The life of 14-year-old actor, Down syndrome advocate, and viral sensation Sofia Sanchez is the inspiration for this book about families. Told in her first-person voice, the book begins with her story of being adopted by American parents from an orphanage in Ukraine. It then assures readers that there are many ways to make a family, but all are made with love.
“Sometimes you are born into your family. Sometimes you choose your family. And sometimes your family chooses you,” we read, as we see examples of many different family types, big and small, together and apart, and with many different structures, including those with two moms or two dads. Families support each other, the story says—and even though sometimes we may get mad at those in our families, being a family means we try to make up with them. Sometimes, too, we lose those in our families, the book notes, as we see an image of people comforting an elderly woman holding a photo of an elderly man.
Sanchez’ story feels a little crammed into the first wordy spread, but the rest of the book feels better paced as it reiterates the theme of “love makes a family” that we’ve seen before in many other picture books about family types that exist today. By grounding the theme in the personal story of a real girl, though, it may be particularly compelling for some readers, especially in adoptive families like hers.
While Margaret O’Hair is officially the author, and the book is only “inspired by” Sanchez, I am listing Sanchez as the author, too, to assist people in finding the book.
