We Chose You: A Book About Adoption, Family, and Forever Love

When an African-American boy named Calvin receives a class assignment to talk about his family, he anxiously asks his parents, “Can you tell me about our family again? About how you chose me?” Together, they look at the couple’s wedding photos, as the parents explain that, as happy as they were together, they prayed for a child, until “we chose you.” But, Calvin wonders, if he didn’t grow in his mother’s tummy, is he really her son? No two families are the same, his mother assures him, but all are “created by God.” Illustrating in bright, forthright art, Wolek shows illustrated snapshots of families (a child with many siblings, an only child, a girl raised by her grandmother). Dungy misses an opportunity to feature families with same-sex parents, but the validating sentiment about diverse family structures resonates. Ages 6–9. (Mar.)