Guest Author - Karen Ledbetter

I think that a book to explain why a child’s sibling goes to live with another family is a welcome addition to all the adoption literature available today.

This delightful book was written by Juliet C. Bond and illustrated by Dawn W. Majewski. The story of her mother’s inability to care for another child and who makes an adoption plan for the baby she’s expecting is told from five-year-old Rosa’s perspective.

Rosa’s mommy explained to her that even though she loved the baby very much, and she knew that Rosa would help, she still could not take care of a baby. Rosa’s mommy assured Rosa that she would always be with her mom, and that even though they lived in different homes, she would always be Sam’s big sister. Rosa met Sarah and Joe, the couple that her mother had asked to adopt her baby brother, and realized that they were very nice.

After Rosa’s baby brother was born, she visited with him, her mother, Sarah, and Joe at the hospital. Sarah and Joe named their baby boy Sam. Rosa and her mother chose his middle name—Querido, which means wanted.

Rosa and her mother went home, and Sam went home with his new parents. That night Rosa and her mommy read a touching letter from Sarah and Joe. Joe and Sarah called every week to check on Rosa and her mom and to tell them all about Sam, and the families visited a few months later.

I absolutely adore this book! Perhaps it’s because my own child has birth siblings growing up in their birth family. The book is compassionate, honest, and to the point. The bright illustrations are charming. I highly recommend this book for families involved in open adoptions, since the characters in the story have an open adoption situation.

Ms. Bond, an adoption social worker, wrote this book after seeing several birth mothers abandon their adoption plans due to anxiety around revealing their decision to the children they were already parenting. During her research, Ms. Bond discovered that over 60% of birth mothers were parenting other children at the time of placement! She was particularly interested in providing avenues for children to deal with grief and loss around having a sibling adopted. She felt, with better tools, birth mothers and their children might feel more confident and comfortable in making their adoption plans. She hopes this book affords comfort and peace to families making such an important life decision.

This book, available from Perspectives Press, is a must for any adoptive home, and would make an excellent gift for your child’s birth siblings.