Customer Reviews

Waiting for Mama (English and Korean Edition)

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

 

 

One should bear in mind the situation Korea went through when the story was published: At this time the Korean peninsula had already been occupied by Imperial Japan for over 30 years with no ending in sight (a rebellion had been put down brutally in 1919). Since 1905, the Japanese invaders were eager to erase any form of Korean traditions and assimilate the people to become second class Japanese. The Koreans had to take Japanese names and perform the Shinto rites. Korean was forbidden as an official language. Moreover, in 1938, Japanese began to compel Korean men to work in the factories located on the Japanese mainland and women as "comfort women" in military brothels.

The Korean intellectuals invented folk songs (e.g. Ommaya Nunaya - Mom Sis) and children stories in order to to circumvent censorship and demonstrate subtly the will of the people to sustain any hardship.

Seen in this light, the ending of the story is not so clear: Has Mom finally arrived to pick up her boy or is it just the boy`s dream? - Anyway, in Korean thinking snow is a symbol of hope.

The inside flap of this story says (in part) "Told in a few lines of text, the tender story 'Waiting for Mama'...will touch the heart. A small child waits for Mama at the streetcar station...In the last wordless spread, we see the child's small hand in his mother's firm grasp as they walk away from us".

I am a preschool teacher constantly looking for sweet stories, especially those that all children can relate to. The fact that this one takes place in Korea, has very little text, and is translated in English AND Korean made me eager to purchase it. The pictures are attractive, subtle, soft, some pen and ink, and shown in varying views. The front cover shows the most adorable small child, clearly younger than the children in my preschool classroom, and I expected that he was waiting for Mama to come home, like many children must. However, being written in a different time and place, this small child is waiting on a streetcar station, alone, while MANY trains come and go, and the sky grows dark and eventually snows. THe artist does an amazing job of depicting the small forlorn child patiently waiting...and waiting...for Mama to come.

And as I skim through the pages (before reading this to the class) I cannot find the final victory picture of Mama's hand clasped firmly in her childs. I read through it again with the same result, and finally ask another teacher to see if this story does indeed have the happy ending I'm expecting! She finds it like a "Where's Waldo?" picture - the last picture is a 2 page spread from a birds eye view of the roof tops and alleyways. It is done in green and white to show the setting sun and falling snow, and there is a tiny Mama and child, more obscure than the snow covered roof tops.

I have not yet decided if I am reading it to my class, but I will be sure to emphasize that Mama does indeed come home. I strongly wish that had been made more obvious.

Love this book! I especially love how there is both Korean and English text and can be read by myself and baby's grandparents. A simple, endearing story!

My 3 yr old daughter loves this book. The illustrations were beautiful and captivated my little girls attention. Everyone talks about how the Mother never come back, but even my 3 yr old pointed out to me that "His Mommy came and he has a sucker!" I love this book and find it so wonderful that my mother (full korean) can sit and read it in Korean to her.

This story is so sweet... A simple tale of patience, obedience, and perseverance as a child waits for his mother at their streetcar stop. It is beautifully illustrated and one of our children's favorites. We started reading it to them when our oldest was under a year old, and they are now 6, 5, and 3. They still love it.

Some reviewers find it difficult to locate the reunited mother and child in the final spread, but my children all found it easily. Sure, by today's standards, esp. in western cultures, it may seem a bit scary for a young child to be waiting at a streetcar station, but when understood in its cultural and historical context, it makes much more sense.

There are so few books in korean/english, that i bought it! However, as excited as I was to read it to my child, i was unhappy with the graphics and storyline that didn't seem to target children. At least not one less than 4 or maybe 5 yrs old. I am going to shelve it until maybe when she's 6-8, so she can understand it more (symbolism, looking for the happy ending, etc).

This book was a simple and welcome addition to my collection of materials for learning Korean. I not only had the enjoyment of reading it in Korean but my grandson loved the pictures.

Wonderful!!
Deborah DF

This was my favorite book that I bought for a Holiday gift and I bought several from Amazon. The story was sweet and the drawings were special. This is not a new story by any means,but it is special for a family that has a Mama waiting for her baby.

I bought this book for my American (korean) grand daughter to give her some pieces of her heritage as she grows to use as she will! It's a cute book. Simple and sweet. I was happy with it as it also came on time and in good condition!

If you want you child to cry then read them this book. The momma never comes back! The artistry make it look like it is for small children, but in my opinion - it is not.

I too was excited because of the dual languages I would love to see more books with dual languages - depressing children's books. Not so much. While I think it is important to keep things in perspective, I also want my child to be raised knowing there is a hope and a future. Not that I am going to leave them and not come back. I also want them to know that they are never totally alone. God is always with them. That there are angels awaiting for our call for them to help. This book does not portray that in any way. While I don't expect every book they read to have those undertones, I think this book is just too depressing for little ones.

After reading the other comments I see more of what it is supposed to be about. A very sad time indeed.
If that is it's intention, to remind people of history so it won't be repeated and help people tell their story, a historical excerpt is needed.