Cultural naming practices in children's literature with adoption themes

This paper analyzes texts for children ages 4-8 focused on adoption to understand how naming practices are presented. Findings show how books use naming (a) to connect children to their birth culture by keeping a given name or choosing one with special meaning associated with the child's nation, race, or ethnicity of origin, and (b) for assimilation by giving normalized names associated within parental culture. Naming is based on white middle class norms, which may be problematic since these norms likely fit with the parents and teachers who are purchasing books, but not with the adoptees that are being read to.