The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption

( 3 )
Hardcover (Library Binding - None) 
A book with a specially fortified binding and durable hardcover designed to withstand repeated use. Often used for children's titles and usually more expensive than standard hardcover editions.
$14.40
BN.com price
$16.00 List Price (Save 10%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$0.01
$16.00 List Price (Save 100%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (40)  
Used (29)  
New (11)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 4
Showing 1 – 10 of 40 (4 pages)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
Better World Books
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(50891)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase ... benefits world literacy! Read more Show Less

Ships from: Mishawaka, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
OwlsBooks-TRM
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(22568)

Condition: Good
Giving great service since 2004: Buy from the Best! 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship! Find your Great Buy today!

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
Discover Books Ltd.
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(3584)

Condition: Good
Some wear on book from reading, some spine creases, wear on binding and pages, we guarantee all purchases and ship all items via USPS mail.

Ships from: Sumas, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
Avenue Book & Co.
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(1248)

Condition: Very Good
Hardcover Very Good 0618164537 100% Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Ships from: Fort Wayne, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
Avenue Book & Co.
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(1248)

Condition: Very Good
Hardcover Very Good 0618164537 100% Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Ships from: Fort Wayne, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
SuperFlyBooks AZ
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(397)

Condition: Good
So, Meilo 2002 Hard cover Good. Library binding. Cloth over boards. Picture book. With dust jacket. 32 p. Contains: Illustrations. Intended for a juvenile audience.

Ships from: Phoenix, AZ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.07
(Save 93%)
BearBooks RI
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(391)

Condition: Good
So, Meilo 2002 Hard cover Good. Library binding. Cloth over boards. Picture book. With dust jacket. 32 p. Contains: Illustrations. Intended for a juvenile audience.

Ships from: Woonsocket, RI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.37
(Save 91%)
oncesoldtales
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(2447)

Condition: Good
A nice ex-library copy. Gently used. All pages and cover clear except for a few library markings. Mylar over dustjacket. Binding solid and tight. No creases.

Ships from: Kent, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$1.98
(Save 88%)
Springys Treasures MI
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(1040)

Condition: Good
2002-10-21 Hardcover Good EX LIBRARY: has library markings average wear.

Ships from: Irons, MI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Wonder Book
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(13616)

Condition: Acceptable
Acceptable condition. Acceptable dust jacket. Former Library book.

Ships from: Frederick, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 4
Showing 1 – 10 of 40 (4 pages)
Close
Sort by

Overview

In China, the moon shines on four baby girls, fast asleep in an orphanage. Far away in North America, the sun rises over four homes as the people who live there get ready to start a long, exciting journey. This lovely story of people who travel to China to be united with their daughters describes the adoption process step by step and the anxiety, suspense, and delight of becoming a family. Told with tenderness and humor, and enlivened by joyous illustrations, The White Swan Express will go straight to readers’ hearts. Afterword.

Across North America, people in four different homes prepare for a special trip to China, while four ...

See more details below
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

In China, the moon shines on four baby girls, fast asleep in an orphanage. Far away in North America, the sun rises over four homes as the people who live there get ready to start a long, exciting journey. This lovely story of people who travel to China to be united with their daughters describes the adoption process step by step and the anxiety, suspense, and delight of becoming a family. Told with tenderness and humor, and enlivened by joyous illustrations, The White Swan Express will go straight to readers’ hearts. Afterword.

