association

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Grayson Books (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096755540X
• ISBN-13: 978-0967555409
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,528,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peach Girl - Poems for a Chinese Daughter, October 16, 2003

By 

W. Silverstein (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter (Paperback)

As an adoptive mom of a Chinese daughter, this book has touched the core of my being. I absolutely love the poems! Since I purchased this book last summer (it is now October), I have read each and every one of the poems probably a hundred times over and they touch my heart every single time I read them. I VERY HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone considering it! My only question is...when is the NEXT one coming out?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredibly moving tribute, March 7, 2002

By 

BONNIE "Bonnie Ward" (Exeter, New Hampshire USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter (Paperback)

I am also the mom to 2 little girls from China. I bought the book at the recommendation of a friend and when it arrived, I quickly opened it to see what she had 'raved' about. The book opened to page 6, the poem Ghost Mother - which is about the Mom's fears and interpretations of her daughter's night-terrors. It is a brief poem, and as I read it, I audibly gasped and could not stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. Here on this page were the words that ran through my head all of those nights when I, too, tried to help my daughter through the darkness. My fears and heartache were splashed across every page of this book -- as well as my joy and pride and love for my girls.

Both Joan and Joel have detailed the experience of adopting a child from China, probably from anywhere, so well. The emotions are deep and genuine.

I read aloud from the book that night (last night) and as I sat, voice quavering, tears streaming from my eyes at times, smiles darting across my face some times, the same emotions played out across the face of our au pair as she listened to the words. It was wonderful. They are wonderful words.

As my 16 month old slept soundly upstairs, my 4.5 year old came over and took my hand - "Momma, don't cry", she said so sweetly. I hugged her close and showed her the book, the photos of the Siegel-Solonche family. "She is from China"? Yes, she was adopted and came to live here with her Momma and Daddy, just like you - "and our baby" - yes, and our baby. "Then you are crying happy tears?", yes, honey, I am crying happy tears.

You will too .........

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peach Girl is everyone's child., December 19, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" (NEW YORK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter (Paperback)

What a treasure! These poems reached out to me and caught me up in the moments & thoughts of both the adoptive parents and their daughter, Peach Girl. They brought back again similar moments with my own biological daughters, like the questions a child can ask, "Do the days ever end?". They made me feel new ones: wondering what that first mother, in China, was like and how she felt. Some poems, like Joan's "Dandelions", teach me about the adoptive experience: seeing your daughter in this world, "You are bending in the grass/picking dandelions", and wondering about the world from which she came, "I think about your country/where not long ago/you were a bundle left on a roadside". Others, like Joel's "Bath", bring humor: "Wars begin like this./America wants China to take a bath" or the not-often-heard feelings of the new father, "I Have Spent The Day Saying Father." All are filled with such love. This is a book to share with any parent, grandparent or child.