Final Project: Adoption Literature

Throughout the semester we have been studying all different types of “multicultural” or “diverse” literature but we have not been able to cover the entire spectrum. So when I was thinking about what to do for this project, the topic of Adoption popped into my head. When I was in the 5^th grade my family adopted my little sister Lexey. Thinking about the struggles and the feelings she has had growing up made me wonder if reading adoption literature would have helped her better find her identity. When I went to the library in search of these books I realized that there really was not a lot for me to choose from which surprised me because the composition of the “American” family is changing so much, I would expect the literature to reflect that. After searching and researching I found three books that I thought were great pieces of literature on Adoption. All three of the books tell a different story of adoption while portraying the sense of love a family feels once it has all its pieces. The majority of the adoption literature I found was based on international adoption which is one of the many reasons why I chose the third book, The Secret of Me. This book is about adoption within the United States and it is intended for an older audience. Although the three books I chose are inherently different they all still have the same reoccurring themes and values written into them. In the article “We Are Family: Using Diverse Family Structure Literature with Children” Deanna Gilmore makes it apparent that no matter what the situation, children must be able to see themselves in literature in order better find their identity and to feel “normal” and important. (Gilmore 281).