Allison by Allen Say

Say, Allen. 1997. Allison. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 039585895

Summary
Allison is happy living with her parents and her doll Mei Mei. One day Allison gets a package with a kimono. When she puts it on, she realizes that she doesn't look at all like her parents, she looks like her doll. Her parents explain to her that they went to another country and brought Allison and Mei Mei home. "Father said, "Mommy and I went there and brought you and Mei Mei home with us (Say, 1997)." Allison has a difficult time accepting that her parents are not her biological parents. She also questions whether or not her parents really love her. Rescuing a stray cat helps Allison understand that she is an important, loved part of the family.

Analysis
Allen Say is an amazing artist. The watercolor illustrations that accompany the text are very realistic. Each character's emotions are clearly shown on their faces. Allison is depicted with a pageboy hair cut. Her hair is straight and black and her eyes are almond shaped dark brown. Her parents are an Anglo couple. The illustrations are not stereotypical or hackneyed, but true to life. Allison's doll, Mei Mei, appears to be a porcelain type doll. Mei Mei is shown as having dark hair and eyes that are similar to Allison's. Mei Mei is wearing a kimono.

I think the author wanted to tell an adoption story and it is a nice adoption story, but there are a few issues. Where is Allison originally from? The first guess is China. Many little girls are adopted from China every year. According to the State Department, Americans adopted more than 3,000 children from China in 2008. In 2005, more than 7,000 children were adopted from China (http://adoption.state.gov/news/total_chart.html). In contrast only about 40 children annually are adopted from Japan. Japan has very strict adoption rules and only a child who is an orphan can be adopted to a foreign country (http://adoption.state.gov/country/japan.html#statistics). Allison gets a kimono and her doll wears a kimono. Kimonos are the traditional dress in Japan, not China. So that suggests that Allison is from Japan. But if she were, she would be an orphan and then her parents would explain that in the story but they don't. Also, Allison's doll is called Mei Mei. Mei means plum in both Japanese and Chinese but Mei Mei is typically a Chinese name (http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Mei). While I think the story is nice and the illustrations are amazing, the book is Pan-Asian. There is no particular culture represented, but rather a mix of Chinese and Japanese.

Connections
This book could be used to talk about different kinds of families and adoption.
Since Allison rescues a stray cat, this book could also be used to teach about animal adoptions.
This book could also be part of a study about families.

Review Excerpts
In Horn Book Magazine, Roger Hutton says, " Allison's parents adopted her abroad (just where is not stated, a distracting obscurity), and upon realizing that she does not look like her (Caucasian) parents, Allison becomes angry and spiteful, tearing up her parents' prized souvenirs of their own childhoods."

In School Library Journal Wendy Lukehart says, "It is finally the "adoption" of a stray cat, whose appearances frame the story, that helps Allison understand and appreciate her family While Say's watercolors are powerful--the skill with which he captures determination and longing in the muscles surrounding Allison's mouth, for example--and her anger is a believable reaction, the conclusion is abrupt and somewhat contrived."

Works Cited
Intercountry Adoption, Office of Child Issues, United States Department of State. 2009. http://adoption.state.gov Last accesses July 30, 2009.

Lukehart, Wendy. 1997. "Preschool to grade 4: Fiction." School Library Journal 43, no. 10: 109. Academic Search Complete Database. Last accessed July 30, 2009.

Say, Allen. 1997. Allison. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Sutton, Roger. 1998. "Allison." Horn Book Magazine 74, no. 1: 69-69. Academic Search Complete Database. Last Accessed July 30, 2009.