Rating: Buy it!
Swift, Gayle and Swift, Casey. We’re Adopted, So What? Teens Tell It Like It Is. Illustrated by Wesley Blauvelt. 2019. 60p. Gayle Swift, $15.99 (9781733659710) Grades 4-6.
Co-written by adoptive mother, Gayle Swift, and adoptive daughter, Casey Swift, this is a workbook-style book. Five fictional teen girls fill the pages addressing important things about the adoptee experience like “Things I Worry About” and “Things I Wish Parents Understood”. The focus of this book is not on the characters themselves, but the content they are each responding to. Each adoptee has their own unique experience and this is honored throughout the text with a question like, “Why were we adopted?” providing nuance and thoughtfulness in the answers provided without making generalizations. Additionally, there is space throughout for the adoptee to write their own responses. The illustrations are cartoon like and have bright splashes of color.
Perspectives: Evaluative Response from my perspective. Whose perspectives are included, whose are missing and what do you think of them?
This book is written from the perspective of adoptive parent Gayle Swift and her adoptive daughter who is also an educator, Casey. It is evident that this book was written from lived experience with background in education, trauma, and care.
Practice:
Every answer in this book is just the beginning of the conversation and may not be the one that is best for each adoptee. For example, using humor to deflect a hurtful question might not be my personal recommendation but is one way to respond. My hope is that adoptees build multiple strategies or find one that is best for them. As this reads like a workbook style journal I could see this working well in the hands of a young adoptee who likes journaling. This could be a tool in a therapist’s office or one that a parent presents. Depending on the child, support might look like working through the book together or letting the child navigate independently. I recommend increased support for younger children. This is one resource for the adoptee bookshelf and I encourage that it be one of many.
Reviewed by María Valiente
The Adoptee Bookshelf 