Pam Kroskie of Bloomington, Indiana, hopes a new children’s book will inspire young adoptees to open up about their feelings surrounding their adoptions.
Kroskie, an adoptee, co-authored Frankie and Friends Talk Adoption alongside Marcie Keithley, a birth mother. Together, the duo wrote Frankie and Friends to guide parents’ discussions with their children who came to them through adoption.
“I believe when you have a book written for adoptees by adoptees, that builds an instant trust,” says Kroskie. “And who knows better what an adoptee is feeling and experiencing than an adoptee?”
Of their inspiration for the book, Kroskie says they wanted to give the youngest adoptees a voice to express themselves.
“It’s never too early to let them hear it is okay to talk about what they are feeling,” she says.
Kroskie says it didn’t take long to actually write the book, but they wanted to make sure they had a good number of discussion points for parents to talk about with their children.
“The littlest of adoptees experience all types of feelings: from starting school to wondering what family members might look like,” she says. The book’s goal is to address those questions and give children permission to feel however they want to feel about them.
Last month, Frankie and Friends Talk Adoption was released and made available for purchase on Amazon. It’s been endorsed and reviewed by adoptees as well as licensed mental health professionals and other members in the adoption triad.
While the book was written for adoptees between the ages of 2 and 10, the discussion points can offer parents and caregivers valuable insight into the complex feelings their children may be processing.
Kroskie says this book is only the beginning of Frankie and Friends. In fact, there’s a coloring book already in the works.
“We are working on quite a few things, and we are already working on another book,” she says.
You can find the book here.
Are you considering adoption and want to give your child the best life possible? Let us help you find an adoptive family that you love. Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98.
