When Lucy's class is given the assignment of creating family trees, the young girl is forced to confront her feelings about being adopted, and the way that - in her mind - this sets her own family apart from other, more "typical" families. Insisting to her worried parents that she cannot do the assignment, because she is "different," Lucy is presented with a challenge in turn: if she can find three families, amongst all her friends and acquaintances, who are the same, her father will help her with the flower garden she's been wanting. Easy!, Lucy thinks. But is it? Just what is normal, and who qualifies...?

Although it seems to have gotten low marks from the professional reviewers, I found Lucy's Family Tree quite moving, and was even tearing up, from time to time, as I read it on my commute this morning. The idea that families are diverse - Lucy discovers that every family she knows is 'different' in some way, whether because they are Jewish, or have same-sex parents, or have lost a child - is a valuable one, and cannot be reinforced too much; while the realities of adoption, particularly cross-cultural and interracial adoption, are sensitively depicted here. I liked the eventual solution found, to Lucy's family tree dilemma, as well as the author's presentation of further resources about adoption, and ideas for adapting the "family tree" assignment so that it is relevant for more children.

All in all, this was an engaging book about an important topic, with a narrative that works well, and illustrations that are appealing (even if not exactly my cup of tea). Recommend to young adoptees who are asking questions, and to teachers who are considering assigning a family tree project. ( )