WENHAM, Mass., June 5, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When China implemented its One-Child Policy back in 1979, it raised controversial issues with regard to its social, economical, and personal ramifications. Though many Chinese may support the policy, the government may claim that the reduced birth rate accounts for economical progress. China is one of the countries that prefer a male child, believing that boys are better able to work on the farm and help their family prosper.
Author Mary Anne Miceli explores the issue of China's One-Child policy and son-preference norm in an endearing tale about a family's grief for having to send away a blessing given to them from heaven. In the story, two Chinese fathers arrange their children's marriage and they all pray for a male baby to carry on the family farm legacy. But, as luck would have it, they welcome a beautiful China Baby Doll, with porcelain skin and silky, luxurious hair. The government mandate will not allow them to enjoy this lovely blessing, so the child's two grandfathers put her in a wheelbarrow, which they fill with beautiful, fragrant flowers and leave her in the market place. After local residents gather around the beautiful, abandoned baby girl, government workers come to bring her to an orphanage. The two grandfathers then return home to a grief-stricken family, who will not only remember their little darling but will also hold her memory dear to their hearts -- always.
China Baby Doll is a poignant and eye-opening tale based on this heart-breaking dilemma. Parents can read this tale at bedtime to their children and teachers can let their students ponder topics such as familial love, government policies, human rights, and civil duties. Yet, we are all aware that every child is a gift too precious to be given up. Truly, this book is a powerful means to call awareness to the social issues surrounding China's One-Child Policy. For more information, log on to www.Xlibris.com and www.ChinaBabyDoll.com.
Mary Anne Miceli has written an upcoming sequel, China Baby Doll...All Grown Up. Plus, she is releasing Confessor Animal Wartime Blues -- a whimsical comedy of a soon-to-be-deployed soldier leaving behind his "caricature dog/and/cat" to survive on their own with the help of a confessor in rhythmic flow -- a comic retreat from the pensive tone of China Baby Doll and China Baby Doll...All Grown Up.
China Baby Doll * by Mary Anne Miceli
Publication Date: March 25, 2009
Picture Book; $21.99; 34 pages; ISBN 978-1-4363-9421-5
Picture Book Hardcover; $31.99; 34 pages; ISBN 978-1-4363-9422-2
Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7479. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7876.
For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.