Explaining adoption to a child can be a difficult task. They may want to know why you chose them, or why their birth parents gave them up for adoption.
The books collected here are ones that could help your child understand more about adoption - particularly their own. There are heart-warming and funny stories to share, and even stories that touch on cross-cultural adoption.
Tell me again about the night I was born
Jamie Lee Curtis; illustrated by Laura Cornell
A young girl who knows she was adopted asks her parents to tell her again about the night she was born. She asks them to tell her about how they woke in the night to a phone call and flew to where she was born in a hospital, and how she had her first bottle and had her first nappy changed.
A loving story for children in an open adoption, but will also help parents who are trying to tell a slightly older child that they are adopted.
Reviewed by Erika.
You're not my real mother!
Molly Friedrich; illustrated by Christy Hale
A little girl tells her mom that she is not her real mother - which starts a loving back of forth of questions about what a real mother is and does. This is a heart-warming story that appeals because it handles a difficult statement for an adoptive parent in a sensitive way that is full of real situations. If you are looking for a way to help an adopted child understand more about their relationship with their adoptive parents then try reading them this book and using as the basis of a discussion to help them connect their own lives with the examples used in the story.
Recommended for ages 4 +.
Reviewed by Erika.
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Heart of mine: a story of adoption
Dan and Lotta Hojer
In a far away country a little girl is born to a mummy and daddy who can not care for her - while on the other side of the world a mom and a dad wish for a child to call their own. Then one day they get the phone call that their baby has been born and they prepare for the day that she will come home with them.
This is a wonderful story about cross cultural adoption of a child from another country.
Reviewed by Erika.
All together now
Anita Jeram
Bunny was Mummy Rabbit's first little honey - but now she has Little Duckling and Miss Mouse too. They both came to join to family and now Bunny has a brother and a sister - and all of them share a special song.
This is a warm-hearted story about adoption for younger children.
Reviewed by Erika.
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Over the moon: an adoption tale
Karen Katz
Explaining adoption to a child can be difficult - especially if you decide to let them know that they are adopted from a young age. Although this book is rather wordy for a picture book, it is a fantastic book for older toddlers and young children to help explain adoption. The illustrations are bright and bold and will help keep the child's attention as you read them this very personal story. The other great thing about this book is that it is about adopting a child from another country so it could also come in handy for Kiwi families that have adopted babies from International organisations.
Recommended for ages 4 +.
Reviewed by Erika.
The surprise family
Lynn Reiser
A little boy looks after an egg, and the hen that hatches loves him like her mother. One day he brings home some eggs for her to look after and she hatches them. They are not the family she was expecting - being ducklings - but she loves them anyway.
Recommended for ages 4 +.
Reviewed by Annie.
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The little green goose
Adele Sansone; illustrated by Alan Marks
Mr. Goose wants an egg to raise all on his own, but none of the other farmyard birds will give him an egg. Then the dog brings him an egg that he finds and Mr. Goose finally has the baby he wants so much. But his baby is green and looks nothing like a goose - and the other chicks tell him so!
This is an amazing book if you want to teach your adopted child that you love them if they know they are adopted.
Reviewed by Erika.
The red blanket
Eliza Thomas; illustrated by Joe Cepeda
A single woman starts gathering together all the things she'll need for her new adopted baby, including a red blanket that she takes with her to China to meet her baby. PanPan is upset with everything that is going on - and only the red blanket comforts her. Years go by but the blanket remains, and mother and daughter grow closer and closer. Vibrant illustrations convey all the emotions the mother and baby go through - the waiting and the love.
A wonderful exploration of inter-country adoption.
Reviewed by Annie.
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