OT - Open Adoption Story from BM prespective

You need to mention that she is sad. It is a reality of adoption and trust me, no adopted person wants to believe that their first mother skipped off into the sunset after giving them up. I say this as a first mother and an adopted adult.

Hi Belle,Thank you for the feedback. I definitely can add something in there when Mama bear is giving the pendent to baby bear. It is a valid point and I truly appreciate the feedback!Thank you,Kevin

I would also add something about how Mama Bear thinks of her baby. A lot of us want to know that our mothers think about us even when we aren't there.

I felt sad the whole way through, I think it may cause some confusion to a child that is adopted. Telling them the mama bear was happy and then ending it, is sorta insulting. You are trying to tell them the mama bear was happy because the baby was loved, but, in both situations there was love. Your message comes across as, "love" is not enough to keep a baby, you have to have money and a better house. Some other issues.. the mama bear didn't care that the baby wouldn't fit in, and didn't care the baby wouldn't have a mother, the mama bear seemed way too happy to just drop off the baby in others arms. If I was a kid, I'd be thinking, but, she's just leaving him there? Doesn't she care about the baby's feeling? What is the point you are trying to make to the adopted child reading the book? It's a tough topic to address and if you are trying to make an adopted kid feel a certain way or have him/her relate to a story you could write it with a kid his/her age, dealing with those issues, like that movie, "Meet the Robinson's." Instead of addressing the most painful part of adoption... relinquishment, which the kid is not aware of, not something they can relate to, and is an adult issue. My adopted husband thought that movie aforementioned was great and showed it to my daughter so she would be influenced not to search for the bp, which was how he felt. but, quite the opposite happened, she wanted to search. another way to approach it would be to just talk about the arrival of the baby and the excitement of the Afamily. That is the happy part. once you mention the giving away, the pain comes up. Sorry if my comments are not too positive, it made me feel sad the baby was given away, and made me feel crazy that the mama bear was just peachy with it. Good luck, tough subject.

Hi fragilemirror,Thank you for your comments. I have added a sentence about mama bear being sad to leave baby bear based on belle's comments above and I think it is a valid part of the story. I do end with mama bear being happy to see her child in a healthy, loving environment which I would say is a fair statement. I would never end a children's book on a down note. Also this story is specifically geared towards those in open adoptions where the bmothers visit and have ongoing contact with their child post-placement.The point of this story is to show that the choice of adoption is made out of love for the child and surrounding the child with love. While I know this story doesn't encompass all possible variables or scenarios (would be impossible for a children's book or any other book to include), it does cover our adoption story and several others in our adoption support group.We do love Meet the Robinsons movie and we own it, but if we only talk about the post-placement stuff with our children, then how is that fair to them or their bparents and the difficult decision that was made out of love for their children? This book can be used an a gateway to have those discussions with them and fill in the "not-so-happy" details when appropriate that this book purposeful leaves out.Again, thank you for your feedback.Kevin