Literature & Fiction

Join the adventure of a little boy finding their forever family in this heartwarming children’s book about adoption. From their birth mother to their foster family and finally to their loving forever Mummy and Daddy, follow along as they discover the meaning of true family. With vibrant illustrations and a touching story told in rhyme, this book is perfect for children and families alike, teaching the value of love, acceptance, and finding your place in the world. A must-read for any family touched by adoption or for those looking to teach their children about the beauty of creating a family through adoption.

This book is not only a heartwarming story about adoption, but it is also inspired by the author’s personal journey in adopting her children. She wrote the book to help explain their journey to her children and to others who may not understand the beauty and complexity of adoption. The author’s personal experience adds an extra layer of authenticity and emotion to the story, making it even more touching and memorable for readers of all ages.

The book can be enjoyed by children of various ages although aimed at children between the ages of 1 to 10, the story has universal appeal, it is still read by the author’s teenage children today.

Through the story in your book your children will gain a deeper understanding of their own adoption story and develop a sense of belonging and pride in their family. It helps them navigate their identity and cultivates a positive self-image.

Reading your book together can create a special bonding experience between parents and their children. It opens up avenues for conversations about love, acceptance, and the importance of family, strengthening the emotional connection between them.

In addition to the initial book about a little one finding their forever family, the author intends to expand the series to include stories specifically centred around same-sex couples and single adopters.

The series celebrates the diverse ways families are created through adoption. It recognises that families come in various forms, and each journey is unique and beautiful.

•Please note that the story is the same throughout the series, only the characters change.

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We Love You Hundreds and Thousands enables children who are fostered and adopted to frame their identity in a positive way from a very young age. Written by an adoptee who is now a mother, this vibrant and touching story is about belonging and having a strong sense of self.

The book aims to promote a strong sense of security and self confidence in children who are fostered and adopted. Embedded in it is a special message for them ─ you are loved enormously.

This unique children’s picture book is also a window into the life of a diverse family and an insight into the special bond between a child and their foster or adoptive parents. It will support parents, families, friends, classrooms and communities to talk about adoption and foster care in an open and loving way.

Why does Jasmine always have hundreds and thousands at her birthday parties and what makes her super special? You’re invited to some of her best birthday parties to find out…

In We Love You Hundreds and Thousands , Jasmine shows us that it’s the simple things in life that make you extra happy and that being fostered or adopted is a wonderful thing!

Jasmine is super special and so is this book ─ it will delight children and adults alike. So come on a fun-loving romp through Jasmine’s birthday parties and see what makes them so awesome!

About the Author

Dara Read was born in Australia in the 80s and was adopted by her mum and dad who love parties as much as she does. Did we mention that Dara loves parties? She does, especially if she can dance! Dara now lives by the beach in Sydney with her family. Her favourite things are cuddles with her kids, being in the ocean and almost anything that sparkles. On the more serious side, Dara is a writer and social justice lawyer. She has worked as a children’s lawyer and youth worker. She has also been a senior ministerial adviser for children who are adopted and in out-of-home care. For more info, see www.dararead.com

Praise for this book

“When I first read We Love You Hundreds and Thousands I was overwhelmed. Never had I read a book which spoke to contemporary adoption and permanent care so well. Through my networks of foster and adoptive parents I often hear of primarily school children struggling with telling their friends that they don’t live with their birth parents. These children see themselves as being just like all of the other children at school and they are proud of who they are. But their friends often don’t know how to react. This book speaks to those children. It speaks to their friends. It speaks to the parents of those friends. It is a book I love to read with my adoptive and biological children and a book I share with my family and friends who have connections with adoption or permanent care.” – Kelly – mum of Hope (age 6), Abigail (age 3) and Stevie (age 3)

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This deluxe Step into Reading book features two leveled careers readers in one! Children ages 4 to 6 can read about two popular sports careers! First, Barbie learns to be a gymnast in the Step 2 You Can Be A Gymnast. Then flip the book over and Barbie trains to become a ballerina in the Step 2 You Can Be A Ballerina.

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This sound book set is special because:

• Hands on interaction engages young readers
• Connecting words with pictures builds vocabulary
• Multisensory reading experiences stimulate the imaginations of young readers Includes amazing Cars characters: Lightning McQueen, Mater, Jackson Storm, Cruz Ramirez, Miss Fritter, and more!

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It’s time for Nursery.
NO!
It’s time to leave the sticks outside.
NO!
It’s time to walk home.
NO!

