Review by Jo Liveston, Independent Social Worker
A family who I was assessing recently found this book and we used it with the family’s young birth child to help involve her in the process and to aid her understanding of what was going to happen at each stage. We all liked it so much that we wanted to share a review from the view points of the adopters, their child and myself as their social worker.
It could be useful for young children at any stage of an adoption, including the adopted child. Birth child opinion: Said her favourite part is when the family fairies help them find a child, just like our family fairy is doing. Apparently, she likes all of the book, she likes all that the pictures are colourful and that there’s lots of rhymes in it. She knows it’s how we will adopt a child.
Adopter opinion: Although the book is aimed at adopted children to help understand how their family came about, We’ve used it with our birth daughter to help her understand a little more about the process the 3 of us were going through, as well as the role of our social worker in such a lovely and age appropriate way through the concept of family fairies.
You’re able to use the book to adopt the story to fit your own circumstances which is what we did. It’s been an extremely helpful book for us, it’s easy to understand for children and the pictures bring the story to life for them.
Social worker opinion: It is a lovely accessible explanation of who I am and what I do, I especially like the way it outlines the assessment process and matching panel. The book is aimed towards the adopted child but can easily be adapted in the way it is read. The fairy theme would not suit all children and it is centered on a heterosexual couple with no existing children, but again could still be an effective tool to explore the issues and explain
what is happening.
To find out more or to purchase a copy of ‘The Family Fairies visit:
What has been interesting and helpful to you may be just as interesting and helpful to someone else – let us know if you have a suggestion!
