Fostering and Adoption

Children's Literature - Wendy M. Smith-D'Arezzo

The books in Stargazer's new series are designed, in their font, illustrations and page layout, to appeal to children ages six to nine. The topics are also to be of interest to young children. However, the text appears to be appropriate for a more sophisticated audience. The vocabulary is above most second graders' reading level (e.g., "circumstances," "situation"), but the sentence structure is simplistic and redundant. This makes the book difficult for a young child to read on his/her own, yet it is not interesting enough for read-alouds. This particular book is more closely linked in content and context than several of the others in the series. The information conveyed here is important to share with young children, especially those who are living in foster homes or have been adopted. Still, one sentence that I found confusing was: "Adoption is not temporary—as long as the child is happy with the situation, they become part of the new family, forever" (p. 13). I am not sure what the author is trying to convey here, but it sounds as if she is leaving the door open for adoptive children to reject their adoptive families. While this happens in rare circumstances, it is not information that I believe is important to share with primary school aged children.