Books at Bedtime: Allison by Allen Say
Monday, November 9th, 2009
November is National Adoption Awareness Month in the U.S. and I have just read Allen Say‘s book, Allison (Houghton Mifflin, 1997), which is the heart-rendingly beautiful story of a little girl’s own sudden awareness of her adopted status and its consequences.
When little Allison’s grandmother sends her a kimono to wear, she suddenly realises that with her straight, dark hair, she looks more like her beloved Japanese doll Mei Mei than her (adoptive) parents. She wants to know where her Mommy and Daddy are, and why they didn’t want her. Despite her parents’ reassurances of their love for her, Allison comes close to rejecting them and her behavior reflects her inner turmoil. It takes a stray cat to help her get her life back into kilter and realise that she is part of a loving family which now numbers five, with Allison herself, her Mommy and Daddy, Mei Mei, and now also a no-longer-stray cat.
Allison’s hurt and anger are sensitively reflected in the illustrations through Say’s depiction of facial expressions and body-language. He doesn’t gloss over how hard it can be for parents to respond rationally either, and this adds to the story’s emotional depth. This is indeed a powerful and poignant book!
For other books about adoption, see these posts written last year by Aline and me; and do also read this thought-provoking post over at the Third Mom blog.
