How I Was Adopted by Joanna Cole, Maxie Chambliss (Illustrator), Maxie Chambliss (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Sam has a story all her own, yet common to millions of families: the story of how she was adopted. It's about how babies are born and how children grow, about what makes people different and what makes them the same. Most of all, it's a story about love. And in the end, Sam's story comes full circle, inviting young readers to share stories of how they were adopted.

Publishers Weekly

Cole's (The Magic School Bus series; How You Were Born) cheerful, informative approach to adoption is at the heart of this picture book, which not only meets special needs but is perfect for sharing in any family. Young Samantha, who directs her comments to the reader, tells one of her favorite stories-the story of how she was adopted. Mommy and Daddy have told her, ``We had so much love, we wanted to share it with a child and be a family.'' Samantha goes on to explain how her parents worked with an adoption counselor and waited a long time. The tale includes important biological information as well: ``I did not grow inside Mommy's uterus. I grew in another woman's uterus.'' Skillfully combining Samantha's natural curiosity, the love and joy felt by her family, and scientific facts, the tone is open and projects Samantha's confidence and self-acceptance. An extensive note to families at the beginning is supportive without being preachy or prescriptive. Chambliss's (We're Going on a Trip) exuberant watercolors feature a cast of relaxed, perpetually smiling figures that sustain a friendly and positive mood throughout. Ages 4-up. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2Samantha tells about her daily life and her memories, including being told that she was adopted and, later, being shown a book about how babies are born and learning that ``I did not grow inside Mommy's uterus. I grew in another woman's uterus'' and, still later, asking and being told how she was adopted (a closed adoption through an agency, placement at one week). Samantha is smiling in all of the 28 cartoon-style illustrations in which readers can see her face (except one of her as a week-old baby looking startled by the camera, one as a baby asleep, and one as a toddler intently rolling a ball). She is never sad, cranky, or even pensive. Her parents are always smiling. The pictures she draws are of smiling people. In the five-page introduction for parents, Cole says that ``The important thing is to create a loving atmosphere in which children's feelingsboth positive and negativecan be shared openly over time.'' However, not a single negative feeling is mentioned, or even hinted at in the book itself. This title will not encourage open sharing of feelings, and could even be harmful to adopted children by reinforcing the idea that they have to be cheerful, no matter what, in order to be accepted by their adoptive family. It holds the parents to an unreal standard too. Fred Rogers's Let's Talk about It: Adoption (Putnam, 1995), while vague on some points, does show a normal range of feelings. Betty Lifton's Tell Me a Real Adoption Story (Knopf, 1994) includes the birthmother as a person with feelings, not just a uterus.Nancy Schimmel, formerly of San Mateo County Library, CA

Product Details

• ISBN: 0688170552
  
• ISBN-13: 9780688170554
• Format: Paperback, 48pp
• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Pub. Date: September 1999
• Edition Description: REPRINT
• Sales Rank: 102,290
• Age Range: 5 to 8