Adopted Like Me:
My Book of Adoption Heroes
illustrated by Marc Thomas
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2013
ISBN 978-1-84905-935-0

Hi. I'm Max, and I'm adopted.

You may not know this but many famous and inspirational people were adopted too. Adopted Like Me introduces you to great musicians like Bo Diddley, politicians like Nelson Mandela, and stars like Marilyn Monroe. Meet these along with inventors, athletes, and a princess skilled in judo and fencing—all of them adopted like me. Read about these adoptees and you'll see that you can grow up to be just about anything you want to be!

Fully illustrated in color, this book is for children aged 8+ who have been adopted, their parents, teachers and siblings.

Reviews

“Each of the nineteen people is given a two page spread, one of text about their lives, and facing that, a richly-coloured and evocative painting of the person. The mix is variegated in many ways. There are different races portrayed (Nelson Mandela, Langston Hughes, Princess Xianzi of the Quing Dynasty, etc.), artists and musicians (Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Edgar Allan Poe, etc.), people from history (Aristotle, the American Indian Crazy Horse, George Washington Carver, etc.) and sports personalities (Fatima Whitbread). The emphasis is on the accomplishments of these people and the fact that being adopted in no way affects one’s life chances.”

—healthyBooks

“The book is lively and the stories entertaining … Many of the people have not been adopted in the traditional sense, or have been adopted as an older child (J.R.R. Tolkien) and it could be helpful for an adopted child to know that there are lots of different ways of providing secure parenting for a child.”

—Side by Side, the newsletter for adoptees