We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo (Library Binding)

~ Linda Walvoord Girard (Author), Linda Shute (Illustrator) "My name is Benjamin Koo Andrews..." (more)

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

This is a welcome and needed picture book introduction to the concept of interracial adoption. -- Publisher's Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807586943
• ISBN-13: 978-0807586945
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,768,466 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

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.

6 of 7 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.