Miss Spider's Adoption Stories – A Book Review
Popular Kids Series With Positive Undertones About Adoptive Families
Jul 23, 2009
While a variety of children’s books about adoption hold a child’s attention for one story, the Miss Spider series weaves an adoption tale that spans two generations. Vibrant illustrations, rhyming verse and positive adoption language fuse to tell the adoption stories of Little Miss Spider and her children Bounce, Shimmer and Dragon.
Little Miss Spider
Colorful and intense oil paintings introduce Little Miss Spider to children ages 4 to 7. As the baby spider emerges from her egg and wisps through the air, she searches for her mother. Tears stream down her face as she realizes she’s all alone. Betty, a beetle, puts her hand on the tiny arachnid’s shoulder and offers to help search for Little Miss Spider’s birth mother.
Betty bravely then rescues the baby spider from a nest of hungry goldfinches just in time. Betty feeds and bathes the little spider and invites her to stay. Looking lovingly into each other’s eyes, Little Miss Spider tells Betty, “I looked for my mom, And I found you at last.”
The book closes with the heart-wrenching rhyme:
“For finding your mother,
There’s one certain test.
You must look for the creature
Who loves you the best.”
This verse brings tears to many parents’ eyes, but to some in the adoption community it evokes images of competition between birth and adoptive mothers. It seems unlikely that is the author’s intent; rather he’s affirming the loving gift of adoption that has united this spider and beetle forever.
Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids
Kirk employs lively digital artwork and energetic rhymes for children ages 4 to 7 in this book, which features Little Miss Spider all grown up and married to the love of her life, Holley. They’re about to hatch their family, including the couple’s first five children, Wiggle, Spinner, Pansy, Snowdrop and Squirt.
Newborn Squirt finds a lost baby egg and leaves home in diligent pursuit of its mother. On his journey, he also meets three orphan bugs – Bounce, Dragon and Shimmer. Squirt and his parents eventually reunite and then prepare to part ways with the wayward bugs. But their hearts can’t ignore the lonely trio looking for a mother:
“With families back together and a happy end in sight,
Squirt wondered why he sensed inside that something wasn’t right.
His mom and dad felt just the same, then suddenly they knew.
‘Wait up, you guys!’ Squirt shouted. ‘We’ve got just the home for you!’”
And just like that, the adoption tradition expands to the next generation with a love that extends classifications: Spiders, bed bugs, dragonflies and beetles all love one another unconditionally in this unique family. This beautiful book holds countless lessons about love, responsibility and care and support for others.
Miss Spider’s Family Album
This tabbed board book fits tiny hands of any age. Colorful digital artwork and simple sentences illustrate the family member featured on each page. Most notably, the book promotes positive adoption language by introducing family members without placing a distinction between those children who were adopted and those born to Miss Spider and Holley.
Positive View of Adoption
Kirk introduces the concept of adoption to preschoolers, providing opportunities to discuss the various ways families form. Ironically, what makes the entire series most adoption-friendly is that every Miss Spider book isn’t adoption-focused. Kirk weaves Miss Spider’s life story with positive adoption undertones that encourage avid fans to witness the everyday activities of a devoted family that happens to be formed through adoption.
Little Miss Spider ((ISBN: 0-439-08389-3)
Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids (ISBN: 0-439-67873-0)
Miss Spider’s Family Album (ISBN: 0-448-43829-1)
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