Happy Adoption Day, by John McCutcheon, is a book made of the lyrics of McCutcheon’s song Happy Adoption Day, available on his album Family Garden.
The book contains the music for the song for those who may want to play on the piano. It is beautifully illustrated by Julie Paschkis, whose folk-art inspired illustrations grace many children’s books.
McCutcheon dedicates this book to his mother, Abby McCutcheon, a social worker who brought families together through adoption.
The words are ambiguous enough to fit any family configuration, domestic, foster care or international adoption, and any age child. Paschkis’ interpretations in her illustrations depict an Asian child with Caucasian parents and include a scene of the parents traveling on an airplane, implying an international adoption. They are joined at a celebration by neighborhood families who appear to be a single African-American father and two boys, and two women with one little girl. One line refers to “some parents come different, some come the same, but whether they’re single or pairs…you’re always at home whenever there’s love you can share.”
Some families do celebrate Adoption Day, Homecoming Day or “Gotcha Day” with a cake and party similar to a birthday. Others keep it as a day for special family activities.
The lyrics are absolutely joyful, great at conveying to a child how happy his or her parents were about the adoption.
“Oh who could have possibly known? All these roads we have traveled, the places we’ve been, would have finally taken us home?”
And, “We had a voice and we had a choice, we were working and waiting for you.”
The book and lyrics reinforce that skin color, age, name, or “how you came to be” are not obstacles to the forever love of family, and that whatever happens in a child’s life he will always have a home in his parents’ hearts.
Perhaps what I like best about the song’s location on the Family Garden album is that Family Garden is not an album of adoption songs. The other songs are general family and kid-friendly songs, like “Watermelon” and “Dad’s Got That Look”. They are upbeat but not wild songs, good for a long car ride but not for bedtime. I think the inclusion of Adoption Day on a general kids’ album reflects the fact that nearly all kids these days will know someone touched by adoption. It makes adoption seem like a normal part of life.
While appreciating making adoption seem like a normal part of life, I nonetheless like the sense of wonder conveyed by my favorite lyric, “for out of this world so tattered and torn, you came to our house on that wonderful morn, and all of a sudden this family was born….oh happy Adoption Day!”
Books Starring Internationally Adopted Kids
Love You Forever: Reassuring Your Adopted Child