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I received a book to read and review and I am pleased to do so.
The book is called “The Little Girl” by Phil Wong. This is a children’s book about a little girl raised by a single dad.
The book is set in China and focuses on a baby girl, Ming Zhu, who is abandoned and found by a man Li Feng. He takes her home and raises her as his daughter.
There are several things I like about this book. The illustrations are beautiful and children will love them. The colors are both soft and bright.
I like the way it embraces the Chinese culture talking about the meaning of the names, traditional Chinese foods, dress and even though I ethically disagree with it, and arranged marriage.
The story starts with the baby girl found and ends with her visiting her father with her own baby. While I loved reading about the different stages of Ming Zhu growing up, I wish a little bit more time had been spent in each stage, but that is the mark of a good story. You want to hear more and more. The illustrations show the cute little girl growing into a beautiful woman and then a mother.
The opening and closing of the story start with the same dream. Ming Zhu dreams of being cradled in a pair of arms feeling safe and snug. It is a beautiful beginning and ending of the story. Isn’t it a lovely feeling to be cradled in someone’s arms?
For parents who have adopted from China, it can be a great way to celebrate your child’s heritage and discuss some of the customs and traditions of China. It may also be a way to explain China’s one child policy. The book is currently available in English, but the author hopes to publish it in Chinese as well.
It is a beautiful book for a dad to read with his daughter. The father in the story never marries which makes it solely about the father and daughter relationship. I asked my husband to read the book as well and he agreed with my assessment.
I recommend “The Little Girl” as a great read with your child. You can find it online here. You may also see some of the illustrations and read how the book came to be here.
My copy of the book came with an explanation of both the book and China’s position on girls and the one child policy.
