I love that old proverb that says children need to know their roots to develop their wings. So KIMCHI & CALAMARI came from a place where I wanted to connect with kids thinking about who they were, their identities. I knew I couldn’t spare him from some hurt, but I wanted him to know that I “got it”- that I understood that who he was as a person didn’t begin the moment he arrived in America. I remember holding Connor in my arms years back and worrying about how he would cope later, especially during puberty, a natural time for wondering.
Adopting Connor was a true joy, but as with all adopted children, his arriving also meant a loss for him. I’m talking about my son Connor, who we nicknamed Buddha Baby because of his plump cheeks and glowing smile. The inspiration for Kimchi & Calamari came wrapped in a blanket and drinking a bottle of soymilk - all the way from Korea. Kimchi & Calamari is available in hardcover and a special EXTRAS paperback edition with an interview with Rose and information on adoption in the back!
On reading lists for Illlinois’s Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award, Florida’s Sunshine State Young Readers Award, New York State’s Charlotte Award, and Louisiana’s 2010 Young Readers Choice Award. What Joseph does leads to a catastrophe messier than a table of shattered dishes - and self-discovery that he never could have imagined. But all he knows is that his birth family put his diapered butt on a plane to the USA. Now Joseph has to write an ancestry essay for school. Why wouldn’t an adopted Korean drummer feel like a combo platter given Kimchi and calamari is a quirky food fusion - and exactly how fourteen-year-old Joseph Calderaro feels about himself.
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