Waiting for Mama

Title: Waiting for Mama

Bibliographic information:

Author: Lee Tae-Jun

Illustrator: Kim Dong-Seong

Translator: Unknown

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: North-South Books; Bilingual edition (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English, Korean

Reader's Annotation:

Will Mama ever come?  The young boy comes to the train station every day, and he waits for Mama.  The train conductor and other people in the station are kind to him, but will Mama ever come?

Interest Level: Ages 4-7

Lexile level: Not Calculated

Awards, if applicable: Not Applicable

Plot summary: Every day, the boy goes to the train station, and he waits for Mama.  The train conductor suggests he stand out of the snow.  Other passengers come and go.  And yet, he is still waiting for Mama.  The final image of the book shows the boy hand in hand with Mama

Critical review:  This picture book is a charming tale about persistence - until you realize that it was published in 1932, when Korea was ruled by Japan, and that Mama was probably a political prisoner in a concentration camp.  Even without that historical perspective, the contrast between the images and text - especially the bilingual nature of this text - gives this story a level of depth and beauty.

Why include it?

Quite simply, this Korean story is beautiful and timeless, with striking imagery and a compelling mix of fidelity and melancholy which makes that final image so very powerful and hopeful.