Adoption Is for Always

Great book! Kids need to understand who birthparents are and understand their value...however, it is also critical for children to understand who the parents are...those that raised them...My biological dad is not the man that raised me...the man that raised me is the only person I will ever call dad. Glad to see a book that can separate and value both!

Our daughter came to us at age seven after a long time in fostercare. It is hard to find a book that describes this type of adoption to children and although this book is also about a child adopted as a baby, our little girl loves it. She brings it out and asks us to read it to her often and it usually gets her talking about her birth parents, which is a good thing. It is important for children to know and accept that adoption is not weird or embarrassing and it is okay to talk about, love and think about birth parents whether they know and remember them or not. Birth parents are an important part of who our adopted children are and this book has been valuable to us for starting that dialogue with our child.

This charming adoption book shows us loving and caring adoptive parents who know how to handle the difficult moment Cecilia first hears about her adoption and says "I want you and Mommy to be my ONLY mommy and daddy!" We had the same experience with our daughter whom we adopted at four days of age. She didn't want to hear about another mommy and throughout the years wished we had not brought up the subject. The author is sensitive about having a teacher understand Cecilia's questions about her birthmother and assure Cecilia that her birthmother loved her. This is a good book for adoptive parents whose children need to be reassured of their permanent place in the adoptive family and who should be encouraged to love their absent birthparents.Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

I read this book with my 9 year old adopted son. Even though he didn't comment, I felt it helped him feel alone in his feelings and questions about his adoption. The story is very realistic and discusses many of the questions he has had recently. I highly recommend this book for any adopted family, especially for those children adopted at birth. I think it would be a bit above the heads of some younger children.

This book is ideal for children who are trying to understand what it means to be adopted, with text geared toward those around four years of age or older. It doesn't avoid the tough issues of adoption: the child in this book voices the fear that her adoptive parents will "give her back", and in a fit of anger she tells her adoptive mother she wants her "real mommy" (birthmother). These are real emotions that adopted children experience, and as my daughter and I read the book together, we can talk about her similar feelings.