Free Kid to Good Home
by Hiroshi Ito
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Pub Date May 03 2022 | Archive Date Jun 20 2022
Publisher Spotlight | Gecko Press ™
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Description
An hilarious story about sibling rivalry and a child’s impulse to run away from home—(and come back again!)
“When my squawking baby brother arrived, I realized I needed a new family. No one seemed to mind when I packed my bag. I took a box and used my best handwriting to write ‘FREE KID’, then waited for some new parents to take me home.”
Waiting in a box like an abandoned pet and encountering the passersby changes the girl’s perspective. At the end of the day, when her parents pretend they need an older sister for their new baby, she is ready to leave her box and go happily back home.
In this comical twist on sibling rivalry, a girl decides she needs a new family—so she writes Free Kid on a box and waits in the street for some better parents to choose her.
Translated from the Japanese edition, this accessible story is perfect for children starting on independent reading and is illustrated in a graphic comic style that really captures childlike subversive humor. Ideal for fans of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip.
A useful book to teach young children about welcoming a new baby sibling to the family, or exploring playful sibling relationships, through funny and lighthearted storytelling.
Hiroshi Ito was born in Tokyo, Japan, and graduated from Waseda University with a degree in education. He began creating picture books while still a student and has since published many award-winning books.
Praise for Free Kid to Good Home
"Ito uses words and pictures with equal skill to craft this hilariously willful little visionary."—The New York Times
"[A]n instant classic."—Children's Publishers Favorite Reads of 2022, Publishers Weekly
“a light, engaging tale that will appeal to comic book fans and all young readers who have secretly (or not so secretly) resented the arrival of a potato-faced baby to the family.”—The School Reading List
“young readers…will be rewarded by getting to know this can-do narrator.”—The Horn Book
"More and more profound with every read.”—Just Imagine
"This is a GEM of a book and I can see why it is a bestseller! Highly recommended."—NZ Poetry Shelf
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781776574421 |
| PRICE | $18.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 112 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Kathleen H, Reviewer
A new baby brother? Who cries all the time? Who my mother loves best? I don’t think so. I’ll run away and find a new home. So thinks the new older sister in Free to Good Home, a charming read aloud storybook that is also perfect for beginning readers.
The unhappy big sister leaves home (with her mother reminding her to be home for dinner), makes a Free Kid sign and settles in for the wait for the perfect parents. Instead, she meets a lost dog, a stray cat and a turtle, each of whom is adopted by a perfect family. After what feels to her to be a long time, her own parents select her to be the best big sister to their baby and she goes home with them.
Free to Good Home is delightful. Young readers will notice that the dog, cat and turtle all ask for simple things to make them happy: a yard, a warm place to sleep, a cool shady spot, while at first the girl’s needs are more complicated. But at the end of the day when her parents come to get her, she is happy to go home. 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Publisher Spotlight and Hiroshi Ito for this ARC.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Finney Boylan
General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction
