- 4 days ago
Season 9 (1992-1993)
Original production funding provided by: Kellogg’s Cereal Company
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
PBS Viewers Like You
National Science Foundation
Original production funding provided by: Kellogg’s Cereal Company
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
PBS Viewers Like You
National Science Foundation
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00PBS Kids opens worlds of possibilities for all children, thanks to PBS stations and viewers like you.
00:30Friends to know, and ways to grow, pretty rainbow, I can be anything, take a look, it's in a book, pretty rainbow, pretty rainbow.
01:00Hi, it's Family Skate Day at Prospect Park, so everybody's here with their families.
01:15When you look around, you can tell who's related. Families just act a certain way, like they belong together.
01:30Families, everybody grows up in one, and you spend so much time together, you really get to know each other pretty well.
01:52But, there's always something that your family does that really gets on your nerves. You know what I mean?
01:59My mom still does this now, she'll call me everybody's name. Pat, Lisa, Selena, Michelle.
02:06When it's time to turn off the TV and to do my homework.
02:10Not putting the cap on the toothpaste.
02:13Fighting.
02:14I hate it when the kids leave their clothes on the bathroom floor.
02:19She's a copycatter.
02:21I am not.
02:22And too.
02:23I'm not.
02:25Okay, okay, okay. Nobody's perfect.
02:29But there's another side to this story.
02:31Your family also makes you feel great.
02:34What is it about your family that's just the best?
02:39I really love it when we get to go bike riding with the family.
02:45I love when my brother helps me set the table.
02:48Where I need them, they're there.
02:50Being united.
02:52Having one another.
02:53Being able to share things with each other.
02:55What don't I love about my family?
02:59They do the little things.
03:00You know, Dad, you're my best friend.
03:03You know, that really gets them.
03:06I really like you because you're my mom.
03:08Oh, I like you too.
03:09Whoa, excuse me.
03:17I guess there's no one way to feel about your family.
03:21It's really a mix.
03:23Sometimes you love them.
03:25Sometimes you complain.
03:27But when you put it all together, your family really is one of the most important things in your life.
03:32Families are created in many different ways.
03:36This story tells how one got started when parents who wanted a child found a child who needed parents.
03:43It's called Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies.
03:53Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies
03:58By Ann Turner
04:02Pictures by James Graham Hale
04:06Read by Andrew Lee
04:11Let me tell the story this time, Mama.
04:18Let me tell how I came to you.
04:21Mama said,
04:23Let's remember.
04:24Once I was a picture you held in your hand.
04:28Shh, Mama.
04:29I will tell how I carry all your pictures all the way to you.
04:35One was of my new Papa and Mama.
04:38Another was of your red dog.
04:43There was a white house with a green tree out front.
04:48Inside was a room waiting for me.
04:51And a bed just for me.
04:55On that bed was a teddy bear quilt waiting for me.
04:59I needed a bed of my own.
05:04I needed a Papa and Mama of my own.
05:08But I had to fly for a day and a night to get to you.
05:14Someone took my hand.
05:17I climbed the long steps to the plane.
05:22A woman sat beside me all the way to you.
05:26Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to welcome you.
05:28I flew through blue skies and clouds and sunlight.
05:33I flew through night and moon and stars.
05:38But I did not sleep.
05:40I was afraid of the night rushing by,
05:45of the plane roaring,
05:47of all the new things.
05:49I kept your picture in my hand
05:53all the way to you.
06:01The woman took my hand
06:03and led me to a room
06:06with too many people.
06:10But I looked and looked
06:12and saw you.
06:14You both held out your arms to me.
06:19The woman gave me to you, Mama.
06:24You took me home.
06:29You held my hand all the way.
06:35We stopped in front of the white house
06:39with a green tree.
06:41I knew it was my house.
06:45Then you took me inside.
06:48The room was full of strange things.
06:53It had dark corners.
06:56You tried to put me down,
06:58but I yelled.
07:00I did not want to be in that strange room.
07:05Then I heard a bark.
07:08The red dog ran up to me.
07:14He jumped
07:15and licked my hand.
07:21Mama, you smiled at me.
07:25I was beginning to know your smile.
07:30Papa took me upstairs.
07:32We sat in the rocking chair
07:36by the window.
07:37I held your pictures in my hand.
07:42We rocked back and forth,
07:45back and forth.