Across North America, people in four different homes prepare for a special trip to China, while four baby girls in China await their new adoptive parents.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
This tender, ebullient picture book tracks a quartet of parents in North America and a quartet of baby girls in China as everyone prepares for the "special day" they meet. Okimoto (the daughter of an adoptee) and Aoki (the mother of an adoptee) effectively contrast the flurry of excited activity on one side of the world ("In Toronto, Howard Suzuki sang in the shower while Jessica dried her hair") with the peacefully slumbering babies on the other ("Li Shen snuggled on her side. Qian Ye slept curled in a ball"). Readers get a peek at the mechanics of international adoption (including the long plane trip and bus ride to the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou) and the emotions of the prospective parents (the government waiting room was "as silent as still water." But their hearts "thumped like drums and fluttered like the wings of a bird"). Set against clean white backdrops, So's (Tasty Baby Belly Buttons) expressive watercolors bloom like spring flowers. The parents emerge as distinct individuals, each exuding a unique energy-an impressive feat given the economy of line with which the artist articulates each impressionistic illustration. With its matter-of-fact mix of parents that include two married couples, a lesbian couple and a single mother, the book's understated message-that families come in all shapes and sizes, and are bound together by love-comes through loudly and clearly. Ages 5-8. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
Co-authors Jean Davies Okimoto and Elaine Aoki capture the adventure of becoming a family in The White Swan Express. In North America, three couples and one woman and her cat prepare for a special plane trip. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, four little Chinese girls are sleeping. Each adult anxiously awaits the moment of meeting his or her new daughter. One writes in her journal, another reads What to Expect the First Year, a third burns the toast, a fourth cries with happiness. Once home, the families regularly send holiday and Chinese New Year cards to one another—complete with photos of their growing daughters. Meilo So's luminous watercolors are a perfect accompaniment to this story of love and joy. 2002, Clarion,
— Mary Quattlebaum
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Lovely Asian-inspired watercolors and an engaging text tell the story of four baby girls from a Chinese orphanage and the families who adopt them. First readers meet the North American families, including a single mother and another consisting of two female partners. They anxiously make the trip halfway around the world to the Chinese city of Guangzhou where they become acquainted at the White Swan Hotel. Juxtaposed against the excited, expectant parents are portraits of darling, slumbering babies. The prospective moms and dads are shown waiting anxiously in a room of the orphanage before they finally meet their children. Then they must negotiate the bureaucracy of foreign adoptions before going home. The four families keep in touch after their homecoming, especially during Chinese New Year. An afterword describes the real-life parallel experience of the coauthor. Though slightly longer, this title compares favorably to both Rose Lewis's I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (Little, Brown, 2000) and Stephen Molnar-Fenton's An Mei's Strange and Wondrous Journey (DK Ink, 1998; o.p.). There is no pronunciation guide for the Chinese words and phrases. Despite this quibble, this charming offering successfully joins the growing collection of literature about adoption.-Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Young readers will love this story of how four Chinese babies come to be welcomed into new families in North America. Especially powerful is the depiction of those who are traveling to China to get their children. A couple from Miami, a pair of women from Vashon Island near Seattle, a single mom in Minnesota, and couple with a Japanese surname in Toronto, Canada all set out for the city of Guangzhou, in China. Meanwhile, "Still asleep, Wu Li smacked her lips, Li Shen burped, Qian Ye yawned, and Chun Mei Ni snored." The parallel depictions of the soon-to-be parents and the soon-to-be adopted children across the ocean help to create the sense of family right from the beginning. The seven parents become a group in China and exchange stories and expectations as they make their way to the White Swan Hotel, their home away from home, while they arrange to meet and adopt their beautiful daughters. Dr. Aoki uses her own experiences with adoption as the basis for this account, co-authored by Okimoto (Dear Ichiro, not reviewed, etc.), who has written before about Asian-Americans and is herself the daughter of an adoptee. So’s (Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats, below, etc.) effervescent watercolors in a vibrant and colorful palette add much to the presentation of a story that will intrigue and interest both those who are adopted and those who are not. A must buy for all libraries and a lovely gift for new families of all stripes. (extensive afterword) (Picture book. 4-9)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780618164530
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Publication date: 10/28/2002
  • Format: Library Binding
  • Edition description: None
  • Pages: 32
  • Sales rank: 713,437
  • Age range: 5 - 8 Years
  • Product dimensions: 10.34 (w) x 10.12 (h) x 0.41 (d)

Meet the Author

MEILO SO is the illustrator of such beautiful, award-winning books such as Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities, and Recipes and The White Swan Express: A Story about Adoption. She lives in the Shetland Islands, UK.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 3 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(2)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 28, 2003

    A Beautiful and Loving Story for Children Adopted from China

    This is a book for children. Did my children (both adopted from China, now ages 5 & 6) like it? YES! It is a beautiful and loving story that helps explain part of their history in becoming part of their forever family. As an adult, I particularly liked the diversity among the families adopting. Although some reviewers here have admonished the authors for their choice of one of the families, in truth, all families represented do adopt from China, despite Chinese regulations to the contrary. What does not happen, is the open display of affection between same sex partners while in China. I didn¿t, however, mind this misrepresentation because the book is illustrating to children how much they are loved and how special this part of their adoption journey was to their parents, and the children themselves. Both my husband and I are glad we added this book to our collection of adoption related children¿s books.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 17, 2002

    Memories--The White Swan

    What a tremendous book. The watercolor illustrations are beautifully rendered and the story of families created by adoption is wonderfully told. As the single parent of a Chinese daughter I found the book to be a great story to add to our China/adoption library because, of course, we, too, were part of "the white swan express".

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 20, 2003

    A bewildering journey

    Four happy couples are getting ready to fly to China to pick up their little girls. The book is very crowded with names and places which may overwhelm a young child--as it did me. Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit