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Holly Marlow
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Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn't Stay With His Birth Mother: A foster care and adoption story book for children, to explain adoption or support ... Kinship Care and Special Guardianship) Kindle Edition

by Holly Marlow (Author), Suzy Garland (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 233 ratings
See all formats and editions

This listing is for the original award-winning edition of Delly Duck, featuring one duckling. For twins/sibling groups, click on the author's name or series title, and select the sibling group edition.

Created by Holly Marlow (adoptive and biological parent, and author of Room in the Nest, Adopting a Little Brother or Sister, So You've Adopted a Siblingand Cousins by Adoption) and her sister, Suzy Garland.

When Delly Duck lays an egg, she is excited for it to hatch. But she doesn’t really know how to keep an egg safe, or how to look after her chick when he hatches. See how a concerned goose tries to help Delly to learn how to care for her chick, in this touching adoption story.

Delly Duck is intended to help support and stimulate discussion around some of the questions an adopted or fostered child (or another child trying to understand adoption) may have. The story can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions, such as Why can’t I live with my birth mother? and Why didn’t someone just teach her how to parent me safely?

No two adoption stories are the same, so symbolism has been used that is open to appropriate interpretation by the parent, kinship carer, social worker, play therapist, teacher or other adult reading this story with a child. The beautifully-illustrated story includes animal characters that may reflect common behaviours and responsibilities of several of the key people involved in an adoption process. Delly is a likeable duck, who sadly makes some poor choices and struggles to care for her chick in a consistently safe way.

The book includes a helpful guide to the symbolism, with suggestions as to how the various metaphors can be used to support therapeutic life story work and answer questions about the challenges faced by a child’s birth parents, such as memory or concentration problems, addiction and/or poor or inconsistent role models during their own childhoods.
Above all, it portrays that all adults involved want the best for adopted children, and that they are so very loved.

Delly Duck is a popular story with adoptive and foster families, as well as connected carers, special guardians and kinship families, alongside Marlow's Room in the Nest. The story appeals to fans of The Invisible String, Todd Parr and Sarah Naish.

Praise for Delly Duck


"One of the best new Adoption books" - BookAuthority

"...a beautifully illustrated children's story book, explaining big issues like adoption and fostering, in an age appropriate way." - We Made A Wish adoption magazine

"...Delly Duck is a great choice for adopted and fostered children to explain adoption or support therapeutic life story work. The book can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions..." - Maggie and Rose Book Adventurers

"A fantastic book for Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Legal Guardians, Kinship Carers, Social Workers, Play Therapists or Teachers... I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who is adopting, fostering, or is a child's Legal Guardian... I love the way the book shows the love, and loss of the birth parent, and highlights the fact that sometimes a birth parent is simply not equipped with the necessary skills to keep their child safe consistently.
This beautiful, sensitively written story explains why a child may need to be removed from their birth parent, and explores in a gentle way the emotions felt by parent and child, and the roles other people play in protecting the child, and offering the child a loving, safe environment..." - Icing on the Bake

Delly Duck is available in English, French, German (as Delly Ente) and Spanish (as Nova el Pato). Click on the author's name to see more titles by Holly Marlow.
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    2 - 9 years
  2. Part of series
    Adoption, Fostering, Kinship Care and Special Guardianship
  3. Print length
    25 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Publication date
    March 31, 2022
  6. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
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  10. See all details
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Total Price: $39.95
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From the Publisher

Over 10,000 books sold! Learn about families with award-winning books from Holly Marlow
Book cover of Room in the Nest: A Foster Care Story Book cover of Delly Duck, a book to explain adoption to children Book cover of The Adoption Ceremony, a book about adoption finalization Celebration Hearings Book cover of Adopting a Little Brother or Sister Book Cover of So You've Adopted a Sibling children's book Book cover of Cousins by Adoption, children's book, with engaging illustrations
Room in the Nest Delly Duck The Adoption Ceremony Adopting a Little Brother or Sister So You've Adopted a Sibling Cousins by Adoption
Customer Reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
23
4.6 out of 5 stars
233
5.0 out of 5 stars
1
4.7 out of 5 stars
29
4.9 out of 5 stars
11
4.2 out of 5 stars
24
Price $13.99 $13.99 $13.79 $13.64 $13.64 $13.64
Main Purpose Explain different outcomes from foster care including reunification, kinship care or special guardianship, adoption, long term foster care, foster-to-adopt. Inclusive illustration depicts same-gender and single-parent families. Help children understand why some children cannot stay with their birth families. Sibling version available as a separate listing. Help children to understand the purpose of the adoption ceremony, what to expect, and that they do not need to worry as the judge does not change the plan for the child at the adoption ceremony. Explain what to expect during the adoption process. This book explains in a child-friendly way what a social worker will do and that the wait may be frustrating, but it will be worth it! Help elder siblings to cope with the change when becoming big siblings by adoption. Includes discussion points to guide conversation if the child is finding changes frustrating or overwhelming. Help nieces and nephews to understand their new cousin joining the family by adoption, in a child-appropriate way and with charming illustrations.
Use metaphors to explain foster care, adoption, kinship care, special guardianship, reunification
Use the metaphors in Delly Duck to explain why some children can't stay with their birth families

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Holly Marlow is a British author and parent to both biological and adopted children. Holly strives for a gentle/therapeutic parenting style and this has led her to create stories to help children to understand some of the emotional and practical complexities of adoption.
 
Holly enjoys travelling (especially searching for chameleons, geckos and snakes in the wild parts of Africa) and learning foreign languages. Holly has fibromyalgia and has spent a lot of time trying to raise awareness of the chronic pain condition, giving presentations in schools and universities. Holly also enjoys baking and gardening, and is terrible at both.
 