07:49I looked into Papa's eyes.
07:53They were dark and warm.
07:57I was beginning to know his face.
08:02Mama, you held out a teddy bear quilt.
08:07I touched it.
08:09It was just like the picture.
08:12It was soft and warm.
08:17I closed my eyes.
08:20I knew your voice now.
08:22I knew your smile.
08:25I was not so afraid anymore.
08:30I had you, Mama,
08:33and a new Papa.
08:37You would watch over me.
08:40I went to sleep
08:44and dreamed of
08:45moon and stars
08:48and night skies
08:49and coming to a room
08:52where your arms were
08:54always held out to me.
08:57Lots of families come together
09:11the way this one did.
09:12It's called adoption.
09:15Every year,
09:16thousands of families
09:17are created through adoption.
09:19People adopt children
09:20from other parts of the world
09:21or from their own countries.
09:23But the best thing
09:25about adoption is
09:26that once a new family is born,
09:28it grows,
09:29just like any other.
09:32This is the Harris family,
09:34and they're retelling a story
09:36they all love to hear,
09:37how they became a family.
09:39When Daddy and I got married,
09:41we wanted to have a family.
09:43But we weren't able
09:44to have a family
09:45grow inside Mom.
09:47So we still wanted
09:48to have a family,
09:49so we went to a special place,
09:51an adoption place,
09:52where there were people
09:53who could help us
09:54adopt a child.
09:57And when we went there,
09:58they said,
09:59well, it's going to take
10:00a long time.
10:01You're going to have to wait.
10:02So we said,
10:03that's okay, we'll wait.
10:04They said, well,
10:05do you think you'd like
10:06a baby boy or a baby girl?
10:08You know what we told them?
10:09A baby boy.
10:10No, we just said
10:11we want a baby.
10:12That's all we want.
10:12And we'll do the rest
10:13and take care of it
10:14and love it.
10:15And then one day,
10:16the phone rang,
10:18and they said,
10:19we have a baby boy for you.
10:21And who was that?
10:22Andrew.
10:23Andrew.
10:23Andrew.
10:24Right.
10:24That day, I remember,
10:26when we woke up in the morning,
10:27it was snowing.
10:28And I was so nervous.
10:29I said,
10:30what if there's so much snow
10:32we can't drive
10:33into New York City?
10:34And Daddy said,
10:35don't worry.
10:36Everything will be all right.
10:37But it wasn't
10:37a big snowstorm.
10:39And so we drove
10:39into New York City
10:40and we got Andrew.
10:43Oh, he was so little
10:44and so cute.
10:46So then,
10:47Andrew grew up
10:49to be
10:49three years old
10:51and we went,
10:52we wanted to have
10:53another baby.
10:54And then,
10:54Andrew would have
10:55somebody to play with
10:56and we would have
10:57two children.
10:58Be a lot more people
10:59to love and have fun with
11:00and take care of
11:01and a lot more work too.
11:03And finally,
11:04when Andrew was
11:04four and a half years old,
11:06we got another phone call.
11:07Yeah, you know what they said?
11:08What?
11:09They said,
11:09there's a baby
11:10that needs parents.
11:11Would you like
11:12to have this baby?
11:13And we said,
11:14tell us where.
11:15We'll be right over.
11:16A couple of days
11:17after Gavin was born,
11:19me and my dad,
11:20we went to a store
11:22around the corner
11:24that was called
11:25Dry Beach Pharmacy
11:26and we looked
11:28for something for Gavin
11:29and finally we found
11:30a little bear
11:31sitting on a shelf
11:33that we thought
11:33would be great for Gavin.
11:35And so we brought him
11:37at the front counter
11:38and brought him home
11:40and I gave him
11:42to Gavin
11:43and I named him
11:46Bear Bear Harris
11:48and that's how it
11:49and I always had him
11:50for the rest of my life.
11:53When we tell Gavin
11:54and Andrew
11:54about being adopted,
11:56we always end the story
11:57with saying
11:58adoption is forever.
11:59I was adopted
12:00because the parents
12:02that my birth parents,
12:03they couldn't take care of me
12:05and they wanted me
12:05to have a good family
12:07and it just happened
12:08to be my parents
12:09and I was very lucky,
12:09very, very lucky.
