Customer Reviews

A Child Is a Child

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As an adoptive parent, I am always on the lookout for good books to read to my children. This book did not make the list. The book begins with the unexplained abandonment of the young frog children. A few of the nearby animals pity the poor frogs, but feel that they do not want to care for the young ones. That is, until the mouse comes and rescues the frog who need a parent because "a child is a child" and every child only needs love.

My primary issue with this book is that it presents adoption as rescue. I know from experience that I did not rescue my children, despite their time in an orphanage. My husband and I did not "save" our children. We wanted a family that would laugh and play with us. We chose them, and I would not want them think that we took them in as a last resort because they weren't wanted by anybody else.

Although most children's books about adoption are relatively simplistic (which is understandable because of the target audience), this book is shallow. There is no mention of how the sudden transition affected the frogs which might help adopted children understand their feelings. In addition, there is also no real discussion of the interracial issues facing the now integrated family, which I had hoped would be the theme of the book.

There are several books that better address adoption--in a way that affirms a child's feelings of love and belonging. Avoid this one.