Children’s books that explain surrogacy, IVF, adoption and other ways of building families
Carrie Ramoz
“How can we explain surrogacy to our children as they grow up?” is one of the most common questions we hear from the families we work with.
Most of us at NWSC are bibliophiles and embrace any reason to explain life through books. Surrogacy, adoption and other various family structures are finally becoming more mainstream in the children’s literary world. Using these books can help with conversations about a child’s own family. Our amazing Case Manager/Legal Services Coordinator Heidi Martens has reviewed some of the top recommended books and we hope you’ll find her insight helpful!
Do you have other favorites? We’d love to hear and can add them to our list!
The Different Dragon – Jennifer Bryan (2006). A story about a little boy (and maybe baby sister too?) and his moms’ bedtime routine/story time. Having two moms was not the focus, it just WAS.
Milo’s Adventure: A Story About Love – Frankie Nelson, BJ Barone & Debbie Donsky (2016). Keep a box of tissues on hand as you read this! Told from Milo’s perspective, this is a story of surrogacy, the love of his two dads and becoming a family.
While You Were Sleeping – Stephanie Burks (2004). Seems like a really sweet story about two moms and the feelings they have when they learn a birthmother has chosen them and then the feelings while they watch their new baby sleep.
Felicia’s Favorite Story – Leslea Newman (2002). Much like While You Were Sleeping above. A sweet adoption story told to their daughter by her two moms at bedtime. Crrrrrying!!!
ABC: A Family Alphabet Book – Bobbie Combs (2001). Depicts gay and lesbian parents throughout a typical alphabet book. Another good one where different families are shown but not the central focus.
Heather Has Two Mommies – Leslea Newman (1989). The author updated the book in 2016! Seems like a classic and very well loved.
Sophia’s Broken Crayons: A Story of Surrogacy from a Young Child’s Perspective – Crystal A Falk (2014). A lot of good feedback on this one. It seems to be written from the perspective of a straight family. Good for IPs or surrogates wanting to explain surrogacy to a young child.
A Surrogacy Book for Young Children: Grown in Another Garden – (2016). Similarly good feedback here. This time from the perspective of a little boy born through surrogacy. This book appears to be from the perspective of a straight family.
Ready to see if you qualify?
If you are a healthy, nonsmoking woman between the ages of 21 and 41 years old and have had previous healthy, full-term pregnancies, we would love to hear from you!
Ready to take the first step to parenthood?
Schedule a free consultation with our team to answer your questions and discuss the surrogacy process, including matching times and costs.