AND J.J. SLEPT

A fun and lighthearted story about adoption.

J.J., a newborn baby with ruddy skin, is adopted into a rambunctious family. Each of his four siblings, who are loud and energetic, clamor around, attempting to touch him, although he is fast asleep. The dog barks, the washing machine beeps, and the siblings thunder through the house, playing and making music, but J.J. sleeps through the din. When all of the siblings leave the house for a weekend to participate in various extracurricular activities, J.J. cannot sleep—it is too quiet! For the first time, he wails inconsolably and grows cranky. It is only when his boisterous siblings return—giggling, chasing each other, and loudly regaling their parents with stories—that J.J. finally dozes off. Adoptive parents in children’s books are usually White, but Garbutt’s story refreshingly features both adoptive parents and an adoption agent who present as people of color; J.J.’s siblings are also racially diverse. This offering further sets itself apart from other children’s books about adoption by telling a story about an adopted child that does not focus explicitly on the experience of adoption. However, like so many picture books portraying adopted children, Garbutt’s narrative presents a simplistic, one-sided view that focuses solely on a happy homecoming and fails to mention anything about J.J.’s birthparents, perpetuating the stereotype that the true life of adoptees begins at adoption.

A sweet story about what makes a house a home and a portrayal of adoption that has its merits and shortcomings.