I thought before I begin my work this morning I would share a new children’s book with you. Before I share the book I would like to remind you November is National Adoption Month. We know November has passed but should be celebrated everyday of the year. The book is called Hello, Sweet Baby@ An Adoption Journey by Janeen Jackson (Author), Brittanie Gaja (Illustrator) which I received in exchange fore a review. For more information on the book I would like to share information from the Author here.
I remember talking to my best friend Jo about being adopted and how she searched for her Birth family she couldn’t find. As well as my brother in law Greg who was adopted along with his sister. Greg didn’t want to find his Birth family so as you can see everyone handles adoption differently. Which is why Hello, Sweet Baby@ An Adoption Journey by Janeen Jackson is such a important book to share with everyone we know.
My parents have passed away and at one time my dad had mentioned my mom had given up a little boy but I will never know if this is true or not. Even though I’ve asked my mother’s remaining cousins they say they don’t know. As I go through the world I wonder if I do have another brother and what he would be like.
Rading this book helped me come to terms with never knowing I actually have a brother or not. I Pray if you or someone you know has been adopted and they want to find there family that you take the time to help them. In the meantime make sure you take the time to read Hello, Sweet Baby@ An Adoption Journey where you will learn about the Author’s Genealogy which has led to a new class for Charlie and I to study this year. Would you like to join us?
You will be surprised to find out the Author was found through a ad in a 1970’s newspaper because she was bi-racial which wasn’t acceptable in the 70’s. Can you imagine someone finding you in a newspaper? I love how the story was written for her son Pheonix who was 5 to explain her adoption to him. Which shows her love for children and him important it is for them to understand adoption of all kinds.
The book is about two different colored Tomatoes who where expecting a baby. The parents thought they were to young to care for the Tomato so they put the baby up for adoption. There helper was a Lady bug who had helped out other families and she knew she could help the Tomatoes as well.
She tried a Zucchini family that didn’t work out. Mrs. Zucchini asked to be removed from there adoption list. Then she went to the Beans. They were trying to have a baby on there on and declined the Tomato but asked to be kept on the adoption list. Next was the Strawberries who declined the Tomato because they wouldn’t ever look the same. Which looks shouldn’t matter when adopting a baby.
Next was a Tomato family she hadn’t visited before but was on the adoption list. The Firefly showed Sweet Baby Red to them and they decided to adopt her because they had been waiting for a baby for a long time. Blue the Firefly pulled out a contact they signed and Sweet Baby Red became the Tomatoes baby.
Once the new parents got the new baby into there home can you guess what everyone else did for them? No, you can’t. Well you will have to read Hello, Sweet Baby@ An Adoption Journey to find out. This story is for younger children but both adults and children can learn from the story if they take the time to read it.
About the book:
Young and in love, Momma Red and Poppa Yellow Tomato decide to have a baby tomato. However, Momma and Poppa quickly learn that they cannot properly care for their sweet seedling the way and make the difficult decision to release her to another loving tomato family in Hopewell Garden, using the assistance of a helpful ladybug adoption agent.
Hello, Sweet Baby@ An Adoption Journey is a heartfelt, magical story by a bright new talent about adoption, making tough choices, honoring differences, and celebrating different types of families.
Meet the Author: Janeen Jackson
Janeen Jackson was a longtime resident of Santa Monica, CA, and in 2022 moved to Evanston, IL, with her husband, Ron Clark, and their two sons, Tyson and Phoenix. She received her B.A. from Norfolk State University, an HBCU, and completed her master’s in Education Leadership and Change in 2020 from Antioch University.
In 2018, at age 46, Janeen received unexpected news through DNA technology: she was adopted and biracial. Read about Janeen’s adoption discovery at mixedupdiary.com.
Janeen found inspiration for this book in a small Tomato garden at her son Phoenix’s elementary school. Writing this story was Janeen’s way of explaining her adoption, her mixed race background, the family that released her, and the family that adopted her and loved her as their own.
Hello, Sweet Baby! is Janeen’s first children’s book published by Paw Prints Publishing.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
