Midwest Book Review on We’re Not All the Same But We’re Family

Nancy Lorraine’s Bookshelf

 We’re All Not the Same But We’re Still Family
Theresa Fraser and Eric E. W. Fraser, authors
www.LHPress.com
9781615994786, $15.95 PB, $4.95 Kindle, Ages 4-8
9781615994793, $26.95, HC, 42pp, www.amazon.com

We’re Not All the Same, But We’re Family

We’re Not the Same But We’re Still Family: An Adoption and Birth Family Story” is a compassionate book for adoptive kids and families that embraces the concept of exploring a sense of family that is inclusive of both adoptive and birth parents and relatives.

Deshaun is a 13 year old adopted boy who was curious about his birth father. He had some memories of his birth mother, but they were not all positive. He asked his parents if they would help him seek information about his birth father. The search was successful and Deshaun was able to communicate with his birth father using Skype. Eventually Deshuan was taken by his adoptive parents on a long trip so he could meet his father and more members of his birth family.
This openness to an expanded sense of family led to added security and expanded love between Deshuan and his biological family as well as his adoptive family. Some questions that are suggested for exploration by other adoptive families include the following: Discuss feelings about adoption. Imagine what openness might mean for both the child and the family.
Acknowledge similarities and differences among family members. Discuss if an expanded sense of family is possible for their circumstances. “We’re All Not the Same, But We’re Still Family: is a positive, exploratory book that helps children and families confront some of the issues included in adoption. Illustrations of mixed race parents and families add to the richness of the adoptive child/family’s exploration of the child’s birth family and history.
“We’re All Not the Same But We’re Still Family” is recommended for children age 5-6 years and up.
Senior Reviewer

Garden Sleeping, Garden Growing [HC]

SKU 979-8-89656-047-0
$32.95
In and Around All Year Long
1
Product Details
UPC: 979-8-89656-047-0
Brand: Loving Healing Press
Binding: Hardcover
Grade Level or Age Range: 7 - 10 yrs
Audiobook: Audible, iTunes
Edition: 1st
Author: Diana Magnuson
Illustrator: Diana Magnuson
Pages: 36
Publication Date: 10/01/2025

Meet the animals, plants, and people who make the garden come alive!

Through snow, sun, wind, and rain, a garden never truly sleeps. On the shores of Lake Superior, Aunt Noriko and her niece Dehlia nurture their garden through every season-planting seeds, fending off hungry visitors, harvesting vegetables, and giving thanks for nature's abundance.Told in lyrical verse and filled with vivid illustrations, Garden Sleeping, Garden Growing celebrates the cycle of the year with science facts, folklore, and hands-on wisdom. A perfect book for curious kids, young gardeners, and families who love the natural world

"From a cold and sometimes snowy spot comes a warm story of a lovely growing garden and a talented gardener who plants and tends it. This is a wonderful story to share with children about the magic of growing plants and the gifts that they give to those who care for them ...an inspiration to young readers and also those who read to them." -- Janet Schultz, Botany Program Leader, Eastern Region US Forest Service USDA, retired

"This heartwarming story, amplified with colorful, glowing illustrations, will awaken garden dreams for children and adults both! Led through a cyclical year of gardening, we begin to understand not only how to grow a garden, but basic concepts of environmentalism and our interconnectedness with nature all around us." -- Isabel Estrada, author of La Mariachi

"Garden Sleeping, Garden Growing is a book with a scope as wide as the seasons! Woven between wondrous illustrations and informative text, a story as old as stories themselves unfolds for young and old. This is a book to be shared in any season-as relatable as it is relevant!" -- Tim Cleary, Associate Professor of Drawing/Painting, Northern Michigan University

"This delightful book brings rural life to the page in a fresh and surprising way-through the eyes of a garden in Michigan's wild and beautiful Upper Peninsula. The lively illustrations of animals and nature are full of energy and wonder, sparking the imagination of kids and adults alike." -- Ann Russ, ceramicist, Marquette, MI

"This garden book is beautifully illustrated with vibrant images that make us want to step into the page. The lyrical prose unfolds a story of discovery for each month while packed with new information from the Lake Superior shores and yet builds on a story of renewal and a garden's bounty." -- Diane Bradley-Kantor, author of the Henry Wilder series

From Loving Healing Press www.LHPress.com

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Garden Sleeping, Garden Growing [HC]

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