When I wrote my last post, Power of Books in Understanding Adoption, I was surprised to find that the Adoptive Parenting blog had no book review of Jamie Lee Curtis' book, Tell Me Again About the Night I was Born. I decided to rectify this with this post.

This book is my favorite adoption book written for little ones. I bought it for my son when he was only two, and it is still one his favorite books at the age of six. The book is a family love story that happens to involve an adoption. My son's teacher recently read this book to his class of first and second graders, and it was a big hit even though most of those children have no connection to adoption.

The illustrations in this book are fabulous. They have bright colors and funny faces that appeal to children, but they also have humor in them that appeal to adults. For example, when the couple calls the grandparents to tell them about their child's birth, you see a picture of the grandparents fast asleep with "23 again" cream on Granny's nightstand and dentures floating in a glass of water on Grandpa's nightstand. How funny is that?

The story is written in simple language. Each sentence begins with "Tell me again about…," which drives home that this is a beloved story that the child enjoys and has requested over and over again.

The book includes a two-page spread of a baby in actual size with funny callouts, such as "potential opera star" pointing to the baby's wide-open mouth and "legs that rarely straighten out." My son loves to study that page and ask questions about himself as a newborn.

The only actual mention of adoption falls on the family tree page. The book talks about how the mother could not grow a baby in her tummy and then defines what a birthmother is. This is done in very simple language that any young child can understand.

The rest of the book focuses on the things that are true for most new parents – crying happy tears and singing lullabies. The entire tone of the book is one of love and joy over becoming a family. I strongly recommend it for any young child, particularly those who were adopted as newborns.

Related Topics:

Book Review: Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (from Hoping to Adopt blog)

Photo Credit: Faith Allen