Kids Like Me in China
by Brian Boyd, Ying Ying Fry, Terry Fry

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Book Reviews of Kids Like Me in China

Book Review: Upbeat but frank: adopted child visits where she came from
Summary: 5 Stars

The pictures are mostly of kids (all ages) and caregivers at the Changsha orphanage, where Ying Ying, the 8-year-old author, is from. The orphanage is in good shape: it has new cribs for the babies, bright new clothes for all the kids, etc. But there are lots and lots of those cribs to a room, and the text talks about how busy the ayis are, taking care of all the kids. There are frank pictures of special needs kids. There are also pictures of older kids at school (mostly giving performances, rather than
sitting at desks). And there are pictures at a kid's home, which could pass as an American home, complete with laptop computer.

The text is upbeat, articulate, and frank. It's told from Ying Ying's point of view, in a child's "voice." She focuses on the positives in things, while explicitly acknowledging the negatives. Some quotes: "I was really excited and also a little scared." "I don't think the Ayis ever stop working. They hardly ever sit down." "Sometimes I think about [my birthmother]. But I don't talk about it much. Sometimes I just looked at all those babies in all those cribs and I didn't know what to think. Sometimes I just had to leave the room." "Sometimes when my parents were in another part of the orphanage, I'd go to my friends' rooms to play. It was different without my parents there. I talked more, and the kids asked me more questions: 'Do you like America? Do you like China? Do you like your parents?' Yes, yes, yes." There are a few pages that cover the reasons why there are so many kids in the orphanage, and why most of the
infants are girls.

The author of the book is listed as Ying Ying Fry, "with Amy Klatzkin," her mother. I approached this a bit cautiously, because I've seen a little too much of parents putting words into their kids' mouths. The acknowledgements section addresses this explicitly: "The text was constructed from Ying Ying's journal, and from audiotapes, videotapes and interviews with her. The opinions, observations and questions are all hers, and she exercised final approval over the wording." We know Ying
Ying a little, not closely. I do think this seems like a good representation of what a girl like her would feel. While frank, the book represents a fundamentally upbeat outlook.

I'm very happy to have this book for my daughter, who is also from China. While it addresses hard issues, it does it in a way that isn't going to create any trauma that a child doesn't already feel. On the contrary, the book shows an example of a kid who can think about hard things and still have a great outlook. A wonderful role model for my kid. As with "When You Were Born in China", I'd suggest this book for elementary-school aged kids.

Summary of Kids Like Me in China

Eight-year-old Ying Ying Fry is a Chinese American girl growing up in San Francisco. But her story didn't begin there. Like lots of kids she knows, Ying Ying spent her first months in China--in a birth family she cannot remember and an orphanage in Changsha, Hunan province, where her American parents adopted her when she was a tiny baby.

When Ying Ying goes back to visit Changsha, she can't wait to see her orphanage caregiver--someone who knew her and loved her when she lived in China. Meeting Li Ayi is just the beginning, as Ying Ying discovers points of connection with all the orphanage children--babies, toddlers and school-age kids. Outside the orphanage she visits children at home, at playgrounds and at school, and these friendships too help her see her life story in a new light. A child of two countries, Ying Ying is determined to claim both as her own.

Kids Like Me in China combines real-life photos with the forthright observations and complex feelings of an adopted child as she ponders what her early life might have been like. The first view of China adoption from a child's perspective, Kids Like Me will inspire all adopted children to take charge of their own life stories.

Chinese Books

• Books > Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National
• Children's Books > Social Situations > Family Life
• Parenting & Relationships > Adoption