12:11The kids in school,
12:13they like,
12:13when they don't understand
12:14that you are adopted
12:18and then they find out,
12:20they're like,
12:21what's adoption?
12:22You're strange.
12:23You're different.
12:24And I'm like,
12:25big deal
12:26because I have a family,
12:29you have a family
12:30and we're all people
12:31and it doesn't make us
12:32any different.
12:33We both have parents
12:34and we were both
12:37born the same way.
12:39I don't really run up
12:42to somebody
12:42that I meet
12:43and say,
12:44guess what,
12:44I'm adopted.
12:45Isn't that great?
12:47I just like,
12:48sometimes I'll decide
12:49if I want to tell somebody
12:50that I'm adopted
12:51or I don't want to tell them.
12:53Sometimes I just gradually
12:55get into it
12:56after a couple of years.
12:58Andrew has expressed
12:59some interest
13:00in his birth heritage
13:02and I tried to explain
13:04to him
13:05that this was
13:07a closed adoption
13:08and we didn't know
13:09the names
13:09of his birth parents.
13:12I don't really know
13:14if I'll ever
13:14go look for my birth parents,
13:16but I might.
13:18We'll share
13:19whatever we know
13:20with the children
13:21about their birth parents
13:23and if at some point
13:25they feel
13:25they need more information,
13:27we'll help them
13:28get that information
13:29if we can.
13:29My parents,
13:30they said
13:32that they would help me
13:32if I wanted to find out
13:34what my birth parents
13:35were like
13:36and
13:37they said it was okay,
13:40but
13:40I would never leave
13:41this family
13:42no matter what.
13:53Check out this
13:54volleyball game.
13:55You'd think
13:56it's a bunch of kids
13:57from the neighborhood,
13:58but it's really
13:59one family,
14:01the Peck family
14:02and all nine kids
14:03are adopted.
14:05This is their mom,
14:06Cindy,
14:07with Allie
14:07and Abby.
14:09Here's Emily
14:09and Caroline,
14:11Meredith
14:12and Jessica
14:13and John
14:16and Chris
14:18and Ben.
14:20Of course
14:21it's a real family
14:22and I'm the real mother.
14:23I am
14:24a real mother.
14:25I'm flesh and blood.
14:26I raise my children.
14:27I love them.
14:28That's what a real mother does.
14:30From another person's standpoint,
14:32as they see my family,
14:35they would probably think
14:35that it would be unique
14:37that my mom
14:37is not married
14:38but at the same time
14:40has adopted nine kids.
14:43But that would be
14:44from somebody
14:45who doesn't know my mom
14:47that well.
14:47every child
14:50who's adopted
14:51especially
14:52at an older age
14:53has a history
14:56that precedes them
14:59and they have to deal
15:02at some point in time
15:03with what happened
15:06to them in the past.
15:07No matter how wonderful
15:08the present may be,
15:10the past is there
15:11as a ghost
15:12until it's dealt with.
15:13I have no memory
15:14of my birth parents
15:15at all
15:16because I came here
15:17when I was three and a half.
15:19Emily came
15:20when she was
15:20just turning four
15:21and
15:23one day
15:26when she was
15:26about eight,
15:28four and a half
15:29or so years after,
15:30maybe nine years old,
15:31we were riding home
15:32from school one day
15:33and all of a sudden
15:35a little voice
15:35came out of the back
15:36of the station wagon
15:37and the voice said,
15:39Mom,
15:40where's my real mother?
15:41I almost drove
15:43off the highway.
15:44I think it was like
15:45the first time
15:46I ever brought up
15:47the issue about
15:48who my birth parents were.
15:49So I said to her,
15:50well, when we get home,
15:51let's look at all
15:52of your papers
15:52that you came with
15:54and she was very surprised.
15:55She said,
15:56you mean you have
15:56all of that stuff
15:58about me?
15:59And so my mom
16:00like went through
16:01and told me about
16:02who my father was,
16:04who my mother was
16:04and like why
16:05I was giving up.
16:07She sat there
16:08reading the papers
16:09over and over
16:09and over again
16:10and all of a sudden
16:12she looked up at me.
16:13She'd been very
16:14interested and involved
16:15and calm up to that point
16:17and she said,
16:17Mommy,
16:18I can't believe
16:19that one 28-year-old
16:20father couldn't take care
16:22of one 3-year-old child.
16:27And she just
16:28went to pieces.
