Ten Days and Nine Nights: An Adoption Story [Hardcover]

Yumi Heo (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

How many days until a little girl’s adopted sibling is brought home?

Follow a little girl as she and her family prepare for the new baby that will soon be joining them. And simultaneously, watch the girl’s mother fly off to Korea, meet the new baby, and bring her home. Here is an utterly simple, sweet, and child-centric look at the adoption process through the eyes of a soon-to-be older sibling. From cutting a red paper heart and taping it above the new baby’s crib to telling her best friend about the adoption, the young narrator counts down every day and night with growing anticipation, marking them with a big X on her calendar. Unlike other adoption books which are aimed only at the adoptive child, Ten Days and Nine Nights is also perfect for older children who are about to become big sisters and brothers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—A child eagerly anticipates an event and uses simple sentences to express her excitement about what is going to happen. Heo relates two parallel stories here. One features the girl and her calendar countdown with text such as, "Daddy buys some new furniture. I have five days and four nights" and "I wash my old Teddy Bear. I have four days and three nights." Then readers learn what she is preparing for as the illustrations show the mother's journey to Korea to adopt a new baby and bring her home. Signs and labels in Korean appear throughout the book. The exquisite oil, pencil, and collage illustrations dovetail with the quiet, simple tone of the text. Heo's distinctive, uncluttered style is very effective as it reinforces the narrator's focus on the event. The pictures have fanciful angles and random details that will intrigue most children. For example, while Grandma "makes a little pink dress," spools of thread, a pincushion, buttons, and a tape measure, as well as a cat, seem to float about her. Most books about waiting for the arrival of an adoptive baby are aimed at older children and delve into negative feelings about a new sibling. This one is a worthwhile addition to most collections.—Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

“I mark a circle on the calendar. I have ten days and nine nights.” The opening of this adoption story shows a young Asian girl marking May 10 on a calendar. As she waits for her mom to return, she counts down each day by doing something that’s a clue: cutting a red paper heart, helping Grandpa redecorate her room, watching her dad buying new furniture, practicing holding a baby, and washing her old teddy bear. Then Grandma makes a little pink dress and Daddy closes his dry-cleaning store. Interspersed with the girl’s actions are wordless scenes of Mom signing papers and flying home with the new baby sister. Heo’s stylized artwork fills the pages with family warmth in this welcome and endearing addition to adoption books. The calendar device is exactly childlike, as is the girl’s first-person voice. An author’s note refers to personal acquaintances who have adopted Korean babies. Preschool-Grade 2. --Julie Cummins

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375847189
• ISBN-13: 978-0375847189
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 0.4 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,226,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars We LOVE this book! Perfect for older sibling in adoption process!, August 2, 2010

By 

K. Lim (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ten Days and Nine Nights: An Adoption Story (Hardcover)

We just welcomed our 10-month-old son home from South Korea last week. We also have a 3-year-old daughter, and this book has been fantastic in helping prepare her for her new role as a big sister--not to mention a conversation starter on the topic of adoption. And it's just plain adorable. The illustrations are so cute and charming, and the story is told in such a simple way that allows parents to explain photos and talk to their children about their specific circumstances (if applicable).

In the story the mother travels to South Korea to bring home the baby sister while the father and older sister stay home. In the book, we hear from the big sister's perspective all the things family members do to prepare for her baby sister's arrival. The book has been such a great tool for us, we even took it to the airport and read it while we were waiting to meet our son. (At the end of the book, the family goes to the airport to meet the mother who has just returned from South Korea with the baby sister. So sweet.)

Our daughter sleeps with this book every night and "reads" it often (she has most of it memorized).

Thank you, Yumi Heo, for such a touching, adorable, and relevant book that serves as an excellent conversation-starter for little ones who are preparing to welcome siblings through adoption. We give this book five stars!

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Korean adoption - illustrations could be so much better, August 25, 2009

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ten Days and Nine Nights: An Adoption Story (Hardcover)

There is a little girl who begins to count down on her calendar of how many days are left until her new sister who is coming home from Korea. She begins her countdown at 10 days and 9 nights. On day 9 her mother leaves for Korea and it's just her and her father. As she counts down the days and nights until she is a big sister she has lots to do, there is redecorating her room, practicing with her dolls, helping her dad and grandfather get ready for her sister. Finally the day arrives and then big sister meets her new little sister.

I like the story, but do not know how long it takes to formalize an adoption from Korea, but this is a cute story about counting down the day until you finally get to meet the newest family member! This would be perfect for a child who is awaiting a sibling to read while she is awaiting her mom or parents to come back home.

What I wish was better was the illustration of Asian faces, they are very stereotypical of Asian people who half moon eyes, just like on the cover. I was hoping that the girl on the cover was laughing and the eyes would be better, but her eyes an any other Asian are like that.