Many picture books about adoptive families center the adoptive parents and child to the exclusion or near exclusion of the birthing parent. In this story about open adoption, however, author Dano Moreno wisely spends much time on the birth mother and her journey, making it clear that she has agency in the adoption process and that she stays connected to the child, even after the adoption by two dads.
After an opening page that notes the wishing and waiting of the narrator couple (the future adoptive parents), the book shifts to tell the story of the birth mother and child. Although the baby began “smaller than an apple,” we learn that “raising a child felt as big as a mountain,” a phrasing both lyrical and poignant. “Then her heart filled with love—the kind that parents feel,” which led her to wish for many good things for her child—laughs and dreams and adventures.
She didn’t feel she could fulfill that wish, however, and therefore sought someone ready for a baby. We see her walking in the park past couples and kids, then searching on her laptop in a café with other parents and babies sitting nearby, as she wonders who to trust and who to choose—the power is in her hands.
“Eventually, she found us,” says the next page, bringing the story back around to the adoptive parents. We see her talking with a two-man couple in the park. She asked the adoptive parents to give the child what was needed to grow, but more than anything, “she asked that you would always know how many people love you.” The men joyously agree.
Fast forward to a scene immediately after the birth, with all three adults and the child. The men, too, make a wish, “the kind that parents make,” the same wish that the birth mother had. The next few pages show this dream coming true as the child grows—and a final spread shows the child, adoptive dads, birth mother, and (presumably) extended family members all gathered for the child’s birthday party.
In an Author’s Note, Moreno explains more about the differences between open and closed adoptions and shares that he and his husband became parents via open adoption.
This is a lovely and gentle story that should appeal to many families formed via open adoption, whether with two dads or other structures. Highly recommended.
The birth mother is White; one adoptive father is White and the other Black.
