Allison

Rating:
Summary: Poor
Review: I found this book offensive in the extreme. If I were an adopted child I would certainly not wish to be compared to a stray cat taken in off the street. I have found a lot of quality books about adoption. This one should be given a miss.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely pictures; inaccurate text
Review: Say deserves 5 stars for the gorgeous watercolors, but his facile and inaccurate text brings down his rating significantly. Why is this Chinese child (she refers to her doll by the Chinese word "mei mei" which means "little sister") dressed in a Japanese kimono? This jarring error disrupts the the flow of the text and significantly damages his credibility as a storyteller. Also, this story would feel more "true" if one of Allison's preschool friends had taunted her for her Asian features--her sudden discomfort is without context or motivation. Also, her vindictive destruction of her parents' treasured childhood property seems odd. Her parents are hurt, understandably, but they fail to grasp her deeper turmoil. I disagree with the previous reviewer; I have worked with young adoptees and find that even young children experience anguish (although not always expressed in the language adults are used to hearing). However, I am more troubled by her parents' lack of change. Instead of the entire family changing and growing, becoming closer together, Allison instead takes in a kitten and therefore everything is resolved. I find this conclusion superficial and misleading.
The illustrations are marvelous and almost make up for the text, but please read this book with a healthy amount of skepticism. For a more accurate representation of a child's experience of adoption, check out Ying Ying Fry's _Kids Like Me in China_.

Rating:
Summary: Sensitive Water Colors and Text
Review: This book is the story of a young Asian child who becomes angry and alienated from her Caucasian parents when she recognizes that she has been adopted. Her parents are hurt but unable to help. The situation is resolved when the child takes in an adult stray cat. The child's dawning affection for the cat and her desire to keep it, help her understand the true meaning of family. - Others have objected to this story. However, I liked it. It was simple enough for my daughter to understand and to assimilate. I felt that the cat was not meant to be compared to a child, but instead to convey the understanding that love is unique and that families can be brought together in many ways. The child's 'speaking for the cat' reflects her own, new found, desire to remain part of the family. Her parent's finding ways to rectify damage inflicted on prize possessions from their own childhood reflects their quiet acceptance of their daughter's feelings. The pictures, especially the body language depicted, are wonderful. Not everything can be easily fixed. Not all parents know the best way to help with a sorrow. I feel that this story presents dissillusionment, anger, creativity, conflict, love and a gamut of other emotions pretty well. Perhaps that's why its other reviewers responded with so much feeling. One comment made by another reviewer criticizes the fact that a seemingly Chinese child has a Japanese doll. However, it is my interpretation that none of the subtext represents ignorance on the part of the author, but is rather intended to convey the painful mistakes and complexities of learning to understand and respect one another.