Books about adoption for small children

[hairygodmother]

My brother and sil are about to adopt a 2 yr old and a 3 yr old. We're all v excited about it but wondered if any of you could recommend any books to help me explain it to my dds, who are just 4 and nearly 2. My sil has recommended 'The Teazles Baby Bunny' but I wondered if you had any other books you could recommend? Thank you so much.

"The teazles baby bunny" is my daughter's favourite. Just right for 2/3 yrs.

Really don't like the "Nutmeg" books. Pictures are hideous and they are really complicated/wordy so for much older children really.

Be careful of any american books as most adoptions over there seem to be because of relinquished babies (ie not due to SS removing children) so the stories don't really apply to most adopted children in the UK

"welcome home forever child" is an american one but like "the teazles" it is from the adoptive parents perspective so pretty much universally applicable (uses words like daipers and bobo) it refers to a slightly older child but you can adapt as you read like I do

Congratulations. Its a very exciting time for you.

Congratulations for the whole family I mean. (just realised its your brother and sil adopting, not you but still exciting for you)

I have some others but they are in DDs bedroom and she is asleep. I will check and get back to you.

I havent really found any that 'fit' us as a family. I agree with ktbeau that the US books are not really appropriate.

I have the Nutmeg ones but they are more like workbooks to go through with older children. They are a bit closer to our situation so can be useful sometimes.

I love the Todd Parr books. They are not 'adoption' books as such but he does talk about adoption in a matter of fact way.

They are very bright and funny. My DS loves hem. They are useful because you read out the pages i.e. 'its ok to wear your pants on your head, its ok to have curly hair, its ok to be adopted ....' So DCs can pick up on the adoption thing if they feel like it IYSwim.

But they are not an explaination of adoption so may not be what you are looking for.
Congratulations to your family!

The British Agency for Fostering and Adoption (BAAF0 have a large selection of these kinds of books which you will find on their website.

sorry meant (BAAF) not BAAFO!

chegirl There is a Todd Parr adoption specific book.

It is a favourite one for DS.

His godparents bought it for his adoption day.

It's called 'We belong together'

www.amazon.co.uk/We-Belong-Together-Adoption-Families/dp/0316016683

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I did see the Todd Parr one on amazon actually and wondered about it. Looks as though it might be a good one to get then! Having said that, my dds have been v accepting of the whole thing anyway! I put a pic of the children on the fridge and said "These are your two new cousins" which they seem fine about and they can remember their names now, so we'll see how it goes. Will be a while before we meet them I think, though.

I like the look of that book shivster, che I'm a bit dubious about the "its OK to be different" book - anything which tells DS its OK to wear his pants on his head is very likely to be interpreted liberally and frequently in our house!

LOL kew

I suppose I should be worried that DS doesnt see anything 'different' about that either

Forgot to say, I bought "A Koala for Katie" and then discovered it refers to the girls birth mother as "your real mummy". Which is terrible - AVOID!!!!

blimey KT - is there a hitlist of adoption related books to avoid?

anyone seen the first Stuart Little film? Stuart Little (mouse) is adopted by human family - oh great i thought a nice metaphor for intercountry adoption and being adopted by people who don;t look like you. but half way through his birth parents turn up and take him away and turn out not to be his birth parents at all but kidnappers. Ouch.

Skimmed over the explanation of that one to DS and DVD was mysteriously never seen again

I would add

'Did my first mummy love me?' to the hit list.

Very very sentimental and based on the US model where birth mothers choose adoptive parents.

It may work if your child had been relinquished by a young, healthy, good natured, drug free single mother who wanted to give her child a better life.......

Also it pushes that old chestnut 'your real mummy loved you so much she gave you away' message.

Pretty alarming for kids who are told how much they are loved every day!

As an adoptee can I just agree that "your mummy loved you so much she gave you away" is possibly the most unhelpful message ever!

"A mother for Choco" and "A blessing from above" I bought from Amazon but didn't like either of them.

They didn't seem suitable/appropriate for us.

In one of them (can't remember which) the baby bird falls out of the nest because its too full and the mummy bird looks down and says that its ok for the baby bird to have a new mummy because wasn't enough room in the nest!?! thought it wasn't very helpful and might confuse my dc!

I bought "My new family" which is OK. It starts off talking generally about how families are made in different ways, then it talks directly to the adopted child.

I will check out the Todd Parr books, they look good

try 'you are my wish come true'. very sweet and my 2.5 yr old wanted it again and again after only one reading.