Children's Corner: A Mother for Choco

Summary: The talented creator of The Wolf's Chicken Stew (1987 ALA Notable) provides a warmhearted contemporary surprise ending for the time-honored formula of a little creature searching the animal kingdom for its appropriate mother. Choco, a small yellow bird with a big blue bill, tries a giraffe (she has no wings, she says), a penguin (no ``big round cheeks''), and a walrus, but no one seems to look just like him. Comfortable Mrs. Bear is wiser: ``If you had a mommy, what would she do?'' And since she's quite able to hold him and kiss him, regardless of appearances, he's soon the new member of her happy family--joining the little pig, hippo, and alligator already in her affectionate brood. The timely point is hardly subtle, but it's made with notable good humor, especially in Kasza's marvelous animal caricatures of comically human states of mind. Just right for the preschool group or beginning reader. ~amazon.com

Review: My daughter gets a new book each week from her school that comes in a "bookpak" which has phonetic exercises to help her learn to read. I have to say, they have helped. It's amazing how quickly they absorb new things. Her book last week was A Mother for Choco which both my husband and I enjoyed reading to her. It's a story of finding where you belong regardless of if you look like your family. It's a story of acceptance for being different and loving those differences.

It's obvious the book is aimed at the adoptive parents/kids group but as a mother of a bi-racial daughter and son, I think it's perfect for us as well. My daughter and son might not look exactly like me but they don't have to know that I love them just the same!

Choco is adorable in his quest to find his mother and Mrs. Bear is fuzzy and cuddly as the animal who takes accepts him into her family.

The illustrations are bright, adorable and go perfectly with the story. The story is simple and yet refreshing.

Final Take: 4.5/5