Meet Jack. A little boy with sparkly blue eyes and two hearing aids. A little boy whose only word is “NO!”.
When “No!” is a battle and Mummy is tired and Jack is tired too, what does Mummy try next?

Based on a true story, Jack Signs! is the heart-warming story of a little boy who is deaf, his typically hearing sister and their Mum. When his Mum discovers a book of sign language, their family life is transformed and Jack blossoms with his new-found communication skills.

Integrating “sign along with me” icons, which prompt children (and their parents) to sign along with Jack as they read the story. (Please note: Linked demonstration videos are currently only available in American Sign Language / ASL and British Sign Language / BSL. We hope to make further videos available soon in other sign languages.)

Jack Signs! is written by Karen Hardwicke, who is the parent of a young deaf adult and has been a Teacher of the Deaf for over ten years.

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When Delly Duck lays two eggs, she is excited for them to hatch. But she doesn’t really know how to keep eggs safe, or how to look after the ducklings when they hatch. See how a concerned goose tries to help Delly to learn how to care for the ducklings, in this sensitively-written adoption story.

Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother and this special siblings/twins edition are intended to help support and stimulate discussion around some of the questions an adopted or fostered child (or another child trying to understand adoption) may have. The story can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions, such as “Why can’t I live with my birth mother?” and “Why didn’t someone just teach her how to parent me safely?”

No two adoption stories are the same, so symbolism has been used that is open to appropriate interpretation by the parent, kinship carer, social worker, play therapist, teacher or other adult reading this story with a child. The beautifully-illustrated story includes animal characters that may reflect common behaviours and responsibilities of several of the key people involved in an adoption process. Delly is a likeable duck, who sadly makes some poor choices and struggles to care for her ducklings in a consistently safe way.

The book includes a helpful guide to the symbolism, with suggestions as to how the various metaphors can be used to support therapeutic life story work and answer questions about the challenges faced by a child’s birth parents, such as memory or concentration problems, addiction and/or poor or inconsistent role models during their own childhoods.
Above all, it portrays that all adults involved want the best for adopted children, and that they are so very loved.

Delly Duck is a popular story with kinship (special guardianship) families and connected carers, particularly when used alongside Marlow’s award-winning bestseller, Room in the Nest. It will appeal to readers of The Blanket Bears, The Invisible String, and the works of Sarah Naish and Todd Parr.

Praise for Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother

“One of the best Adoption books of all time” – BookAuthority

“…a beautifully illustrated children’s story book, explaining big issues like adoption and fostering, in an age appropriate way.” – We Made A Wish adoption magazine

“…Delly Duck is a great choice for adopted and fostered children to explain adoption or support therapeutic life story work. The book can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions…” – Maggie and Rose Book Adventurers

“A fantastic book for Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Legal Guardians, Kinship Carers, Social Workers, Play Therapists or Teachers… I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who is adopting, fostering, or is a child’s Legal Guardian… the book shows the love, and loss of the birth parent, and highlights the fact that sometimes a birth parent is simply not equipped with the necessary skills to keep their child safe consistently.
This beautiful, sensitively written story explains why a child may need to be removed from their birth parent, and explores in a gentle way the emotions felt by parent and child, and the roles other people play in protecting the child, and offering the child a loving, safe environment…” – Icing on the Bake

Delly Duck is available in English, French, German (as Delly Ente) and Spanish (as Nova el Pato).
Please click on the author’s name to see more titles by Holly Marlow.

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An adoption ceremony – often referred to as a Celebration Hearing, Pronouncement Hearing or Adoption Visit – can be a helpful tool to support therapeutic life story work and to help adopted children to understand what happened when a judge made important decisions about their lives.
This story is designed to show children what to expect at their adoption ceremony and to reassure them that the decision has already been made and will not change at the ceremony. It may be used to explain the purpose of the Celebration Hearing to a child’s friends and classmates, and also serves as a thoughtful gift to help a child to understand and process the ceremony after the fact.

This story is suitable for adoption from foster care, not private adoption.

