Published by Dial Books

Summary:  Peter Mercurio tells his son Kevin the story of how he came to live with their family.  When Peter’s husband Danny found a baby in a New York City subway station, it seemed at first like the little boy would be spending a long time in foster care.  The two men lived in a small apartment, and their “piggy banks were empty.”  But they had fallen in love with this tiny baby, and a sympathetic judge speeded up the process, choosing a loving family for him over common concerns at that time about whether or not two men could raise a child together.  The ruling gave them just three days to prepare, but friends and family pitched in to get them what they needed for a baby.  They brought Kevin home just before Christmas….opting, of course, to take the subway to get there.  Includes an author’s note with three photos of Kevin as an infant, a toddler, and today as a college student.  40 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros:  Talk about heartwarming.  This book is written like a love letter from a father to a son, but manages to avoid sentimentality or mawkishness.  The colorful illustrations are engaging and perfectly capture the emotions of two people suddenly thrust into the spotlight…and parenthood.  A beautiful celebration of a unique family.

Cons:  Thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong for baby Kevin.  He is one lucky kid.