Mother Number Zero

Mother Number Zero

Written by: Hof, Marjolijn
Translated by: Prins, Johanna W.
Translated by: Prins, Johanna H.

A Society of School Librarians International (SSLI) Honor Book

Fay was adopted when he was a baby. He knows only that his birth mother escaped the war in Bosnia and that he arrived in his new home with nothing more than a squeaky toy and a few clothes. His older sister Bing was adopted too, from China, where she was found abandoned on the street.

When Fay's friend Maud discovers he is adopted, she urges him to search for his birth mother, but this creates mayhem at home, since there is no possibility of Bing ever being able to find her birth mother. Gradually Fay's complicated feelings about searching for his mother and his ambivalent feelings for Maud unfold. Hof's insight into human nature results in a truthful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful rendering of family life and the challenges of being adopted.

A Society of School Librarians International (SSLI) Honor Book

Fay was adopted when he was a baby. He knows only that his birth mother escaped the war in Bosnia and that he arrived in his new home with nothing more than a squeaky toy and a few clothes. His older sister Bing was adopted too, from China, where she was found abandoned on the street.

When Fay's friend Maud discovers he is adopted, she urges him to search for his birth mother, but this creates mayhem at home, since there is no possibility of Bing ever being able to find her birth mother. Gradually Fay's complicated feelings about searching for his mother and his ambivalent feelings for Maud unfold. Hof's insight into human nature results in a truthful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful rendering of family life and the challenges of being adopted.

Published By Groundwood Books Ltd —
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Written By Marjolijn Hof's first novel, Against the Odds (Een kleine kans), met with high critical acclaim, winning three major Dutch and Flemish children's book prizes. It was also nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Award) and has been translated into twelve languages. Marjolijn lives in Krommenie, the Netherlands.
Written By
Marjolijn Hof's first novel, Against the Odds (Een kleine kans), met with high critical acclaim, winning three major Dutch and Flemish children's book prizes. It was also nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Award) and has been translated into twelve languages. Marjolijn lives in Krommenie, the Netherlands.