My Family is Forever [Hardcover]

Nancy Carlson (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Some families look alike, some don’t. Some families are formed through birth, and some families are formed by adoption. But as the little girl in this heartwarming book makes clear, being a family isn’t about who you look like or where you were born—it’s about the love that binds you together. Adoptive families are sure to delight in the special story of the narrator’s adoption—from her parents’ excited preparations and long journey by airplane to meet her, to their life together as a family. Nancy Carlson’s thoughtful, straightforward text and cheerful illustrations combine to create a reassuring look at how one little girl came into her parents’ world—and made them a family forever.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2--A young girl introduces herself to readers: "My family was formed by adoption, so I look just like… me!" She goes on to tell the story of her move from an undisclosed Asian country. She describes her experiences with her family, the activities she enjoys, and her thoughts about her birth parents. In the end, she says that wherever she goes she will always have her family by her side. Carlson has selected a topic that's in great demand. Unfortunately, this effort falls flat. The text is lively but sounds too adult and too preachy to ring true as a child's voice. Some will view the cartoon illustrations of the main character as stereotypical. Her eyes are drawn as slanted lines and look closed on most of the pages, while the non-Asian faces have large dots for eyes and look wide open. For more successful adoption stories depicting Asian children, try Rose A. Lewis's I Love You Like Crazy Cakes(Little, Brown, 2000) and Eve Bunting's Jin Woo (Clarion, 2001).--Rachel G. Payne, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. A young Asian girl's first-person simple narration states how she came to her adoptive parents and describes the joys of having a loving family. While she sees that her friend Jeffrey has his mom's red hair and his dad's big ears, she matter-of-factly notes, "Families are formed in different ways, so they don't always look alike." Later, the child talks about how she resembles her parents: "I'm a good cook like my dad, and a wonderful dancer like my mom." Like many adopted kids, she wonders about her birth parents, and is very sure that "they wanted me to have a family to love." Decorated with upbeat, brightly colored pictures portraying a supportive, loving family, this cozy picture book will have great appeal for many youngsters, though adoptees, and kids from blended families, single-parent homes, or any nontraditional family, will feel a special connection. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670036501
• ISBN-13: 978-0670036509
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,499,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

This year illustrator and author Nancy Carlson published her 44th children's book. Her specialty is teaching kids to feel good about themselves and others.Kids, parents, teachers and even book critics think she does a great job. That's because she is never out of touch with the kid spirit inside herself. Her brightly colored pencil drawings perfectly capture the happy-go-lucky characters that fill her clever and funny books. There is a life lesson to be learned from each story.Nancy decided at age five to be an artist. As a child, Nancy would sit on her bed and draw for hours. "I began creating characters and telling stories through my drawings," Nancy said. "I always had the need to communicate something through my art." Her early love of comic books influenced her style of drawing and use of color.A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art, Nancy has kept alive a youthful zest for life. Readers and book reviewers alike are charmed by her jazzy yet childlike drawings done with bright colored pencils. In all 42 books and four stage plays, she uses well-placed humor in words and pictures to tickle the funny bone of children and their parents.Humorous childhood experiences from her own life growing up in Minneapolis and from the escapades of her three children provide themes for stories. Most of her books feature animal characters that show the funny side of people. Nancy's two dogs, cat and a guinea pig are a source of inspiration.Nancy Carson lives in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. She and her husband, Barry McCool, have three children, two dogs, and a cat. Nancy loves nature and spends as much time outdoors as possible, running, biking and birdwatching. Besides writing and illustrating children's books, she designs posters, t-shirts, caps, greeting cards and other specialty items, which are marketed across the country through McCool Unlimited, Inc. and available though Nancy's on-line catalogue.Readers say they recognize themselves and their friends in the characters who triumph over everyday situations.Each story helps young readers deal with life's little problems, while teaching the basic values of honesty, determination and self-confidence.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worked for us, January 7, 2005

By 

Alicia M. Chillemi "Alicia" (Belleville, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Family is Forever (Hardcover)

Our son, Joshua, was in his 2s and we wanted to introduce the fact that he was adopted in a bit more concrete way (since we talk about it openly with other people when he is around). I tried talking with him at bedtime, but he got very uncomfortable. I checked out a few books from the library, and this became one of his favorites quickly. Even though he is a boy and was a domestic adoption, he does like this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My daughter enjoyed this, March 15, 2006

By 

R. Cooper "quiltingkitty" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Family is Forever (Hardcover)

My 2 yr old daughter, adopted from China, enjoyed this book. Although I don't think she grasped the story behind it, she enjoyed the illustrations and would often open the book and page through it. It was a library book but we are considering adding it to our collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice!, September 21, 2007

By 

Kimberly K. Marchese "Kimberly" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Family is Forever (Paperback)

This book was perfect for use in my environment. I was looking for a general book about adoption. I'm an Elementary School Counselor and a teacher asked me to come in her class and share some info about adoption. She had 3 kids in her class that were adopted and the kids were asking lots of questions. (The adoptive moms thought it would be cool if I'd come in and share some very general info so the teacher asked.) This book is perfect. Many of the books out there get too detailed and are meant to bring out the therapeutic issues that come up for adoptive children. Those books have their important purpose. This is a great first book for adoptive families to lead their child into the idea that they were adopted and general enough for general audiences too.