Babies Can't Eat Kimchee!

by Nancy Patz and Roth Susan L

Book Overview

When a baby sister comes along, it seems she is just too little for anything Will she ever be big enough to play? To whisper secrets? To eat kimchee? Will she always lie there? Scream for no reason?... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1599900173
• ISBN13: 9781599900179
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 11.0" x 9.9"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Great book

I found this book in our local library and we ended up loving it. Being a Korean-American, I just had to check it out based on the title. This is a great book on many levels. First, it is beautifully illustrated. Second, it really speaks to the dilemma of an older sibling with a new baby sibling. My 4 year old loves her 9-month sister but feels tormented by her at the same time. You can tell from her face as I read her this book that she felt identified with the main character. Third, the book takes a multi-cultural bend without trying too hard. What a delight.

multicultural book on sibling rivalry

This multicultural picture book centers on a Korean-American big sister, who initially glares angrily at her baby sister while enumerating the many things babies can't do, such as eat kimchee or spaghetti, or dance like a ballerina. The sister then imagines the many things she'll teach her sibling as the baby grows, until the baby interrupts her reverie with a loud cry, perfectly captured on the page with a firework-like explosion of color on a striking two-page spread. This title is an excellent book to read with new siblings of any nationality since it touches on universal issues, but is likely to be particularly appealing to Korean-American families, who will identify with special cultural traditions depicted such as a traditional Korean gown the baby wears for her first birthday. The illustrations in this book are particularly noteworthy for their brilliantly colored, expressionistic style carried out with cut strips of paper collaged with black ink drawings on mylar film. The emphasis on bright orange, red, yellow, gold and other warm colors captures the emotions of the big sister very effectively. Highly recommended for children three through six.

My daughter loves this book!

We picked up this book from the library and my 3 year old loves it so much that we ended up extending it 3 times. Now I am just buying our own copy! The art is really pretty and the story line helps her read out some words by herself.

Cute, cute story

Babies can't do much. They can't eat kimchee, they can't dance ballet, they don't play dress-up, and they don't know anything. All babies are good for is making a ruckus. But babies often grow into little sisters and then whole new worlds of teaching and friendship open. Babies Can't Eat Kimchee! is a delight to the senses. The unique illustrations are bright and expressive with a textured look and they perfectly complement the text. The text is true-to-life and reads aloud well with plenty of room for dramatic inflection. I especially enjoyed the multi-cultural bent of this story. Though this book is written from a Korean perspective, I feel it is important for all children, especially those who live in multi-cultural families, to see other cultures represented in their picture books. Babies Can't Eat Kimchee! is a fabulous addition to a multi-cultural library. My only question is this: can we get a boy version? Armchair Interviews says: Nice to see multicultural books.