- a Chinese-American family adopts a baby from China
- big sister and friends try to help solve the problem the baby arrived with
(via a science experiment) - no language concerns (there are several Chinese words but with pronunciation guide)
- convo topics: vaccines, divorce, unrestricted internet access
- cleanliness: a girl’s skirt flies up and momentarily shows her underwear to nearby boys
Type: chapter book
Ages: 6-9
Author: Andrea Cheng
Illustrator: Patrice Barton
The best parts of this book, in my opinion, were the encouragement to adopt and the cross-cultural aspects. Regarding the former, another couple is inspired to adopt toward the end of the book. As for the culture, we had a glimpse into all sorts of traditions and foods Chinese people have. The friends (of different heritages) are great at accepting the differences and strengths of each other.
Admittedly, I was quite annoyed at the writing style. It was in first person (of a child), but the sentences were so short and choppy, that it was not the smoothest read-aloud for us. My kids were decently amused by the story anyway.