The Red Thread. An Adoption Fairy Tale :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Perfect

2008-08-24
I am a mother of a 4 year old boy adopted through the foster care system at two years. We have read many books about adoption together. Very few books relate to his story and he's never "loved" any of them. This story is beautifully writen and poetic. The visual of the red thread was so powerful that we talk about "our threads" now. While this book is about a girl adopted from China, it is a fairytale with Kings and Queens and captures attention from the begining of the story. It also touches the one thing that most books miss; the parents and child are meant to be together regardless of how. The look on my son's face when I explained how I felt before and after we found each other, was priceless. By the way, this is the first book I've ever felt the need to review.

Great book!

2008-08-13
I am excited about this book! There are so few great children's books about adoption, and I love that this one makes such a beautiful picture.

disturbing book

2008-07-24
I truly enjoy Grace Lin's work and I am surprised that she would publish a book with such disturbing images. I adopted my daughter from China when she was one. I read this book to her when she was 4 years old. She was very upset by the image of a red thread causing her father and me terrible pain while we waited to be united with her. She was especially upset by the passages in which the King and Queen try to imagine what is at the other end of the thread. Much of what they imagine is scary. Because the thread is connected to the baby waiting to be adopted my daughter felt as though she had caused pain to her father and me while we waited for her. For weeks after we read the book, I had to reassure her that she did not cause us pain and that the story was just pretend. I understand that the author is trying to convey that it is hard and sometimes painful to wait to be united with your child, but for some kids the images in this book can be taken in the wrong way. I myself was upset by the book. I believe that it is important to share with your child the fact that there is both joy and pain inherent in adoption, but not with these images.

Delightful and heartwarming

2008-06-30
My two Chinese born daughters love this book. They are 3 and 5 years old, and find the fairy tale nature of the story easy to understand and also that it relates in real life to their own personal stories. I have also sent this to a friend with an adopted Native American daughter, and the cross cultural theme also works for them. A wonderful book.

A wonderful story for all adoptive families

2008-05-23
My 3 1/2 year old daughter was adopted from South Korea, not China, and this story is just as relevant for us. We look for our invisible, unbreakable red thread and talk about the connection we have. This is a good bedtime, snuggle story - not too long and not too short - with good vocabulary words to learn (famine, drought, peddler, spectacles, etc.) I change a few of the words towards the end: "Who does this baby belong with?" (instead of "to") and the people in the strange land "speak" (not "chatter"). These are minor issues in this overall wonderful book.

My daughter's favorite!

2008-04-23
(Ages 4-8) There is an ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects all those who are destined to be together. A king and queen rule a beautiful and peaceful land. They should be full of joy and contentment, but they both feel a strange pain that worsens every day.

Then a peddler's magic spectacles reveal a red thread pulling at each of their hearts. The king and queen know they must follow the thread-wherever it may lead. Grace Lin's lovely adoption fairy tale is for all children-and the parents who would search the world to find them.

Charming and simple story of yearning for a child 2008-02-24
This is a beautiful simple tale of two people who are lucky and know they have a lot but feel an emptiness inside. The red thread, a lovely symbol of one's heart, love, and yearning, connect them to their baby. Their dream is realized and they live happily ever after. A great book to introduce the subject of adoption to 2-9 year olds.

The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale 2008-01-07
A Wonderful Story!!! We have read this book many times since it was given as a Christmas gift. A must for a Chinese adoption family.

Imagenative 2007-12-23
Grace Lin is very imaginative. She has created this story about a King and a Queen adopting a baby. In the classic Chinese wedding, the bride and groom would hold a red ribbon between them and the matchmaker was called red-lady. I wonder if Grace got this mystery story from the red-lady or from Cupid that Cupid might have attached a red thread to target a heart. This is a beautiful story and is meticulously well illustrated and it has ended well at the tiny bows tied around the baby's feet. However, the red thread could have been threaded up and down, far and close in the Land of America.

my daughter asked for her own copy 2007-12-04
We have borrowed this book from the library. After several readings, my daughter - who is adopted from China, asked me to buy her a copy. She loved it.