Praise for Room in the Nest

“…This magnificent story shows sensitivity to the topic and complicated feelings surrounding foster care. She explains how the Caring Goose always tries to help the parents out first and give them guidance and that she is not trying to rip families apart but instead shows compassion and works to try and keep families together. Still, sometimes that is not always best for the children. Room in the Nest is a heartwarming picture book that teaches children about foster care, foster placements, long-term fostering, kinship care, reunification, adoption, and a broad look at family court. This is a beautiful story to share with children that have to go through this process to help ease their fears and for other children to understand what happens if someone they know goes into foster care. This honest and beautiful look at the system is a much-needed resource for families, teachers, social workers, and anyone working with troubled families.” – Literary Titan

“…Holly has taken a complex and emotionally charged concept and presented it in a way that children will appreciate and understand…” – Readers’ Favorite

“…Room in the Nest” is a great tool to use for life story work to start discussions about foster carers. It’s also a great book for all children to read, to help them understand why some children need to stay with foster carers sometimes for a short period of time, sometimes for much longer.” – We Made A Wish adoption magazine

Praise for Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother

“One of the best adoption books of all time” – BookAuthority

“…a beautifully illustrated children’s story book, explaining big issues like adoption and fostering, in an age appropriate way.” – We Made A Wish adoption magazine

“…Delly Duck is a great choice for adopted and fostered children to explain adoption or support therapeutic life story work. The book can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions…” – Maggie and Rose Book Adventurers

“A fantastic book for Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Legal Guardians, Kinship Carers, Social Workers, Play Therapists or Teachers… I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who is adopting, fostering, or is a child’s Legal Guardian… I love the way the book shows the love, and loss of the birth parent, and highlights the fact that sometimes a birth parent is simply not equipped with the necessary skills to keep their child safe consistently.
This beautiful, sensitively written story explains why a child may need to be removed from their birth parent, and explores in a gentle way the emotions felt by parent and child, and the roles other people play in protecting the child, and offering the child a loving, safe environment…” – Icing on the Bake

Please click on the series name to see more titles by this author about foster care, kinship care, special guardianship and adoption.

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Winner of the Literary Titan GOLD Award, March 2023.

From the author of award-winning children’s story book, Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother and other adoption and fostering children’s stories, comes a heartwarming story featuring a mixture of familiar and new characters.

Mr and Mrs Swan build a big nest, so that they have plenty of room to help anyone who needs them. Teach children about different kinds of foster care, with this touching tale of fostering placements leading to reunification, kinship care, adoption and long term foster care / fostering-to-adopt. This inclusive story features different types of family, including same-sex and single parents, and can be used as a therapeutic tool to help care-experienced children to process their experiences, or as an effective teaching aid to normalise and explain foster care and other family structures to all children.

Praise for Room in the Nest

“…This magnificent story shows sensitivity to the topic and complicated feelings surrounding foster care. She explains how the Caring Goose always tries to help the parents out first and give them guidance and that she is not trying to rip families apart but instead shows compassion and works to try and keep families together. Still, sometimes that is not always best for the children. Room in the Nest is a heartwarming picture book that teaches children about foster care, foster placements, long-term fostering, kinship care, reunification, adoption, and a broad look at family court. This is a beautiful story to share with children that have to go through this process to help ease their fears and for other children to understand what happens if someone they know goes into foster care. This honest and beautiful look at the system is a much-needed resource for families, teachers, social workers, and anyone working with troubled families.” – Literary Titan

“…Holly has taken a complex and emotionally charged concept and presented it in a way that children will appreciate and understand…” – Readers’ Favorite

“…Room in the Nest” is a great tool to use for life story work to start discussions about foster carers. It’s also a great book for all children to read, to help them understand why some children need to stay with foster carers sometimes for a short period of time, sometimes for much longer.” – We Made A Wish adoption magazine

Praise for Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother

“One of the best adoption books of all time” – BookAuthority

“…a beautifully illustrated children’s story book, explaining big issues like adoption and fostering, in an age appropriate way.” – We Made A Wish adoption magazine

“…Delly Duck is a great choice for adopted and fostered children to explain adoption or support therapeutic life story work. The book can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions…” – Maggie and Rose Book Adventurers

“A fantastic book for Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Legal Guardians, Kinship Carers, Social Workers, Play Therapists or Teachers… I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who is adopting, fostering, or is a child’s Legal Guardian… I love the way the book shows the love, and loss of the birth parent, and highlights the fact that sometimes a birth parent is simply not equipped with the necessary skills to keep their child safe consistently.
This beautiful, sensitively written story explains why a child may need to be removed from their birth parent, and explores in a gentle way the emotions felt by parent and child, and the roles other people play in protecting the child, and offering the child a loving, safe environment…” – Icing on the Bake

Please click on the series name to see more titles by this author about foster care, kinship care and adoption.

Read more