Our Twitchy

Rating:
Summary: awful awful awful awful
Review: I agree with the other negative reviews -- this is without a doubt the single worst adoption book for kids I have ever read -- and, as an adoptive mom, I've read quite a few. I just got back from a meeting of my adoption support group, at which we compared notes on children's adoption books, and our group was unanimous in our dislike for this book. None of us (five families) would ever read this book to our kids. This book presents adoption as a big problem, something so upsetting it causes the adopted child to run away. I prefer books that explain adoption without implying that it's something to be upset about. If you're looking for a good book on transracial adoption, get "Families Are Different" by Nina Pellegrini instead.

Rating:
Summary: Must have adoptee children's book
Review: I loved it from the first read, and have recomended it to all the adopting couples I know. A perfect way to sum up any diffrences in the way a family looks or acts.

Rating:
Summary: Must have adoptee children's book
Review: I loved it from the first read, and have recomended it to all the adopting couples I know. A perfect way to sum up any diffrences in the way a family looks or acts.

Rating:
Summary: I'd give it 0 if I could.How not to write an adoption story.
Review: I thought Our Twitchy was a great example of how NOT to handle adoption. Unlike Twitchy's parents, many, if not most, adoptive parents today share the story of how they became a family with their children from babyhood on, thus curtailing any big revelations and strong reactions like poor Twitchy had. And why did it take the whole book before Twitchy's parents finally reassured him that they were indeed his real parents??
As an adoptive parent, this is one book I will never share with my child.

Rating:
Summary: Hordes of better adoption stories out there
Review: I thought Our Twitchy was a great example of how NOT to handle adoption. Unlike Twitchy's parents, many, if not most, adoptive parents today share the story of how they became a family with their children from babyhood on, thus curtailing any big revelations and strong reactions like poor Twitchy had. And why did it take the whole book before Twitchy's parents finally reassured him that they were indeed his real parents??
As an adoptive parent, this is one book I will never share with my child.

Rating:
Summary: Bunny Hop
Review: Our Twitchy, written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Mary McQuillan, is an absolutely adorable new picture book which I cannot recommend enough. The pictures are bright and eye-catching. The story is well-paced and well-done. It explains adoption to young children in a simple and loving way.

(Be forewarned, because this review is going to give away exactly who adopts Twitchy.)

Twitchy is a cute baby rabbit whose parents tell him that he is adopted. Prior to this revelation, he thought nothing of his mother being a cow and his father being a horse. The parents explain how his "bunnymom and bunnypop" had many children (sixteen, to be exact) so they (the cow and horse) took him in and raised him in a house full of love.

Initially, Twitchy does not believe them. When he looks at his parents' reflections in the water alongside his own, he sees the similarities - like their big brown eyes - and not their differences. Confused, Twitchy runs away. The parents search high and low for the little rabbit.

Finally, they hear something making soft "moo" and "neigh" sounds. They discover their son in an unusual state. Twitchy has attempted to look more like his farmyard parents by putting mud on his white fur to make it white, using clothespins on his floppy ears to make them small and folded, and attaching a twig to his tail.

The adults clean Twitchy up and tell him that they love him just as he is. They emphasize that they ARE his parents, no matter what. Twitchy is content once more and they prepare to have their typical dinner, something all three of them enjoy: carrots!

If you are a parent or a schoolteacher, pick this up. It is a wonderful way to introduce kids to the concept of adoption. It reinforces the fact that love makes you a family. Pick up People by Petere Spier and It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr while you are at it.

Rating:
Summary: A thoughtful picture book story about a young bunny
Review: The collaborative effort of Kes Gray and Mary McQuillan, Our Twitchy is a thoughtful picture book story about a young bunny who comes to realize that his parents don't hop the same way he does. He was adopted - a traumatic revelation, but he soon learns that families don't have to look the same as one another to be a family. Our Twitchy is recommended as a kind-hearted, simple introduction to what adoption is and means, distinguished with simplistic yet vivid color illustrations.

Rating:
Summary: I'd give it 0 if I could.How not to write an adoption story.
Review: This is a cruel, heartless, sloppily written book.

It is not good to keep adoption a secret,and make the poor child discover it for himself!(see a previous review)

In addition, the voice makes no sense. It is not possible to tell who is talking for several pages.

Hope this rushes to out of print.