Lucy’s Family Tree is the story of Lucy, adopted from Mexico, who believes she cannot do a family tree assignment because her family is too different.
Lucy’s parents are understanding, but refuse to write her an excuse not to do the homework, as she at first demands. Lucy wishes she were in a “typical American family”. Her father makes a bet with her: if she can find three truly “typical” American families, he will help her plant the tulip garden she’s been wanting.
Lucy lists three of her friends whom she believes are from typical families, as well as three couples who are friends of her parents. The next day at school Lucy comments to her best friend that it must be nice to be in a typical family. Her friend responds, “how can you say that?” she thinks her family is weird because her mother works and her father stays home.
When she asks another boy, he replies thoughtfully that his family isn’t really typical, because he has two moms. Two other friends explain that they’ve always felt different because they are the only Jewish family in the neighborhood.
Lucy next considers three couples who are her parents’ friends. They all look “typical” to Lucy, but then she remembers that one is a stepfamily and one is grieving a child. One couple does appear to meet her definition of “typical”—mom, dad and their look-alike children.
Meanwhile Lucy’s parents have written their adoption agency and phoned three other adoptive couples to ask for ideas about Lucy’s assignment.
“Parents need advice too, Lucy,” Dad says. But Lucy is horrified—first the assignment will show everyone that her family is different, now the families Mom phoned know that being different bothers her!
Reflecting on her list, Lucy muses on how people can look so typical from the outside, but may still feel different, or may be dealing with issues no one can guess. This gives her an idea.
She announces to her parents that she has won the bet, and names three other families that her family socializes with, all of whom have also adopted children from Mexico. Her father happily agrees to help her plant her garden.
Meanwhile Lucy has had an idea for a family tree, inspired by the traditional Mexican “Tree of Life” sculpture in her trunk of mementos. She takes some of her parents’ advice from the adoption agency’s model, and creates her own family tree.
Using clay, she makes a tree with herself at the center wearing her Mexican shawl, standing the shoulders of two Mexican people representing her birthparents and reaching up toward the images of her adoptive parents.
At school the next day, Lucy’s teacher compliments the “living color” of Lucy’s work. (Lucy’s dad has, with Lucy’s permission, phoned the teacher the day before to remind her that this assignment may be difficult for some students and to suggest that in future years she provide clear examples that will work for all kinds of families.)
Lucy’s classmates also enjoy her family Tree of Life, and she learns that two other classmates are also adopted, which she hadn’t known before, and have also made creative adaptations to the assignment.
The back of the book contains a note to parents and teachers. Six models for adapted family trees are shown, three for younger students and three for older students.
The book itself is longer than a typical picture book and shorter than a chapter book. I would guess the age it’s most suited for to be eight to twelve years. Of course, the wisdom and suggestions can also be valuable for older and younger children and for parents.
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