Michelle Carter is a lover of music, mystical sounds and connector of the emotional magic of sound in film. She and her husband, Ben, are the adoptive parents to Baby Z, whom they affectionately refer to as The Wizard. Every other week, Michelle will take you down the road - ups, down, the passion and frustration of their two year journey to adoption with the help of Aviva Family and Children’s Services. Aviva is a nonprofit, non-sectarian 501(c)(3) organization that believes that every child and every family in our Los Angeles community deserves the chance for a brighter future. If you missed it, check out pt. 1 of the adoption series here.

Being adoptive and progressive parents, we’re really mindful to find diverse stories, toys and dolls for our toddler, Little Z aka The Wiz. Check out our list below of inclusive books, toys and resources for transracial, LGBTQIA+ and foster/adoptive families or any family that wants to be more inclusive.

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Dolls:

American Girl: I never thought I would be into these but they are super cute and I do love the inclusivity of them! Her auntie Stine got her an American Girl Doll that looked like her for her first birthday and one that looked like me for her second and she plays with them all the time! She named them Mimi and Prize. It’s nice to have toys that look like our family too :)
Our Generation: Target has wonderful 18” dolls and great accessories as well! Z’s dolls pretty much exclusively wear matching dinosaur outfits.
Wise Woman Custom Dolls: I love these inclusive custom dolls! You send the maker a picture of your child wearing a specific outfit, and she matches the doll as closely as possible to all of the details. Or you can choose to describe the look in detail. She makes custom shoes, custom headbands, hair color, hair style, and skin tone. So cool!

Z’s absolute favorite toy is a handmade doll that looks exactly like my brother, that my sister-in-law “Keeeeeess” made - she loves him so much! My SIL handmade three dolls: one that looks like herself, one like my brother and one that looks like Li… — Z’s absolute favorite toy is a handmade doll that looks exactly like my brother, that my sister-in-law “Keeeeeess” made - she loves him so much! My SIL handmade three dolls: one that looks like herself, one like my brother and one that looks like Little Z! Although these gorgeous dolls from Katie aka @ladybiggg are not avail for purchase right now, I had to include them because look at how freaking cute and awesome these are!?

Books:

Tapestry Books: I just found out about this great resource for adoption books for all ages. There are hundreds of children’s books and educational resources for adoptive families here. Check it out!

Here are some of our fave books:

The Story of My Open Adoption: A Storybook for Children Adopted at Birth by Leah Campbell: I love this book! It’s very specific to open adoption. It’s very cute and explains the complex emotions of adoptions in a great way that a young child could understand.
I've Loved You Since Forever by Hoda Kotb: This is a beautiful book! I think it’s wonderful for adopted kids or any child and parent duo. It’s about souls coming together! Just love it!
We Belong Together: A Book About Adoption and Families by Todd Parr: This is another Wiz favorite! The illustrations are really adorable and simple showing all different types of families and how love is what brings us together.
On The Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman: This isn’t necessarily a book about adoption but it’s definitely probably my favorite book of Z’s that makes me cry every time I read it! It’s the first book that The Wiz ever received and it was from my dad aka Apa!
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson: Little Z loves penguins and this one is so great! It’s about two penguin dads becoming parents together (I’m pretty sure it’s a true story too) :) Very cute. I cried the first time reading it… and the second and third…
One Big Happy Family: Heartwarming Stories of Animals Caring for One Another by Lisa Rogak: I had this book long before The Wiz joined our family and it’s always given me so much joy. Now she loves it too! My favorite story is The Hen and Her Falcon Chick (on page 27) - it always makes me laugh! It’s seriously the cutest book of true stories of animals caring for each other. I think everybody should have this book!
The Little Green Goose by Adele Sansone: When a male goose longs for a chick of his own, he borrows an egg and ends up with a baby dinosaur! We love this little tale and its message.

There’s so many books we love! But to be honest, Little Z’s current faves are all dinosaur pop up books! Speaking of dinosaurs and a great show with adoption themes (and seriously the best theme song), we love PBS’s Dinosaur Train!

Custom Gems & Tees:

I also think Little Z is picking up on my jewelry addiction. I had to include some beautiful monogramed jewelry from Etsy. So many adorable and affordable unique finds! We love getting her custom T’s on Etsy too!

As an adoptive family I think having toys and books that represent your child and your family are important and also having all sorts of things that expose young kids to all different kinds of families.

- Michelle

For families that are interested in learning more about fostering, adopting, volunteering, donating, or any of our other services with Aviva, please call (323) 876-0550.

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