William Is My Brother [Hardcover]

Jane T. Schnitter (Author), Gerald Kruck (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Two young brothers are the same in many ways except that one was born into the family and the other was adopted.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Two brothers have the same parents, but one was born to them and one was adopted. Tony, the biological child, tells the story of William's adoption and of their relationship in a relaxed conversational voice. Like all siblings, he and William are alike in some ways and different in others. Each knows he is special, prized for his unique qualities. The boys share a secret, too--soon they're getting a new sister by adoption. Undetailed sepia drawings in a naif style are framed side-by-side with a page of large-print text. There is no plot; instead, one or two adoption concepts are presented on each double page. Both illustrations and text are printed in a sepia monochrome. Thus the family is not easily identified by race or ethnicity. This is a pleasant, utilitarian effort of a small press specializing in infertility and child welfare issues, and it doesn't duplicate material currently available through traditional sources.
- Anna Biagioni Hart, Martha Washington Library, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 29 pages
• Publisher: Perspectives Pr (February 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094493403X
• ISBN-13: 978-0944934036
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,101,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two brothers, one adopted, one not. Family issues., February 15, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: William Is My Brother (Hardcover)

This book is a factual, upbeat story about a family with two boys -- the older one is biological and the younger adopted. It focuses on them as brothers -- what they like and dislike about each other, and how normal and natural their "brotherhood" is. A good intro for mixed families (like ours) and it gets discussion going. Basic black and white drawings and a nice surprise ending.

3.0 out of 5 stars Important, but not terribly well done., August 1, 2007

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: William Is My Brother (Hardcover)

Jane T. Schnitter, William Is My Brother (Perspectives Press, 1991)

Schnitter's simple children's book is a rare one: it's a book about adoption written from the perspective of the biological child in an adoptive family. While this would seem an obvious idea, I haven't been able to find any others that deal with adoption from this perspective, so it was a must. That said, I have to say I wasn't terribly impressed with it. The story is fine, though it reads a little kludgy; the artwork has some great concepts (I love the family dog), but it comes off as primitive, and not in the good way. I had actually thought this either a self- or vanity-published book until I looked up Perspectives Press on the internet. (That said, the book's afterword does strongly imply that William is My Brother was Perspective's first book, so the fact that it's now a legit publisher with a wide array of both children's and adult titles on alternative family groupings may not exclude the possibility that this is a self-pubbed effort.)

An important topic, and one on which, I hope, other, more well-crafted, titles have since appeared. I haven't found any yet, though. ***