Many children from families that don’t fit the paradigm of “one biological mom and one biological dad” have hesitated when asked to do a family tree project at school, unsure of how they will depict their family. This picture book tells the story of Jasmyn, an adopted Black girl with two moms, who found her own solution to this conundrum.
Jasmyn and her classmates are given blank pieces of paper for their family tree activity, and we learn, “Being adopted, she worried this project would be extra hard for her.” Young readers may not understand why she felt this way, however, for it is only several pages later that we learn Jasmyn’s concern is how to include her birth parents. “Birth parents” is not defined, though this may not be an issue for adopted children who are presumably the target audience. Additionally, the book doesn’t deal with the situation that some queer (and other diverse) families may experience, when their children are given preprinted trees that only indicate mother-father pairs, and that simply don’t work for them. Here, the teacher offers blank pieces of paper and isn’t actively excluding certain families, but grown-ups may still need to explain why Jasmyn may have felt the project would be hard.
After getting the assignment from her teacher, Jasmyn looks at her older sister’s tree from years ago—but her older sister did not include their birth parents. Jasmyn’s friend uses a bud on the tree to represent her upcoming baby brother—a great idea, Jasmyn thinks, but not right for her own tree. Finally, while pondering the problem outside on her tree swing, Jasmyn has an idea.
The next day at school, the teacher shows her own tree that includes her brother’s adopted daughter. Jasmyn is excited to see another adoptive family, and displays her tree next. “My family tree has roots,” she explains. She has placed her birth parents as roots curling out of the trunk that supports the rest of her family. Jasmyn then learns about the various other family structures of her classmates as they share their trees: one boy’s tree shows two families, since his parents are divorced; another has 15 cousins; one has a sister who has a baby.
At home that evening, Jasmyn shares the experience with her two moms, one Black and one White. She tells them that her teacher told her “every family is special in its own way.” Her moms respond that they are proud of her and love her, and she tells them she loves them and her family.
Jasmyn’s identity as an adopted child forms the core of the plot; the fact that she has two moms is purely incidental. Adoptive families with both same- and different-sex parents should appreciate this book that reassures children it’s fine to find their own way of expressing their family connections.
