I enjoyed reading “Be My Baby: Parents and Children Talk About Adoption” by Gail Kinn with photographs by Ken Shung. I came across it while browsing through the adoption books section at my library, checked it out and read it in only a couple of hours after Ella had gone to bed.

I would liken this book to a coffee table book of sorts. The reading is light, the subject is familiar and comfortable to me, the photographs are gorgeous and it’s broken up into small, easily digestible segments. I love books like this! You could easily read a section or two at a time and come back to it much later.

Kinn is an adoptive aunt and was inspired to create this book out of curiosity about what her niece may face growing up. She interviewed adoptive parents and children, and their commentaries on the adoptive/adopted life are separated. The parents point of view is in one section while the children’s is in another. I was also really glad to see that birthmothers were also interviewed and featured in their own section of the book. I hope that adoptive parents who pick up this book gain a deeper insight into the birthmother’s experience.

I felt that the interviews gave good insight into an adoptive family’s life and a birthmother’s point of view, and I especially enjoyed and was interested in reading what the kids had to say. Kinn chose a wide sampling of interviews to include so that many different views and experiences are included in the book. Some of the adopted kids she interviewed don’t think much about their adopted status, while others thought often of their adoption and birthparents and had adoption-related struggles. I think that the only way we (adoptive parents) can try to prepare for issues our children may face is through learning from the experiences of other adoptees. Their stories may not reflect our child’s in any way, but I still feel that it’s important to learn all we can from others who have walked in similar shoes as our children.

I wish there were more international and transracial families included, but it was still valuable to me and relevant to my family. A few celebrity families were included, and it was nice to read that they’re all just living normal lives with their families. The overall tone of “Be My Baby” is positive and loving and places a great deal of emphasis on the fact that families are families; no matter how they came to be. I appreciate that and recommend this book.


Buy "Be My Baby" here.

Other Book Reviews:
When You Were Born in Viet NamTwenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adopted Parents Knew
Finding Katherine

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