When Delly Duck lays two eggs, she is excited for them to hatch. But she doesn’t really know how to keep eggs safe, or how to look after the ducklings when they hatch. See how a concerned goose tries to help Delly to learn how to care for the ducklings, in this sensitively-written adoption story.

Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother and this special siblings/twins edition are 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 ducklings 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 kinship (special guardianship) families and connected carers, particularly when used alongside Marlow’s award-winning bestseller, Room in the Nest. It will appeal to readers of The Blanket Bears, The Invisible String, and the works of Sarah Naish and Todd Parr.

Praise for Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother

“One of the best Adoption books of all time” – 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… 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).
Please click on the author’s name to see more titles by Holly Marlow.

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