Waiting for Mama

by Tae-Jun Lee, Dong-Seong Kim, Kim Dong-Seong (Illustrations)

Told in a few lines of text, this tender story was first published in a newspaper in 1938. This tale from Korea is universal--a small child waits for Mama at the station, asking the conductor if he has seen her. The conductor hasn't, but cautions the child to wait a little farther from the tracks. It is cold and snowy but the child waits patiently until finally Mama comes. In the last wordless spread, we see the small hand in a mother's firm clasp as they walk away from us. The art and text are so authentic, so real, that this book is best published in a bilingual edition that respects and honors those traditions. The Korean setting gives it special appeal to a growing demographic segment. The institutional market is especially hungry for bilingual books in languages beyond Spanish.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Contemporary, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Tae Jun Lee was born in Korea in 1904 and, poignantly, was orphaned as a child. He wrote his most famous stories, including many for children and young adults, during the 1930s.

His works are well-loved in Korea for their poetic prose and emotional sensitivity.

After Korea's liberation in 1945, Lee settled in North Korea and was a war correspondent during the Korean War (1950 - 1953). Little is known of his activities thereafter, except that he disappeared in 1956, presumed purged by the North Korean Communist Party.

(from http://www.wilkinsfarago.com.au/tae_j...)

Reviews

[Michelle (driftingsong) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredibly cute, and also evokes certain feelings in me, feelings of standing outside lonely in the cold of winter, but also the comfort of a warm hand. : )

[Aria Maher · Rating 4 out of 5]

이 책이 좋아해요! While I can read the Korean alphabet and understand a little Korean, I think picture books like this are about where my reading level is at right now. Even though I didn't know every word, the text was simple and repetitive enough that I was able to understand whole sentences in some places, and figure out what some of the words I didn't know meant through context clues. I guess my one critique is that the story ends rather abruptly, and it's very easy to not notice the little boy finally reuniting with his mama in the last illustration, since they are drawn so small and placed in a larger, rather complicated landscape. However, this is good, light reading material for someone who has just started learning Korean.

[Alessandra Jarreta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que triste que esse livrinho não tenha nem imagem de capa 🙈 Achei esse livro perdido na biblioteca e fiquei encantada. As ilustrações são tão tocantes quando mostram o silêncio da criança que é como se você estivesse entrando no livro. E acabei de descobrir que tem uma animação no YouTube mostrando essa história, pra quem não tiver como ler. Um livrinho infantil bonito e triste.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful and the story is, as the description says, the simple story of a boy waiting for his mummy.

It's interesting that these are entirely new illustrations done long after the death of the author. I always think of picture books of this type as such a collaboration between word and image that the time-lag interests me.

My one criticism is that the final spread, the one that concludes the story rather than leaving the reader hanging, not knowing what is happening, has been shrunk in this edition and placed above the copyright information on the last page of the book. As a result I didn't look at it as closely as the others, and I initially thought that the book had no real ending. I felt it would be quite jarring to parents reading this to their children, who are quite likely to do the same thing. So I do wish that justice had been done to that last spread.

Apparently the American edition has the Korean language as well as English. For the sake of having dual language books becoming more common, I wish that had been done for the Australian/New Zealand edition as well.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The description on the book itself states, "In the last wordless spread, we see the child's small hand in his mother's firm grasp as they walk away from us."

BUT I see no picture of the child reunited with the mother. It was a "HUH?" ending when I thought the child was left in the snow with the mother never showing up. Then I read the description and thought THAT'S HOW IT's SUPPOSED TO END! I examined the illustration and still cannot make out a mother with the child. I'm confused...are people seeing something I'm not or is there a missing picture in my copy of the book?

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story almost made me cry. I have so many unanswered questions. Where was he coming from? Is he a homeless chid? Where is his mama? As the seasons and days pass, he continues to search for a mama he may never find. A bit heart wrenching. I have a student who lost his mom not to long ago, a bit of a behavior problem, I wonder if these are his feelings. Is he acting out because he desires that love and attention he lacks at home? Whew...I could cry at this very moment

[Casey Fensand · Rating 5 out of 5]

***HOW TO SEE THE MAMA AND HER BOY IN THE LAST PIC***

I love, love, love this book but, like many of us here, thought it was missing a picture, a page, or it just had a really sad ending. Doesn't the Mama ever come for the boy? Now that I see them in the last picture, I can't believe I missed it, but I'll tell you how to find them, because it took me forever (actual months).

