BookPikks

A simply delightful book by the author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Alexander is one of the real-life sons of author Judith Viorst. When he, his wife and 3 children come to live with Viorst and her husband for 3 months while their home is being remodeled, Viorst siezes the opportunity to write about the experience of 3 generations living together. What results is a humorous accounting of how the family coped, mixed with some practical advice for adult family living together. I enjoyed this book (reading from Alexander’s perspective) but I think that grandparents who have had grown children and grandchildren come back to live (or even just to visit) will enjoy it even more.

Siegal writes powerfully of her experiences as a Jewish child in Hungary as Hitler came to power. The horror of the Nazi regime, and the power of love and family come to life.

Kathy’s second book about her work as a foster mom focuses on the story of Daisy.  Daisy’s mother was unable to care for her, and yet unwilling to release her either.  Daisy bounced around from Kathy’s home, back to her mom, and back to Kathy.  Dealing with the effects of abandonment and abuse, Daisy suffered from eating disorders, speech disorders and attention problems.  But with Kathy’s help, Daisy finally found the family she always wanted.

As an aside, as I was reading this book, I was reminded of Torey Hayden’s books.  She also writes about her work with troubled and abused children, but she does so from a classroom teacher’s point of view.  Kathy’s books are very similar in tone to Torey’s.  Both women are dedicated to their jobs, matter-of-fact about the difficulties that they endure, and honest about both the mistakes they make, and the successes they savor.  Their books are must reads for anyone working with children.

Kathy was introduced to the foster care system though her job as a Head Start teacher. In her classroom of 4 year old high risk students, she quickly became drawn to the foster children, in particular, a girl named Angelica. Upon discovering that Angie’s biological mom was unable to care for her, and that Angie’s current foster placement wasn’t working out, Kathy and her husband decided to become foster parents and provide Angie (and later, her big sister Neddy) a home. They soon began the adoption process for the girls, and felt as if their family (including their 3 biological sons) was complete. However, social services kept calling, in need of a good temporary home for other kids in the system. Kathy and Bruce couldn’t say “no” to kids in need, and were soon full-time foster parents.

Another Place at the Table chronicles Kathy’s journey as a foster mom. She’s ready at a moment’s notice to set another place at the table. It’s a record of the joy, sadness, and anger that she feels as she cares for her kids, and an honest look at the incredibly hard, yet immensely satisfying work that she does each day.

I’ve read a number of books, written from the Korean perspective, about the Japanese occupation of Korea (Lost Names by Richard E Kim; Whem My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park; Home Was the Land of Morning Calm by K. Connie Kang; Year of Impossible Good-byes and sequels by Sook Nyul Choi). This is the first book I’ve read that tells of the hardships suffered by the Japanese citizens who lived in Korea at the end of World War II.

Yoko Kawashima and her family lived in northern Korea. When World War II ended, they were trapped between communists moving down from Russia, angry Koreans who wanted their homeland back, and the Japanese military who weren’t ready to give up. Yoko, her mother and sister make the dangerous journey south to Seoul and then on to Japan. But once they get to Japan, their struggles aren’t over. Homeless and separated from family, they must struggle to survive. This was an amazing story of strength in the face of adversity, and honor in spite of a world gone mad.