Emma's Story

Patricia Fenton is chair of the Adoption Council of Ontario.

Thousands of Chinese children, mostly girls, have been adopted into
North American families. Canada alone now has over 7000 of these
children, and most are living in families with non-Chinese parents. This
heart-warming story represents a fairly typical scenario for these
children. Emma notes that she looks different and wants to look like
everyone else. Her grandmother responds with a hug and offers to retell
the story of how Emma joined her family. Using her special album to
lovingly illustrate the family’s preparations for her arrival, she
describes their travel to China, the airplane trip home, and the
wonderful welcome from family and friends that greeted them upon their
arrival.

The illustrations by Song Nan Zhang, as well as the text, reflect the
warmth and caring of Emma’s family. Grandma summarizes the point of
the book by saying “It’s not how we look that makes us a family.
It’s how we love each other.”

Older children (7 and up) will probably not be satisfied by Emma’s
Story, as they usually have questions about their birth family and why
the adoption happened, a part that is totally missing from this book.
For a young child, however, Emma’s Story conveys a powerful message of
love and belonging. Recommended.