This story is illustrated by Holly's younger sister, Suzy Garland. Among her many talents and hobbies, Suzy is a wonderful mother and artist, and gardens far more successfully than her sister. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Review

"One of the best new Adoption books" - BookAuthority

"...a beautifully illustrated children's story book, explaining big issues like adoption and fostering, in an age appropriate way." - We Made A Wish adoption magazine

"...Delly Duck is a great choice for adopted and fostered children to explain adoption or support therapeutic life story work.  The book can be used to help answer difficult and emotive questions..." - Maggie and Rose Book Adventurers

"A fantastic book for Parents, Foster Parents, Adoptive Parents, Legal Guardians, Kinship Carers, Social Workers, Play Therapists or Teachers... I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who is adopting, fostering, or is a child's Legal Guardian... I love the way the book shows the love, and loss of the birth parent, and highlights the fact that sometimes a birth parent is simply not equipped with the necessary skills to keep their child safe consistently.
This beautiful, sensitively written story explains why a child may need to be removed from their birth parent, and explores in a gentle way the emotions felt by parent and child, and the roles other people play in protecting the child, and offering the child a loving, safe environment..." - Icing on the Bake --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09X25YLJN
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holly Marlow (March 31, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 12308 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 25 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 233 ratings

About the author

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Holly Marlow

Holly Marlow

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Holly Marlow is an author, illustrator and parent to both biological and adopted children. Holly strives for a gentle/therapeutic parenting style and this has led her to create stories to help children to understand some of the emotional and practical complexities of foster care, kinship care, special guardianship and adoption.

Holly enjoys spending time with her family, travelling (especially searching for chameleons, geckos and snakes in the wild parts of Africa) and learning foreign languages. Holly has fibromyalgia and has spent a lot of time trying to raise awareness of the chronic pain condition, giving presentations in schools and universities. Holly also enjoys baking and gardening, and is terrible at both.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
233 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Happy Girl
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a foster kid that gets adopted.
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is a great book depicting a foster child that eventually is adopted. It was a great story for our situation.
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Nick
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing resource for adoptive parents.
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
I'm a bio, foster, and adoptive parent. My adopted son has recently started asking some big questions about his bio-parents, and he was clearly confused about the process. I'm so glad I found this book. It presents an immensely touching story (all told through animals) that helps explain (in a loving, non-judgemental) way the reasons why children come into foster care and the process of foster care and adoption. It does all this without ever using phrases like "biological parent", "social services", "foster care," or "adoption" -- the story gets to the heart of the matter without using labels that can be strange or potentially trauma-related. I can't stress enough how important it is that the book depicts a loving biological parent who wants what's best for the child, loving caregivers who support the biological parent all throughout their journey, and loving foster/adoptive parents. It's just right for starting these important conversations. I'm so glad I found this book.
9 people found this helpful
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Amanda Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book was a perfect present for finalizing our adoption. He really related to the story and was able to recognize that he was the baby duck and that his birth mother was Delly. He really likes it.
One person found this helpful
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Branyon Guthrie
4.0 out of 5 stars Only for Adopted/Foster Child with a Mom who has mental health issues
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book is great - for the right situation. My adopted son was not removed from his mother’s care because of her mental health or substance abuse, so the story would be really confusing to him and send the wrong message about his birth mother. Steer clear of this one if the situation doesn’t fit yours. I will gift to a foster family at my church instead.
2 people found this helpful
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Hayley Shepard
5.0 out of 5 stars Son Loves It
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
My adopted son loves this book (5yo). I think it helps him to understand his troubled past with his mom.
One person found this helpful
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Insightrn
5.0 out of 5 stars Super book to explain adoption from foster care
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is amazing! It does a fantastic job explaining adoption from foster care without using all the technical terms.
2 people found this helpful
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Dante Smedley
5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle but truthful
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2022
Verified Purchase
Bought this book to read with my children adopted through foster care. The story is gentle and empathic toward all members of the adoption triad. It’s poignant metaphors are easy enough for children to understand without being overwhelming. I enjoyed using this book to help my kids understand and feel comfortable talking about their story.
2 people found this helpful
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KiwiGirl
5.0 out of 5 stars Well Told Adoption Story
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a really sweet and well told story about the adoption process, including fostering. I really like that it explains the birth mother's difficulties in raising a child without too much judgement, in a way kids can understand. My son now has a better understanding of why some kids are adopted and what it means, which is really great.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Krystal
1.0 out of 5 stars Do not buy this book!
Reviewed in Canada on October 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book portrays the birth mother as stupid, unintelligent, and irresponsible. We should never teach our adopted children that their birth mother was/is any of those things. It may not be the case, and even if it is, we should never speak poorly of the birth mother, and this book dose just that.
2 people found this helpful
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M
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for life story work
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book is one of the best we have found to gently tell the story of adoption to our son. It tells the story empathetically, and allows the possibility of exploring the emotions of the birth family, as well as the child's.
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party80
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book to explain adoption and foster care to children
Reviewed in France on August 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
The author addresses a complicated subject to discuss with children. I read the story of Delly duck to my 5 and 7 year old, which they listened with a lot of attention and asked questions at the end. The metaphors used are beautiful as well as the illustrations.
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Cas2
5.0 out of 5 stars Great help with adoption
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
Good little story,really helped in explaining the process
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Ahalya
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book to talk about adoption
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
My 2 year old adopted child loves this book. I am not sure how much they understand yet but it's a great book to introduce the complex subject.
One person found this helpful
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