Book Review: Adoption Stories for Young Children

by Pam Connell | More from this Blogger

27 Feb 2007 09:24 PM

It can be hard to find books for young children that address adoption questions. Those that do usually talk about differences in appearance not affecting ability to love, or about a young animal finding a mother. Those few that do talk about adoption usually talk about how badly the adoptive parents wanted a baby. Only a very few address the birthmother and why the child was available for adoption.

Adoption Stories for Young Children by adoption attorney Randall Hicks, fills this need. It is a book written for the very young child, illustrated with black and white photographs of real children and families.

The entire book can be read in a few minutes. There is one real "story" about a boy whose babysitter had a baby she couldn't care for and how that baby was adopted by neighbors who wanted a child. The story is sensitively handled in simple words. It reflects the reality that in infant adoptions in America today, the birthmother usually chooses the adoptive parents and they usually have some openness. In this story, the birthmother goes off to college and still keeps in touch by letter with the boy she babysat (the narrator) and with the adoptive family.

"She is growing up, just like me," the narrator says. "She said she will always think of Brittany and is proud she made sure Brittany has the best mom and dad in the world."

The book is very clear, though, that adoption is forever and the adoptive parents named the baby and are now the baby's mom and dad.

The second, much shorter "story" in the book is about the boy finding a lizard. "He lost his mom and dad so my family sort of adopted him. That means we love him and he will be part of our family forever."

I usually hate to see pet analogies used with children and my initial reaction was to question why the story was in here. But my kids loved it, and the very cute photographs of how the boy cares for his lizard (including putting him in his toy school bus to send him to school). Perhaps it serves as a lighter subject in between more serious adoption stories.

The rest of the book is not really "stories" but tells of other adopted people the boy knows-a pair of siblings who look alike, a pair of siblings who look very different, a boy adopted from Korea when he was two, a girl adopted by her grandmother, and a girl who told her teacher she was adopted and discovered that the teacher had been adopted too.

To purchase this book from Amazon.com, click here.

Please see these related blogs:

Another Perspective on Popular Adoption Books

Little Miss Spider

Great Books You Can't Put Down

Learn more about Pam Connell

Pam Connell is a mother of three by both birth and adoption. She has worked in education, child care, social services, ministry and journalism.

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gina00 (680) 28 Feb 2007 09:10 AM

Thanks for the book review! Do you know of any adoption books specific to Korea? (besides When You Were Born in Korea-we have that one ;) ) I think I just may write a story specific to my son's info to explain his own story w/ pictures of our trip to Korea, his foster parents there, journey home, etc. & have it bound at Kinko's. Thank you! Gina Swanson

Pam Connell (2658) 02 Mar 2007 07:34 PM

Thanks for reading Gina. I am working on a blog right now that lists adoption books referring to specific countries.

Making your son a homemade book would be terrific. I've done a couple of blogs about making a lifebook for a child and also a family storybook documenting how you became a family.

Do you have kids adopted both from the US foster care system and overseas?

gina00 (680) 06 Mar 2007 02:58 PM

We were foster parents for about 2 years & were open to adopting from the foster care system, but we ended up adopting from Korea instead. We are in the process of adopting again from Korea :) so hopefully soon our son will have a little sister :)

Pam Connell (2658) 06 Mar 2007 06:40 PM

Congratulations! I have two daughters from Korea ages 4 and 7 (and one bio son age 9)