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The Chosen Baby
"Completely revised, newly illustrated edition of the universally popular children's book about adoption."
47 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 22, 2016
As an adoptee, this book shaped how I see myself and my family. My parents read it to me when I was a baby, and I knew every word by heart by the time I was three. I'm working on a memoir about being adopted now and have just revisited this wonderful story. A must-read for anyone involved in the adoption process.
June 23, 2016
This was a favorite book when I was a kid. My awesome parents adopted all three of their children, so this book helped us understand.
March 12, 2021
This is a tenderly written story of adoption which was first written in the forties or fifties, and has gone through another edition which is not so good. James and Martha Brown adopt first Peter and then Mary Brown. The social worker after a year's anticipation invites them to go into the next room to see Peter: "And if he is not just the right baby for you, tell us, and we will try to find another."
"He is the baby, he is the baby. We will have everything ready by tomorrow, and come fetch him."
The baby was laughing and wriggling his toes. He looked happy too. When they adopt Mary (also after a wait, which Peter endures anxiously) they throw a big party with all the relatives and Peter shows everyone he can almost stand on his head. The joy of this book is that it portrays a happy family. The grandparents tell Peter he is a fine young man.
The book is about white people, but worked well for a co-worker of mine who is African American and had adopted. I should think it would also work for gay couples.
"He is the baby, he is the baby. We will have everything ready by tomorrow, and come fetch him."
The baby was laughing and wriggling his toes. He looked happy too. When they adopt Mary (also after a wait, which Peter endures anxiously) they throw a big party with all the relatives and Peter shows everyone he can almost stand on his head. The joy of this book is that it portrays a happy family. The grandparents tell Peter he is a fine young man.
The book is about white people, but worked well for a co-worker of mine who is African American and had adopted. I should think it would also work for gay couples.
September 14, 2010
A heartwarming book that teaches youngsters about how each one of us is wanted, no matter what circumstances brought them into this world. It tells the story of a couple who adopt not just one, but two children and the steps the parents took to make it happen. It emphasizes the time and patience involved in adoption. Youngsters and older folk would find this book uplifting and it would enhance a unit on families and how different we are and have always been.
September 24, 2013
The book was a very sweet story of a couple who wanted to adopt a boy (and later a girl). This book would be wonderful for young children (Kindergarten) who are just starting to understand what adoption means.
March 26, 2019
This book ruined so many lives. It is a lie. Adoptees were given out randomly. Born Monday your John Smith. Tuesday you are Joe Shmoe. Nobody recommends this book anymore and it not on bookshelves in stores. Never ever recommend this.
January 30, 2011
This book was read to me growing up, I was adopted and it made everything clear to me that no matter what I didnt understand, I understood that my parents loved me.
October 14, 2012
This book about adoption never mentions that children are born. No first/birth parents. An unconscionable narrative.
April 11, 2019
"Why is he hiding in the box?" Alissa said. She loves hide-and-seek.
April 17, 2023
Seriously outdated. From a time when babies mysteriously arrived at adoption agencies out of nowhere. Little Peter (the first baby who is adopted in this story) is shown to his potential adoptive parents by the adoption worker, who assures them that "if he is not just the right baby for [them]," she will try to find them another. Holy rejection anxiety batman! Fortunately the parents, upon seeing the baby who for some reason is stashed alone in the next room, decide he is cute enough. So off they go to get baby stuff and fix up baby's room, and the next day they come back and pick up their new son. I don't know if this is simplified for the purpose of a straightforward children's book, or if the adoption process really has changed that much? But obviously nobody would be given a child these days without being prepared for the little one. (To be clear, the parents had, by this time, been waiting for a bit; also the adoption worker had already stopped by the house a couple times.)
There's a sweet interlude of everyone being happy for a few years, and both sets of grandparents declaring little Peter a "fine" kid... until one day the young family encounters a "pretty little girl" and decide that Peter should have a baby sister. So of course they call the adoption worker and start the process again. Same story: a waiting period, and boom! baby Mary arrives out of nowhere and is deemed acceptable by the parents. They come back the next day with Peter, who also likes the infant and is happy to pass on all his baby things to her. And they lived happily ever after.
The story is told mainly from the perspective of the parents (and later, to some extent, Peter). Babies are treated as a commodity to be taken home if one likes them enough. Birth parents do not exist, and there's zero jealousy on Peter's part when his little sister shows up. The language is somewhat stilted and uninspired, with too much emphasis on how lucky the parents are to be given a child, what with so many other people waiting for one.
One thing I do like are the illustrations, for the most part -- the people and dog appear friendly, with very realistic body language which I always appreciate. Unfortunately the color scheme, by today's standards, comes across as dingy and dirty. Lots of brown/khaki/orange hues with a bit of blue/green for contrast. The illustrations of the freshly bought "things that babies need" looks shockingly like a rummage sale, or someone's attic.
As an aside, the title of the book is misleading. Peter and Mary were not "chosen" by the parents -- they were offered by the adoption agency, and accepted by the parents. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'm bothered by the common adoption trope that adopted babies are "chosen" (presumably out of a pool of others) by their parents. The parents decided they wanted a child, yes, but the only "choosing" that happened here was done in secrecy by the adoption worker(s).
There's a sweet interlude of everyone being happy for a few years, and both sets of grandparents declaring little Peter a "fine" kid... until one day the young family encounters a "pretty little girl" and decide that Peter should have a baby sister. So of course they call the adoption worker and start the process again. Same story: a waiting period, and boom! baby Mary arrives out of nowhere and is deemed acceptable by the parents. They come back the next day with Peter, who also likes the infant and is happy to pass on all his baby things to her. And they lived happily ever after.
The story is told mainly from the perspective of the parents (and later, to some extent, Peter). Babies are treated as a commodity to be taken home if one likes them enough. Birth parents do not exist, and there's zero jealousy on Peter's part when his little sister shows up. The language is somewhat stilted and uninspired, with too much emphasis on how lucky the parents are to be given a child, what with so many other people waiting for one.
One thing I do like are the illustrations, for the most part -- the people and dog appear friendly, with very realistic body language which I always appreciate. Unfortunately the color scheme, by today's standards, comes across as dingy and dirty. Lots of brown/khaki/orange hues with a bit of blue/green for contrast. The illustrations of the freshly bought "things that babies need" looks shockingly like a rummage sale, or someone's attic.
As an aside, the title of the book is misleading. Peter and Mary were not "chosen" by the parents -- they were offered by the adoption agency, and accepted by the parents. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'm bothered by the common adoption trope that adopted babies are "chosen" (presumably out of a pool of others) by their parents. The parents decided they wanted a child, yes, but the only "choosing" that happened here was done in secrecy by the adoption worker(s).
July 30, 2008
The story is a very simple (and idyllic) description of the process of adoption. It would probably be useful for adoptive families to have in their home, as a prompt for answering questions a child may have about how they arrived in their adopted family, but I don't think it's the "classic children's story" that the cover promises. That is, I wouldn't consider it very entertaining. The illustrations were not very engaging, either.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews