It's so interesting to see (and have someone translate) books from other cultures. This is a beautiful one from Korea, with gorgeous illustrations. The story is very sad. It takes place in 1940, during the war, and a little boy is waiting at a bus stop, for his mom to return home from work. He waits and waits and waits, but she never comes.
The book ends there. Who knows what happened to his mom. To add sadness to sadness, the book is called 'I'm Waiting for My Mom'. Do picture books for young children need to have happy endings? Hopeful endings? What do you think?
On a happier note: it's always fun to see the production quality of translated North American classics, such as Arnold's 'Mouse Soup'. It's a sturdy hardcover with thick paper. Nice.