Always With You - Hardcover

Vander Zee, Ruth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802852955 ISBN 13: 9780802852953

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2008

Synopsis

After her mother is killed by an explosion that also destroys her Vietnam village, four-year-old Kim is alone and afraid. Eventually, she is rescued by soldiers who bring her to an orphanage.

Surrounded by the love of the couple who run the orphanage, the companionship of the children who live there, and her mother's promise, “I will always be with you,” Kim finds the strength and courage to survive.

This picture book for older readers, based on a true story from the Vietnam War, portrays the hope that exists in even the most desperate situations. Poignant illustrations capture the perseverance of the human spirit and the power of kindness.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Vander Zee, teacher and writer, is also the author of Erika's Story, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti (Creative Editions). She lives in San Jose, California with her husband.

Reviews

Grade 3–4—Toshi Maruki's Hiroshima no Pika (HarperCollins, 1982) and Eleanor Coerr's Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Putnam, 2002) are outstanding examples of books that try to describe the horrors and inhumanity of war in ways that children would understand. On a lesser scale of strength, this picture book takes a tragedy experienced by a four-year-old and makes it a universal story about being alone and afraid. When her village in Vietnam is bombed, Kim remembers her mother's dying words, "I will always be with you." She holds to them when she is struck on the head by a gun; when she is found, hungry and almost blind, by friendly soldiers; and when she is taken to an orphanage where she is cared for and loved. The pencil and watercolor illustrations are admirably suited to the text: Kim's expressions, the gray lines of marching soldiers, and the devastated land do more to deglorify warfare than any amount of adult preaching, just as the sight of her softly weeping in her bed and being reassured by the orphanage house mistress conveys her longing for her mother better than words would. This is a good book to use in classroom discussions of war, of what happens to the children, or, more specifically, of the Vietnam War and how it was that so many Vietnamese came to the United States.—Marian Drabkin, formerly at Richmond Public Library, CA
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Based on a true story, this poignant picture book tells of one of the hundreds of thousands of children orphaned by the Vietnam War. When Kim is four, her village is bombed, and her mother dies. A soldier cracks a gun across her head, and she blacks out; when she comes to, her vision is hazy. Eventually rescued by American soldiers, she is raised in an orphanage by kind caregivers, and she feels safe, sustained by her mother’s last words: Don’t be afraid. I will always be with you. The quiet words are delivered through the child’s perspective, while Himler’s beautiful, spacious watercolors show the terrifying bombing, the sepia-and-gray-toned world Kim sees after her concussion, and then her sadness and hope during the following five years. The format suggests a traditional picture-book readership, but the subject matter is difficult; young children may have many questions. Try this with elementary-schoolers who are slightly older than the traditional picture-book listeners. Grades 2-4. --Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802852955
• ISBN 13: 9780802852953
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Himler Ron
• Number of pages: 32