It's the last picture with mostly rooftops and a few footpaths (stairs). This is a two page spread. Look at the left page. On that page the Mama and her boy are on the right hand path, above the rooftops on the bottom of the page, and below the trees on the right side of the page. Mama is on the left of the boy and they are both a faded olive color. They really blend in if you don't see them.... and they really stand out once you do.

Beautiful artwork throughout the book. This book is full of references for people who are interested in Korean history and culture - lots of historical context considering it was written in 1938. And yet the illustrations were made in 1970, so that adds an intriguing aspect. By the way, you can still see a streetcar at the Seoul Museum of History. This book is also perfect for Korean language learners (lots of short, basic sentences), and yes, it's also great for kids- if you can find a copy, grab it!

[Nathália · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu gosto muito de livros infantis e me cansa a ideia de que lê-los não conta pra challenges ou sei lá oq.

Acho que gosto tanto deles por três motivos:

1) consigo lê-los em um dia e gosto muito disso. a experiência de ler em um dia sempre me agradou, pq acabo guardando na memória afetiva daquele dia a história. e claro, dá a sensação de algo feito

2) gosto muito das ilustrações. às vezes os traços e as cores de um livro passam oq palavras não vão conseguir ou vão além da escrita. este livro é um exemplo perfeito: ele não usa palavras para explicar o final, você tem que procurar na ilustração

3) muitas vezes livros infantis me explicam ou mostram momentos em q passamos nos quais livros adultos não se demoram tanto.
neste aqui a sensação de insegurança, ansiedade e também de esperança e inocência ao esperar por algo ou alguém.

Enfim... Livros infantis são sim meus favoritos e quem não os lê é que está perdendo.

[Jacobe]

Waiting for mama is about a boy who cannot find his mother. He waits along a busy street asking the recurring trolly conductor if he has seen his mother. This book has very little words but its is impactful nonetheless. The boy continues looking for his mother by asking the trolly conductors until the last conductor tells the boy where he is standing is dangerous and to move away from the tracks. The books ends by the picture panning away from the boy who still hasn't found his mother. I could see this book being used in an early education class, like first or second grade. There are very few words, so children who are just beginning to learn to read would be able to engage with this book. Using this book as instruction into reading would be fun and challenging. The students would be able to use the lack of words to connect to the illustrations. Overall, would recommend. Very powerful.

[Christina Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful, dream-like illustrations and I was delighted to find this in a local bookshop as I am always looking out for books in translation and books from other countries. I am glad to have had the opportunity to read this, but could not see this being very popular with young children. In particular, the final illustration has been shrunk down so small that most people skip over it, therefore finishing the book feeling confused about the ending. I actually went back to check the final page after reading a review mentioning that this had happened.
Without this final illustration this book could be unsettling for many children and adults as the snow starts to fall and the child is still alone. A stunningly-illustrated book which truly evokes the spirit of occupation-era Korea.

[Fromwordstoworlds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waiting for Mummy by Tae-Jun Lee is a simple, quiet yet extremely beautiful and tender story about a little boy who waits for his mother at the tram station.

Set in Korea in the 1930s, during the Japanese occupation, the book shows a young child patiently waiting for his mummy, despite cold and loneliness. His nose fiery red, he stands on the platform watching the trams come and go and simply asking each conductor: "Is my mummy on the tram?"

The last illustration in the book will present the two reunited, proving the strong connection between the child and his mother, their devotion and moving love.

Dong-Sung Kim's illustrations are magic.

[Deby Perkins]

I image the illustrations are the same as the original illustration. A story written by the author in 1938 tells the story of a boy waiting for his mama to get off the tram. I was confused because at the beginning of the book it said in the last spread you see a wordless spread of a child's small hand in his mother's as they walk away. However, that illustration is not in the book.

[Lynsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time the poor kid asked, "우리 엄마 안 와요?" I wanted to reach into the book, pick him up, and holler for his mama. I got a little scared at the end when I couldn't find her at first either. I loved the art and thought this was heartwarming.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to practice reading Korean.... but how does the story end!?!? Did the boy wait forever!? I'm suddenly getting flashbacks of the ending of Grave of the Fireflies. Too sad!!

