Kerry and Hippo: An Adoption Story

Below is the rough draft of "Kerry and Hippo: An Adoption Story."  This is based off of our son, Kerry and his favorite stuffed animal.  I will only leave this up for public view for a very short time, as it is a rough draft and I am working on finding representation for it.  It is worth noting that this story does not included every detail of Kerry's own story.  I left a lot out for his privacy and to make the story more universal for all foster children.  For Kerry's real story, click here.  Also, as is necessary for fiction, I put some events close together, as books are much less messy than real life.  With that, I welcome your feedback.  Enjoy!



Kerry was afraid in this strange place
The lady that brought him there said
“It will be ok.  This is for your own good.”
Kerry was not so sure.
He only had a small bag of his clothes and one little toy.
Kerry was alone.
Kerry was scared.


Hippo was old for a stuffed animal.
He could not remember the last time a child hugged him or played with him
He sat alone at the end of the shelf of toys.


The next day, the lady told Kerry that he was going to stay with a foster family.
Kerry did not know what a foster family was but he knew that another strange place was going to be scary.
When he met the foster family, they seemed nice.  The woman in the family held him and he felt safe.
The family also had a man and a boy.  The boy played with Kerry while the man and woman talked with the lady.


That night the man and the woman put Kerry in bed.
They read him stories and they said, “I love you.”
Kerry was not sure what he thought about these people.
He was scared in this new place, but he really liked hearing “I love you.”
Kerry heard the woman say to the man, “We need to get some things.”
The man said, “Maybe they’ll have some stuff at the thrift store.”


Day after day, Hippo sat
He watched children come and find toys that that they loved.
He wished a child would pick him.
But his fur was dirty and his stuffing was almost gone.
And no one every picked him.


The next day, Kerry went with the man and the woman to the thrift store.
The man and the woman were looking at high chairs and children’s clothes.
Kerry looked at toys.  There was a long shelf full of toys.
At the end of the shelf, sat Hippo
Kerry loved Hippo.  He picked him up and held him tight.
The man and the woman looked at Hippo.
“He’s dirty.”  Said the man
“His stuffing is almost gone,” Said the woman.
Kerry loved the Hippo and held him tighter.
“Ok, Kerry,”  The man said.  “We’ll take the Hippo”


At home, the woman put the hippo in the washing machine
After he was all clean, the woman filled him with new stuffing
Kerry loved the Hippo and took him everywhere
Kerry loved his foster family too.
Kerry started calling the woman “Mom”
Kerry called the man, “Dad”
Kerry called the boy, “Brother.”
And every night they all said “I love you”


One day, Kerry, Mom, Dad, Brother, and Hippo all went to a big building called a “courthouse.”
In the courthouse, everyone seemed so serious and Kerry was not sure what was going on.
Dad said, “This is a very special day.”
Mom said, “This is the best day!”
A man called The Judge listened to people talk about Kerry.  Then he said that Kerry could stay with the family forever.
Kerry was adopted.
Kerry was not sure what that meant.
Dad said, “It means you are our son.”
Mom said, “It means you will never be without a family again.”
That night they celebrated with Kerry’s favorite dinner.
At bedtime, they all said, “I love you.”
And Kerry whispered to Hippo:


You are adopted too.
We will always be family
You will never have to leave
And we’ll always say “I love you.”

(c) 2018  Aaron Davis.  This post may be shared.  All other uses of this content must have explicit permission from the author.