The Little Red Stocking:  Help Make Us Three is a well illustrated book, for both children and the adults who read to them.

Now that so many of us have put off motherhood (and fatherhood) indefinitely for, well, for whatever reason, we find sometimes it’s not as easy to become pregnant as we thought. We find there are many reasons why we can’t conceive. Finally we accept the bad news, that we can’t, and we accept the idea of adoption.  Then to our chagrin, we often find that it can be just as daunting to find a way to adopt.

Tina Dine, an exceptional primary school teacher from Burlington, Ontario has written a book for her adopted daughter Ava.  This book is a challenge to the adults among us to not give up, even when everything seems to be going the wrong way.

Behind the scenes for Tina and her husband there were years of longing and finally their own determination to adopt. Of these many trials only their enduring hope is described to the child. Only that hope can be understood.

It is a fifteen minute read that will bring a tear to your eye, give you time to enjoy the situations, and the delight of the illustrations.  A child will enjoy it for much longer.  I can see it becoming a favorite bed time story. It has the repetitive charm of the three bears. But it is a message to the reader as much as the child.

A story to tell any child so they understand and they do understand; a lesson of hope instilled early, for all our endeavors. So many people have said “Try and Try Again”.  Never give up hope, it will keep you alive.

 It’s good advice.