W called this story of a couple who take an airplane trip to adopt a baby girl "an ebullient tribute for families whose members may have come from a faraway place." Ages 2-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1. Bright, fanciful folk-art illustrations set the mood for (but occasionally get in the way of) this loving story of adoption. The smoothly flowing text is reassuring throughout, reflecting the joy of the new parents and ending with the "forever and always" that is the promise of adoption. The foster parents ("the kind people who had taken care of her") are pictured. The first day includes the first telling of the adoption story to the baby girl, "You grew like a flower in another lady's tummy." However, the first couple of illustrations are problematic. On the first spread, a baby is shown alone on a hillside sitting on a beanbag cloud with a city in the distance. The text states: "Once upon a time a teeny-tiny baby was born." Babies aren't born alone on hillsides, and even though this one is smiling, the picture doesn't seem reassuring. Adopted children need to know that they were born like other children, and did not appear magically without human connection. Also, though the text realistically recounts the new parents' first-day nervousness, the baby is pictured as smiling throughout instead of showing a range of reactions to different activities and situations.?Nancy Schimmel, formerly at San Mateo County Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A happy, colorful book about a man and woman dreaming of their soon-to-be-born adopted baby, receiving the news of her birth, and flying to the ``faraway place'' where they meet their child. Based on Katz's experience adopting a Central American infant and bright with mixed-media illustrations suggestive of folk art, this is a book for adults to use with children who were adopted in similar circumstances. The message is reassuring: ``Forever and always we will be your mommy and daddy. Forever and always you will be our child.'' The birth mother is gently described as another lady in whose tummy ``you grew like a flower,'' but who ``wasn't able to take care of you, so Mommy and Daddy came to adopt you and bring you home.'' The baby has dark hair like the mother's and dark eyes like both parents' but with duskier skin than either. As in Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell's Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (1996), both text and pictures are suffused with anticipation and joyful welcome at the baby's arrival. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Reviews, pointer
Both text and pictures are suffused with anticipation and joyful welcome at the baby's arrival. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Booklist
Katz's exuberance is contagious, bursting forth to make this as sunny as a warm summer day. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description
An affirming story about international adoption, based on the author's own experience with her daughter.

A magical, reassuring story of one adoptive family's beginnings, told in words and pictures that are just right for the youngest child.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Ingram
The author-illustrator calls on her own experiences with adoption in this delightful tale with bold illustrations of how a special dream creates the formation of a family."

Card catalog description
A loving couple dream of a baby born far away and know that this is the baby they have been waiting to adopt.

I love this book!, April 24, 2002

As the mother of a 3-year old adopted from China, I've bought quite a few adoption-related children's books, and I like many of them. But this one I love! Although it's not directly tied to Chinese adoptions, the story is similar to ours (we're a 2-parent family; we adopted a baby; we traveled to get her). The illustrations are lovely and the story captures the happy anticipation we felt as we waited for our child. Most importantly, the author gave me words to use in explaining my daughter's birth to her: "You grew like a flower in another lady's tummy until you were born. The lady couldn't take care of you so Mommy and Daddy came to adopt you and bring you home." I just love those 2 sentences and feel grateful to have them. And my daughter asks me to read this book just about every day!