The young girl and her cousin whom we met in Scoochie & Skiddles: Fun at Gramma’s are back in a second volume of the series. This time, after another child at the park notices that their families are different, Scoochie shares the story of how she came to live with her two dads via open adoption. Author Tom Tracy, an adoptive dad in real life, is thoughtful and respectful of the birth mother, explaining in Scoochie’s voice that the birth mother “knew she would need another family’s help to make sure I had the best life.” She is also the one who knows the men would be perfect for Scoochie—unlike in some books about adoption, which minimize a birth mother’s role, she clearly has as much agency as the dads in this decision. We also see the family appearing before a judge to finalize the adoption, and the family celebrating Scoochie’s annual “adoptiversary.” Scoochie also mentions that her dads are going to adopt another baby soon.
At the end, the book reinforces that while each family has its own story, the one thing they have in common is “their love for each other” (which presumably means a family’s love for the people within it, not each family’s love for other families). We see a variety of families, with two dads, two moms, a mom and a dad, and a single parent, all playing in the park.
A chart of Scoochie and Skiddle’s family at the end includes the upcoming new sibling that Scoochie mentioned. It might have been helped by labels showing who each family member is (or at least their familial titles in relation to Scoochie—aunt, cousin, etc.), but their happiness at being part of the family shines through.
The book helps readers understand the steps of the adoption process, in a way respectful of the birth mother, and importantly, shows the love that underlies it all.
Scoochie and her birth mom are Black; her dads and Skiddles are White.
