Guest Author - Karen Ledbetter

This nice children’s book was written by Diana Star Helmer and was published in 1999 by The Rosen Publishing Group’s PowerKids Press, 29 East 21st Street, New York, New York 10010. The book is available at Amazon.com for $17.25. My attempts to locate an author biography and determine her affiliation with adoption, if any, were unsuccessful.

With the exception of using inappropriate adoption language of “given up for adoption” instead of “making an adoption plan”, this book does a very nice job of explaining adoption in simple, yet honest, terms that a young adopted child can understand.

The author discusses a simplified version of the adoption process, beginning with some reasons that a birth mother may choose adoption. Next, she discusses what parenting involves and some things a child needs throughout life, such as love, food, and shelter. Additionally, the author reassures her young reader of his/her birth mother’s love, pointing out that a birth parent’s finding a family to love and care for a child is more important than the birth parent’s inability to parent a child.

The book concludes by discussing that every child, whether adopted or not adopted, is special, that love is what makes families, and family members take care of one another.

Although this book is written specifically to the adopted child, with some creativity and additional explanation, I used it last year in an adoption presentation to my child’s first-grade class. In spite of the aforementioned inappropriate adoption language, I recommend the book for reading with and discussing adoption with your preschool or elementary school-aged child.