16:29So did I.
16:32But that was the point
16:33at which Emily really,
16:35for the first time,
16:36dealt with her past.
16:37I think that helped a lot
16:39because I haven't had
16:40really that many questions
16:42now that I'm older
16:44about them.
16:46I don't really see
16:47adoption as a big issue
16:49because I consider
16:52everyone in the family
16:54like just as if they were
16:55my real brothers
16:56and sisters.
16:57I think we'll always
16:58be close as family.
17:00Yeah.
17:00Meet the Abney family.
17:10Who's that baby?
17:11Look at that, Tess.
17:12The newest member,
17:13Tess,
17:13is adopted.
17:16Uh-oh.
17:17Uh-oh.
17:18Bad news.
17:19Two big brothers,
17:21Christian
17:21and Lee,
17:23were born into the family.
17:24Catch it.
17:25There you got it.
17:26That's good.
17:27That's good.
17:28I seem to always know
17:30that I was going to adopt.
17:32It's just something
17:33that I knew
17:35that I wanted to do
17:36before I was ever married,
17:38before I had children.
17:40I knew that
17:41at some point in my life
17:43that I would want to adopt.
17:45It was my mom's idea
17:47at first
17:48to add another kid
17:49to this family.
17:50I thought that
17:51it was going to be good
17:52because me and my brother
17:54always did want to adopt.
17:55It took me, what,
17:57six or seven years
17:58to come to
17:58the conclusion
18:00that that's what
18:00we should do.
18:02But I'd always known
18:03that I wanted more
18:04than two or three children
18:05and adopting
18:07is another way
18:08of extending your family.
18:10When we were
18:11at the adoption agency
18:13and they brought Tess to me,
18:16they said,
18:16this is your baby.
18:18And the feeling,
18:19when you see the baby,
18:21there's like an immediate connection.
18:23And it was like being
18:24in the delivery room again.
18:26It was immediate.
18:27It was just, you know,
18:29a sense of love.
18:30It's really fun
18:49watching her grow up.
18:51She's smart.
18:53She gets into everything.
18:54She's funny.
18:56There's never a dull moment.
18:58The way I envision it
19:22is that Tess is going
19:24to grow up knowing
19:25that she has been adopted
19:27into this family
19:27and that it's a perfectly
19:29legitimate way
19:30to come into a family.
19:31And it's a very loving way
19:32and that we feel
19:33the same about her,
19:35of course,
19:35that we feel about
19:36her brothers.
19:37You remember that?
19:38Come on,
19:39you can remember that.
19:39Tess is really sweet.
19:41She's everything
19:43I could imagine
19:44in a daughter.
19:47She's very loving.
19:49Very even-tempered,
19:51easy to be around,
19:54keeps you laughing
19:55all the time.
20:10When you come down to it,
20:12families are just families.
20:15Whether you're adopted,
20:16live with one parent or two,
20:18or an only child,
20:19or have a house full
20:20of brothers and sisters.
20:21There are as many kinds
20:24of families
20:24as there are books
20:26in the library.
20:27But,
20:27you don't have to take
20:28my word for it.
20:31Hello,
20:31my name is Nico Bocor.
20:33I read a story
20:34with a character in it
20:35who was adopted
20:36just like me.
20:38His name is Horace.
20:39That's the name
20:39of the book, too.
20:42Horace is a spotted leopard.
20:45His mama and papa
20:46are striped tigers.
20:48Mama and papa
20:49love him very much.
20:51All his cousins
20:54have stripes,
20:55and Horace feels
20:56that he doesn't belong.
20:58At the park,
20:59he meets a family
21:00of spotted leopards.
21:02He has fun
21:03playing with
21:04the leopard children.
21:06When the sun goes down,
21:08Horace remembers
21:09his mama and papa,
21:10and he wants to go home.
21:13He realizes that
21:14that's where he belongs.
21:16This book will make you
21:18feel so good,
21:19especially if you're adopted,
21:21after reading Horace,
21:23you'll know that you belong
21:24no matter what.
21:26Have you ever thought
21:27about your family?
21:29Families are made up
21:30of different types of people.
21:32This book is filled
21:33with poems about families.
21:35It's called
21:36Fathers, Mothers,
21:38Sisters, Brothers.
21:39The poems in this book
21:41are great.
