We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo [Library Binding]

Linda Walvoord Girard (Author), Linda Shute (Illustrator)

Book Description

Nine-year-old Benjamin Koo Andrews, adopted from Korea as an infant, describes what it's like to grow up adopted from another country.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is a welcome and needed picture book introduction to the concept of interracial adoption. Benjamin Koo, nine, narrates his own story: his birth mother left him at an orphanage in Korea when he was only a few days old; and, in America, his adoptive parents were longing to have a child and were just waiting for one to become available. In a childlike yet carefully organized way the author has Benjamin lay out all the details of adoption that children, adopted or not, want to know. Benjamin also confides his worries and wonderings: Why did his birth mother leave him, and what does being in a family really mean? Finally, Benjamin offers wise counsel: "You might have been born somewhere else or look different from your parents, but that has noth ing to do with love." Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A warm and reassuring story of foreign adoption and family love."

School Library Journal

"This is a welcome and needed picture book introduction to the concept of interracial adoption."

Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807586943
• ISBN-13: 978-0807586945
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,488,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Story of Korean adoption rings true, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo (Library Binding)

As the parent of a boy adopted from Korea, I find this story follows ours quite closely. The process and the issues are the same for many adoptive families. The only thing missing from this book is any mention of a birth father. The birth mother's role is handled well, but there is no reference to a birth father. This book starts when Benjamin is nine years old. That's when the real questions about adoption can begin.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Charming and Informative, November 23, 2005

By 

Library Gaga (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo (Paperback)

In many ethnic books, there are descriptions of humorous misunderstandings on the part of the outsiders who are unaware of American culture. In this book, the shoe is on the other foot. Korean Benjamin Koo is adopted by American parents and is flown across the Pacific (with a nurse) to the parents who have seen only a snapshot of their new baby. When their baby arrives dressed in pink, the mother panics. Believing more strongly in cultural clues than in the nurse's assurances, she checks under the baby's clothes to make sure he is a boy. Pink and blue don't mean the same thing in Korea. Suddenly, our customs seem ridiculous. Why shouldn't a boy wear pink?

In straightforward fashion, the story goes on to describe how Benjamin slowly realized he was different from his parents, and he began wondering about his real parents. A wise guidance counselor helped him through most of the questions. When his parents adopted a girl from Brazil, Benjamin was better prepared to deal with the "dumb" questions from strangers, such as "Did they come from the same family?"

Watercolor illustrations are average quality, not Jerry Pinkney but nothing to complain about. They carry the story along well. Incidentally, this is the true experience of a real boy, and Holt International Children's Services is credited for their assistance in the facts of this story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book: Recommended to our families, March 21, 2011

By 

S. Hedberg "Written By Angela Vance" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo (Library Binding)

I am the assistant director of an international adoption agency. When I reviewed this book, I immediately posted on our client group about it! Even though it is a bit dated, it is very relevant. I love the fact it talks about the fact that he came in pink clothes and his mom even double-checked to make sure he really was a boy! We often receive pictures of children in "the opposite gender" clothes and it's important that kids understand these things when they are older so they are not confused when they look at their first pictures. Having this type of real info in a book written from a child's perspective is very important. Other subjects are approached briefly, but not dwelled on inappropriately: adoption fees, the amount of paperwork involved, the time he looked in the mirror to discover he looked different when before it was just the way it was, the feelings associated with finally understanding what adopted means, how a counselor helped, adoption of sibling, remarks people say out of ignorance or curiosity, celebrations from the children's respective birth countries, the things other kids say and the stereotypes that go with it, etc. The book ends with an encouragement from the child to ask questions because it's okay to ask, and to know that love and family has nothing to do with where you were born or who you look like.