Megan's Birthday Tree

July 1, 2005
Megan's birth mother, Kendra, planted a tree in honor of her birthday. Though shes happy in her adoptive family, Megan worries when Kendra moves to another town: without the birthday tree, will Kendra forget her? Though static, the realistic illustrations for this purposeful but reassuring story about open adoption include some nice portraits of the admirably determined protagonist.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

June 1, 2005
Gr 1-4 -Megan's birth mother, Kendra, and her adoptive parents lovingly share a connection with each other and with Megan. When the child was born, Kendra planted a tree, and every year she sends a photo of it to Megan on her birthday. Now she is getting married and moving, and the youngster worries that her birth mother will forget her without the tree as a reminder. She wants to discuss it with Mom, but the words get stuck in her throat, so she asks instead for the story of her birth. Mom recalls, -Kendra loved you so much! Yet she knew she wasn't ready to take care of a baby, so she'd chosen Dad and me to be your parents. - Lears captures perfectly the child's anxiety about being forgotten, as well as her delight when Kendra reveals that even though she does not need a reminder to keep Megan in her heart, she has dug up the tree to replant at her new home. Accomplished full-color paintings complement the text by depicting Megan's emotions -thoughtful, worried, surprised, and joyful. In a helpful note, a social worker explains the benefits of open adoption. This book presents a sensitive portrayal of a complicated situation and is an excellent way to introduce the topic. - "Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2005
K-Gr. 3. Megan is adopted, and like many adopted children, she asks a lot of questions. She also receives many answers, thanks to her family's wholehearted embrace of open adoption: "Mom and Dad tell me what I want to know. And since I have an open adoption, I stay in touch with my birth mother, Kendra, too." The simple story focuses on Megan's anxiety about her place in her birth mom's heart, especially once Kendra moves to a new house and leaves behind Megan's "birthday tree," which Kendra had planted in the yard. A face-to-face interaction soothes Megan's fears. The comfortable relationship between Kendra and Megan, qualities emphasized by Farnsworth's sun-drenched oils, may raise unreasonable expectations among children whose experience of open adoption is not quite so ideal. Still, as more adoptive families move toward sustaining "ongoing, meaningful contact" between children and birth parents--now widely preferred by adoption agencies--the story's poignant message will find a growing audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)