4/9/2016
"We Wanted You" by Liz Rosenberg
Copyright 2002, 32 pages
Realistic Fiction

Image taken from Goodreads

I didn't know what this book was all about until I picked it up. The title was pretty discreet, and you can't really tell it's about adopting a child from a different ethnicity until you actually start reading. I do love this book, though. I love how it shows how adoptive parents love their children just as much as biological parents do, without overglorifying the fact that this is about adopting a non-white child. We see nothing in the text that says things like: "we picked you up from (insert country name) and brought you to (insert country name)" or "you are (ethnicity name) and we are (ethnicity name) but it doesn't matter!". Instead, in the illustrations, we see a birthday banner that says: "Happy Birthday, Enriqué!" - implying that the child is probably Latino. Also by illustrations, we see that the parents are white. Those are about the only clues we have regarding race and ethnicity. No text in the book made a big deal out of it.

Another thing I like is the illustration. There's so many intricate details. Even on the cover page alone, we can assume that the dad is planning to surprise Enriqué with the soccer ball behind his back. Judging by Enrique's clothes, it seems like he does like soccer quite a bit. I also like how there are so many layers to each color in the picture. The shadows on the walls indicate that they're standing in a cool porch on a bright, sunny day. The wooden walls remind me of a holiday cottage, further enforcing the "relaxed, carefree" feel. Even the antique-shaped house number on the left gave off that feel: a happy little family in a happy little house.