The illustrations were really great

[Ty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too sad to read with my toddler yet, but loved the illustration

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patience and perseverance as a young boy waits at a tram stop for his mother. Few words, very rich imagery. Would be very good for writers' workshop
Translated from Korean

[Lia Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Children's Literature, Expressive, Admirable, Korean Culture)

The author shares a Korean historical story on a boy who's patiently waiting for his mother at the train station.

[Belinda (bookstorm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute! The illustrations are adorable!

[Brianna Canales · Rating 2 out of 5]

waiting, mom, train station , sad

[Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully illustrated with a limited colour palette. But... where's mummy?

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are sweet but the kindergarten teacher in me was dying at the unattended child.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a very cute story and the art is adorable but I had to check the summary on the back to figure out the ending because I missed the characters on the last page(s) since they were so small

[Ashleigh Pollard · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw this book online, I had to read it due to the cute illustration of the little boy on the front page! Once I read the story I was not disappointed either. Waiting for Mama is a bilingual children's picture book that is translated form Korean to English. It is about a little boy who waits at the bus stop for his Mom all day. Each bus that stopped, the little boy would peak his head inside and ask the driver, "Have you seen my Mama?" At the end of the day there was no sign of the little boys Mom. The people that passed by him did not care at all to help the little guy out either. As the sky darkens and the sky begins to drop thick snowflakes onto the ground...still no sign of Mama...I was very surprised by the ending of the story. This was the very first children's book that I read that ended very sadly. It left me wondering about the overall purpose of the story and I came to the conclusion that this little boy was a mere representation of the thousands of kids who are left without a mom every day. People pass by and do not lend a helping hand. Then night falls and the children may not ever see the light of day again. Sad story, but the reality of it is what makes the story such a good read. I do not think this book is quality enough to introduce to a class, but I enjoyed it personally.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depicting a cold, patient little boy as he waits for his mother to come home on the city trolley one winter afternoon, Waiting for Mama gives a quietly moving glimpse of Korean life in the late-1930s. Although the story is told in only a few lines of text (several of which are repeated), the illustrations give the book rich detail and an expressive sense of time.

The bilingual text, although not helpful for anyone who doesn't read Korean, contextualizes the story and reinforces its history and culture. Pay close attention to the illustrations--the final drawing closes the story on a far more comforting and satisfying note than the text does.

[Yajaira · Rating 5 out of 5]

sad, cold, unexpected

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork, poignant story. The first three times I looked at this book, I didn't see that the child and the mother were reunited, walking hand-in-hand at the end. For me, that made it quite a different story, bewildering with a horrible beauty. I'm relieved now that I've seen their tiny figures in the middle of the picture, but it still makes me laugh at what resonants when one doesn't get the 'conventional'/anticipated happy ending.

[hala · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandmother, who is Korean, bought me this book a few years ago. This was a cute, touching story of a little boy waiting for his mother to come home from work. It is written in Korean with an English translation. The pictures were nice too. When I first read this book, I was extremely confused about the ending, but then I saw the last illustration and saw the little boy holding his mother's hand as they walked home. Overall, I liked this book. It is a sweet and touching story.

[junia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most poignant books I have ever read. Beautiful illustrations.

Interestingly, in the note, it says that this book was originally written in a newspaper in 1938. This means there were no pictures, and so my only qualms with this book is that the illustrator takes liberties that were not intended by the original author.

With that said, it almost highlights the abandonment of this child and further emphasizes the vulnerability and abandonment of Korea during this time.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1938, written by Lee Tae-Jun, illustrated by Kim Dong-Seong and translated to English by North South Books, the story tells a hopeful tale of a boy waiting for his mama by a streetcar stop.

[Eunah Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

2004년 소년한길에서 출간된 한국시그림책으로 원제는 '엄마마중'이다. 2007년 여름 미국과 캐나다에서 영어/한국어로 된 이중언어판(bilingual edition)으로 출간되었다.

일러스트레이터 김동성씨는 일제 시대 힘없던 서민들의 삶을 잔잔한 파스텔화로 이 시를 담아 2004년 백상문화출판상을 수상했는데, 1930년대 대표작가 이태준씨가 1930년대에 어린이를 염두에 두고 쓴 작품으로, 전철역에서 추운 겨울 일 나간 엄마가 돌아오기만을 기다리는 조그만 어린애의 애처럽고 딱한 모습을 그리고 있다.