Megan's Birthday Tree: A Story About Open Adoption by Laurie Lears

Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. 32 p., Whitman, 2005. In an open adoption, children may explicitly maintain connection with their birth parent(s).. For Megan, one form this connection takes is a tree in her birth mother, Kendra's, yard when Megan was born. Kendra tells Megan that the tree reminds her of her, and every year on Megan's birthday, she sends her a photo of the tree. When Kendra announces plans to move, Megan worries that she won't have the tree in her new home, and so she might forget Megan. She tries to grow a tree for Kendra, but that doesn't work. So she saves all her money to buy Kendra a tree, even earning some by doing extra chores at home. But she doesn't have enough money to buy a tree, and declines her father's financial help, because she wants to do this on her own. Her next plan is to dig up a little tree in the yard to give to Kendra. As she's doing this, Kendra arrives for a visit. She explains to Megan that she doesn't need anything to help her remember her, and that she always will. Megan understands this. But it also turns out that Kendra has dug up the original birthday tree from her yard to take to her new house. Megan feels lucky to be part of this family. Illustrated with wistful oil paintings, this story celebrates the connections of adopted children with both their parents and their birth parents. Ages 6-9