LITTLE AGAIN
by Brian Corey
Corey’s picture book offers a fable about growing up as an adopted child.
A depressed girl believes that becoming little again will make her happy, so she climbs a magic tree that makes you younger on the way up. She meets tree dwellers and explains her mission to them, but each finely illustrated animal tells her about all the things they’re looking forward to doing when they get older. At the very top, the now-little girl meets her birth mother, who appears to be Asian like her. The woman explains she’ll always be watching over her and that it’s time to grow up. Falling from the tree, the girl returns to size and is caught by her adoptive parents. She feels safe and loved and is finally “ready to be bigger.” In his debut book, Corey acknowledges adoptive children’s feelings of loss and disconnection from their origins without any scolding about, for example, counting their blessings. Instead, readers get gentle reminders of love and security plus encouragement to see the future as holding more fun and freedom. Corey’s lovely, soft-textured, artistic illustrations complement the poignant text perfectly.
A reassuring, beautifully illustrated book with empathy for adopted kids.