Books About Adoption

When a new baby comes into a family it's time for great celebration, but there are also many questions especially from other children. When a family is adopting a child the questions can be more numerous and often tougher to answer. Children's books are a great way to explain and reassure children going through any major life change. These three books all have specific angles and purposes for explaining adoption . Whether you are adopting yourself or simply explaining what it is to your child books are always helpful! "You're Not My Real Mother" by Molly Friedrich is a book about a little girl who doesn't look like her mom and tells her mom straight out that she is not her real mother. Her mom doesn't react with tears or panic instead she goes through all the daily activities and feelings that makes a mom a mom and explains very simply that they don't look alike because she is not her birth mother, but she is her real mother. After that her daughter adds a bunch of fun things they do together that weren't already mentioned and proclaims that she is her real mother. "We Belong Together" by Todd Parr is a fantastic book for toddlers and younger preschoolers to introduce them to adoption. My 2 year old loved this book immediately and calls it the "love book" which chokes me up to think that that is what he took away from this lovely book. I appreciate the gender neutral, racially ambiguous characters in Todd's books because as a teacher I was eager to find books that reflected my student's families and it's hard to find all the types of families in one book, yet Todd manages to do that in all his books. "Mommy Far, Mommy Near" by Carol Antoinette Peacock is a touching story written from the perspective of a little girl who is learning about her own adoption. Readers follow along as she learns, deals with emotions and is loved so deeply by her mother. The book is far too long for the average preschooler but children who are eager to learn about adoption or who are learning about their own will likely feel connected to this sensitive and honest portrayal.