The team behind Shades of People helps answer some of the most commonly asked questions from children who are adopted. The authors set a conversational tone from the beginning: "Children can bring joy to a family," they write. A handful of photographs depict a variety of families--a single parent, two parents, an only child, multiple siblings, and as many skin tones as there are colors in the rainbow. Yet nothing feels posed or staged. Rotner's photographs look like treasured candids in a family album.
The authors also tackle hard questions, with candor and compassion: "Mothers love their babies, but sometimes a mother is unable to care for her child." They offer possible reasons--the mother may have been too young, too poor to buy food, medicine and clothing, or her country may have been "made dangerous by a war." The book reassures children that they are not alone in their observations and feelings: "Sometimes adopted children look different from the other members of their family." But photos show the children fully integrated into their family's activities, getting a piggyback ride from a sister, or playing in the back yard. Families are depicted in both urban and rural settings, nearly always outdoors to better focus on the commonalities rather than the differences between children. Parents and children alike will welcome this invitation to talk about what makes them family. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness