School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-6A warm-hearted but not prettified view of adoption. Carolyn, nine, narrates this attractive photo-essay about her life in Minneapolis as an adoptee from Honduras. Her brother is also from Honduras; when she was two, she went there with her parents to pick him up. Carolyn experiences the tension between wanting to be like everyone else and taking pride in being special. But mostly she thinks about ordinary kid things: sports, school, friends, pets. The clear, full-color photos show her engaged in common activities and with her family. However, in the glossary, open adoption is called open adoption; closed adoption is called traditional adoption. In some American cultures, native Hawaiian for instance, a form of open adoption is traditional. Linda Girard's We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo (Albert Whitman, 1989) is also a first-person account of a nine-year-old Korean boy with a Brazilian younger sister. It deals with similar issues, but a quite different situation, so both books are needed.Nancy Schimmel, formerly at San Mateo County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
This first person text is somewhat plodding, but children will relate to nine-year-old Carolyn's everyday experiences. She explains how being adopted from Honduras affects her life, both positively and negatively. A good springboard for discussion, this book is illustrated with engaging color photographs of Carolyn and her family. Adoption resources and a note with additional information are included. Bib., glos. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
[SERIES LAST REVIEWED IN THIS ISSUE, under Greenberg, Keith Elliot. Gr. 5^-7.]
