It Matters That You Love Each Other

Every week or so, one student in my class gets to bring in six books that he or she loves.  The Monday of that week, the student sits in front of the class and tell us why they brought in each book.  It has become a popular tradition in class and kids can't wait to bring in their favorite books.  The "Student Picks," as we call them, are placed in a basket in the front of the room and they are always snagged soon after they are introduced.  A few weeks back one of my students brought in the book, A Smile For Everyone by Mark C. Reis and illustrated by Yolanda Chavez.

This book is about two men who adopt a little boy named Bodhi.  It is based on the real life story of Mark Reis and his husband who adopted their own son, also named Bodhi, a few years ago.  In the story, the parents-to-be get ready for Bodhi to arrive.  They paint and decorate his room and stay up late the night before they are supposed to pick him up.  Bodhi moves in and their lives change.  As Bodhi grows older, the author and illustrator show how he makes everyone's lives happier.  Each page shows how Bodhi brought a smile to everyone in town.  In his own home he brought singing and dancing, at the post office he brightens the postman's day. 

The little girl who brought the book in is the adopted daughter of two men.  As I sat listening to her explain each book I was ready for how the class might react to a book that was clearly very special to her.  "I love this book," she explained, "because I'm adopted and I have two dads too.  And it doesn't matter what kind of family you have because we all have different families.  Some have two moms or two dads or one mom and one dad or one mom or whatever. And some families are divorced or their grandma takes care of them.  It just matters that you love each other."

Yep, couldn't have done a better job myself.  In fact, it was even better because she said it.  The book went in the basket and it got snatched up quickly, just like Student Picks always do.