Adoptive parents reflect on the hopes and wishes they share for their son with the child’s birth mother, whose sustained relationship with the family unites the parents in love. Addressing the reader as the adopted child, the fathers emphasize the solidarity and unified vision of their open adoption. “Before you were born, we wished for you. . . . We hoped and waited.” The child’s birth mother also “made a wish just for you [but] . . . didn’t feel she could fulfill her wish on her own.” Through the matchmaking process, birth, and playful milestones, tenderly rendered in warm digital illustrations, the adults celebrate the growing child’s emotional health and successes. Unadorned language and repetition of themes are heartfelt and gentle, with an emphasis placed on small moments and simple joys. An author’s note briefly explains adoption types as well as his family’s experience with open adoption. A welcome addition to the growing cannon of adoption stories, where open adoption is underrepresented, and an affirming message of love.
—Booklist
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