April is all about libraries! We celebrate school libraries and librarian day, but what about our home libraries? For us, it was important for the kids in our home to have books with children that looked like them. Who shared their stories to some degree. And that meant finding plot lines that included foster care and adoption.
There are more out there than you might think! I have riffled through bargain bins, scoured store shelves, and parked myself in many a bookstore corner trying to find the right mix for our kiddos. Voted on by multiple kiddos and foster-adoptive mommas, I give you our favorite foster care and adoption books for children:
Stellaluna by Jenell Cannon
You may not think of this children’s classic when you think of foster and adoption, but Stellaluna is a baby bat living in a bird’s nest with a bird family. She asks questions about how she got there and if she’ll see her bat family again.
Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby
Pink was the runt of the litter and never quite fit in. Tink, a dachshund, brings Pink into her litter and treats him just like one of her pups. The book even references Pink visiting his pig family in the barn and then returning to his dog family, similar to court-ordered visitation.
I’ve Loved You Since Forever by Hoda Kotb
Written from the personal tale of adoption, the beautifully illustrated book walks through loving a child even before their paths cross. Its melodic lines almost create a lullaby and resonate with a variety of ages.
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis
A celebration of joy and love surrounding adoption. This story is especially applicable for domestic or private adoption. Those who have adopted through foster care may struggle with this story because they don’t know birth details in many cases and can’t share that with their children.
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
Choco is looking for his mother by comparing people who look like him. He finally finds a family that doesn’t all look alike but loves just the same. Applicable to both foster and adoption, this quickly rose to the top of our favorites list.
Finding the Right Spot by Janice Levy
A young girl living with her foster parent describes the emotional ups and downs of being separated from her mother and living in unfamiliar surroundings. – Amazon
Our Twitchy by Kes Gray
I think your house will love Twitchy almost as much as mine. Twitchy and his parents live in a burrow and love munching on carrots—but they don’t exactly look the same. When Twitchy asks his parents about it, the answer surprises him.
The Lamb-a-Roo by Diana Kimpton
Poor Lamb is alone and sad and wants a mother. Kangaroo is sad, too, because she has no baby of her own. This story is of two animals who happen to find each other and immediately become a happy family—until Lamb realizes that he is different from all the other kangaroo children and attempts to fit in.
Horace by Holly Keller
“Horace is adopted. He is also spotted, and he is loved and cared for by his new mother and father–who are striped. But…Horace feels the need to search out his roots…Keller deals with a sensitive subject in a way that is perceptive but not sentimental.” – Publishers Weekly
I Don’t Have Your Eyes by Carrie A. Kitze
Family connections are vitally important to children as they begin to find their place in the world. For transracial and transcultural adoptees, domestic adoptees, and children in foster care or kinship placements, celebrating the differences within their families as well as the similarities that connect them, is the foundation for belonging. – Amazon
Elliot by Julie Pearson
Trigger warning. Tread lightly with foster children.
Elliot’s parents love him very much, but they don’t have all the skills they need to take care of a child. When he cries, they do not understand why. When he yells, they do not know what to do. When he misbehaves, they do not know how to react. One day a social worker named Thomas comes to visit, and Elliot’s world turns upside-down. – Amazon
Maybe Days: A Book for Children in Foster Care by Jennifer Wilgocki and Marcia Kahn Wright
We actually removed this book from our library and only bring it out to use in conversations. While an accurate depiction of the many “maybes” children encounter in foster care, it is very direct and not really nighttime reading.
Some other foster care and adoption titles you may want to add to your library wish list…
- Morris and the Bundle of Worries by Jill Seeney
- What Makes a Family? by Hannah Bruner
- I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose A. Lewis
- It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
- Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale by Karen Katz
- Rosie’s Family: An Adoption Story by Lori Rosove
- The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
- The Day We Met You by Phoebe Koehler
- I Wished for You by Marianne Richmond
- And That’s Why She’s My Mama by Tiarra Nazario
- Murphy’s Three Homes by Jan Levinson Gilman
- No Matter What: A Foster Care Tale by Josh Shipp
Crying is Like the Rain by Heather Hawk Feinberg
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