There was a time when adoption was supposed to be a secret. Kids were matched with families that looked like them, and sometimes were not even told that they were adopted. Sometimes adoptive families waited for just the right time to have The Talk and reveal to their adopted son or daughter that they didn’t have a biological connection. Things are certainly better now. most adoptions are open, this very beautiful way of growing a family is celebrated, and kids know from the start. One of the best ways to honor and normalize adoption in your home is to include kids’ books on adoption in your home library.
Books showing loving adoptive homes can be nice gifts for relatives preparing to welcome a new adopted grandchild, niece or nephew, or other important new member of the family, too.
We’ve shared some great titles before, but there’s a nice new crop of books in this category, so it’s time for an update. We’re also pointing out some books here that take a less common approach to the adoption story.
You Made Us a Family: A Rhyming Picture Book about Being Adopted, Being Loved, and Belonging by Rosie Fenwick, illustrated by Olena Yevsykova, is a sweet and simple rhyming book. As the animal family goes through the familiar routines of a day together, the rhymes in two voices present a reassuring conversation between parent and child.
If your child is reading, you can read it together, taking the parts. Until then, it’s a cozy read-aloud about belonging and love shown in heartwarming words and pictures.
Welcome Home, Mateo: A Story of Unconditional Love, by Ines Rosa-Pagan, is unusual in that it features a single woman adopting a baby. The story focuses on the fact that loving families are different from one another and can grow in different ways. It’s also different from most kids’ books on adoption because it begins with the life-changing phone call the adoptive mom receives.
This different perspective encourages appreciation of the many different kinds of families and the adoption journey, as well as the life-long commitment of a chosen family.
A Blessing from Above: An Adoption Story by Patti Henderson, illustrated by Liz Edge, is a faith-based celebration of adoption. The kangaroo mom is shown praying for a baby to love. When she adopts a baby bird, she prays with her baby to thank God for bringing them together.
The book closes with a familiar Bible verse, Ephesians 1:5: “”In love he destined us for adoption to himself. . . .”
A Heart That Holds It All: A Story Of Adoption, by Lauren Haas, is another book with a different point of view from the majority of kids’ books on the subject. Most books about adoption focus on love, trust, and happiness — and why not? But Haas, a counselor who was herself adopted, wants to make room for other kinds of emotions, too.
For parents who want to acknowledge and prepare for complications of adoption or families already dealing with complicated feelings, this is a good choice.
Eyes That Weave the World’s Wonders: Inspiring Self-Love and Acceptance in Children by New York Times best-selling author Joanna Ho and Liz Kleinrock, illustrated by Dung Ho, is a beautiful book designed to encourage kids to appreciate their heritage — both the histories of their biological and their adoptive families. Both, the book emphasizes, are theirs and both are valuable.
This is a story about loving adoptive families, but it does also include the birth mother. This is not typical of kids’ books about adoption, but may be appropriate for open adoptions.
Planning an adoption in Arkansas? Heimer Law can help.
Inquiry Form