21:42There's a poem about
21:43a baby brother,
21:45a big sister,
21:46your grandma,
21:47and grandpa.
21:49The one about cousins
21:50is really sweet.
21:53Listen.
21:54Cousins are cozy
21:56wherever they're from.
21:57They feel like your family
21:59whenever they come.
22:01Some people have many,
22:03most people have some.
22:04cousins are cozy
22:05wherever they're from.
22:08I think all families
22:10are special.
22:11My family's special
22:12because I'm a part of it.
22:14I'm Alexa,
22:15and I'm adopted.
22:17What makes your family special?
22:19Think about it.
22:21Are you having trouble
22:22managing your family?
22:24Does your mother nag you
22:25to clean your room?
22:27Is your brother
22:27picking on you constantly?
22:29Well, then I've got a book
22:30that might help you.
22:32It's called
22:33Free to be a Family
22:34by, well,
22:36it's got about
22:36a million authors.
22:38This book is all about
22:40how people and families behave.
22:42It's like an encyclopedia
22:44of stories, plays,
22:47poems, and songs.
22:49Each one tells a story
22:50about being a part of a family.
22:53One I really like
22:54is a poem called
22:56I'll Fix Anthony.
22:59It's about what it's like
23:00to be a little brother.
23:02I'm a little brother,
23:03so it made me laugh.
23:05My name is Stephen Condors,
23:07and right after I read
23:08Free to be a Family,
23:09my brother stopped
23:10picking on me.
23:12Well, we're still
23:14working on it.
23:15I hear a lot of talking
23:26about family.
23:27Seems like everyone's
23:29telling me
23:29how they're supposed to be.
23:32I've been doing a lot
23:33of looking,
23:34and what I see
23:35is all different kinds
23:36of ways to be
23:37be a family.
23:40It's all in the way
23:42you care about each other,
23:44whether your family's
23:46big or small.
23:48Day by day,
23:50doing things together,
23:52you know they're there
23:53for you,
23:54and most of all,
23:56a family is where
23:57you find love.
23:59A family is where
24:01you find love.
24:02A family you love too.
24:04A family is where
24:05you find love.
24:06A family is where
24:09you find love.
24:14Yeah.
24:21You know,
24:22it doesn't make a difference
24:24who's in your family
24:25or how they got there.
24:27The important thing
24:28is how you feel about them.
24:30There's this invisible bond
24:32that binds you together,
24:34and no matter what,
24:36it lasts a lifetime.
24:39I'll see you next time.
24:41Hey, LeVoy!
24:42Hey, LeVoy!
24:42Hey, LeVoy!
24:42Hi!
24:52It's my family!
24:53This is my mother,
24:54and this is my sister.
24:56We're surprised.
24:57You didn't know
24:57we were coming.
25:00How are you guys
25:01doing on skates?
25:02Oh, we have a skater for you.
25:03Let me see.
25:03Let me see.
25:04No, come on, come on.
25:05Come on.
25:06Come on.
25:06Oh!
25:06Oh!
25:09This is so cool.
25:14I know.
25:15I know.
25:18Wow!
25:18The moms and dads and sisters
25:20And brothers to arms
25:22And uncles' cousins
25:23Just to leave a few
25:25Now friends can be a part
25:28Of your family
25:29Anyone you want can be
25:31You know it's tough to you
25:33It's all in the way
25:36You care about each other
25:38Whether your family's big or small
25:41Day by day
25:44Doing things together
25:46You know they're there for you
25:48And most of all
25:50A family is where you find love
25:53A family is where you find love
25:57A family is where you find love
26:07A family is where you find love
26:10A family is where you find love
26:21With your sister and your brother
26:24So that's where you find love
26:27Oh yeah, that's here for love
26:30Feels me.
26:32This is where they work.
26:33We're attracted to the crowd.
26:34Today's Reading Rainbow books are
26:50Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies
26:52by Ann Turner
26:53Pictures by James Graham Hale
26:55A Charlotte Zolotow book
26:57Horace by Holly Keller
27:00Published by Greenwillow Books
27:02Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers
27:06A collection of family poems
27:08by Marianne Hoberman
27:09Illustrated by Marilyn Hafner
27:11Published by Joy Street, Little Brown and Company
27:15Free to Be, A Family
27:17A book about all kinds of belonging
27:20by Marlo Thomas and Friends
27:21Published by Bantam Books