Customer Reviews
Loved it! 
2008-08-03
We are very satisfied with this book and recommend it for adoptive and non adoptive families. It is a story about love!
Helpful conversation starter 
2008-02-23
Although I was initially hesitant about this book because of the "chosen child" language (Horace is told that he was chosen as an infant), I went ahead and read this with my daughter. It proved to be a breakthrough for us. We have talked about her story with her as long as we've known her, but she never shared with me her feelings about us looking different than each other. Reading this together has opened new avenues of discussing her past and has helped her process feelings and thoughts about her place in our family.
I agree with another reviewer that the use of the word "lost" in relation to the birth family is not ideal, but that also proved to be helpful in launching a conversation about the possible reasons for my daughter's relinquishment and gives me ocassion to assure her that it was and is not her fault.
I find now that my daughter is old enough to express more clearly her thoughts and feelings about having been adopted, books with less-than-ideal adoption language actually help us have some really good conversations. I'd rather her hear that language and those ideas about adoption with me than from others.
Adoption book accessible to even the toddler set 2008-02-03
Horace is delightful. It is very simply written and simply and beautifully illustrated. Yet, it's deep. It introduces themes that are central to many, many adoptees' experience in a simple, straight-forward, and even loving way: a sense of loss, feeling different, and the need to understand who they are before/during/beyond their adopted family. Horace's parents are consistently loving and accepting. They tell Horace the truth; they seem to understand his struggle and need to search for something; and they are there loving & accepting him the whole time. The image of the little leopard trying to connect his spots into stripes touched me deeply. I read some of the negative reviews---everyone has a different opinion---but for me, at least, those very negatives were some of the most positive aspects of this gentle, truthful, reassuring read. Thank you.
Best of the adoption books I've read this month. 2007-10-12
Holly Keller, Horace (Morrow, 1991)
Horace is another of the adoption books that's been on my plate recently, and of the batch I've read over the last month or so, I'd have to say this one's the best by a pretty wide margin. The title character is a leopard who's been adopted by a family of tigers, and after a birthday party where he's overwhelmed by the number of stripes surrounding him, he decides to go out into the world and find a place where people look like him.
Oddly, despite the fact that I really liked this, I wanted to see more of it; Keller sets up the situation in such a way that there are a pretty sizable number of neuroses that could crop up towards the end, and seeing how Horace and his family reacted to those could have made for an interesting book (though it would quickly grow much larger than your typical kids' picture book), but what's here is good for what it is-- a reassuring look at the choice adoptive parents make in choosing kids that don't look like them. Good stuff. I'm hoping for a sequel. ****
A great adoption book 2006-08-19
This is the adoption book that most touched our adopted daughter. It addresses the issue of not physically looking like parents. Now in her twenties she still reads it like a favorite poem. We routinely purchase it as a "new baby" gift for children adopted by friends.
This book is worth having 2006-03-08
"Horace is adopted. He is also spotted, and he is loved and cared for by his new mother and father--who are striped. But...Horace feels the need to search out his roots...Keller deals with a sensitive subject in a way that is perceptive but not sentimental."--Publishers Weekly. "A first choice for those families seeking a low-key, reassuring book about adoption--and one that is fun to share as well."--Horn Book.
Straight Forward Approach to Discussing Adoption! 2004-01-28
This book gives a straight forward approach to discussing adoption with an adopted child. Although both of us and our son are Caucasion (we adopted him from Russia) he does have blond hair and blue eyes, while my wife and I have dark hair and dark eyes. He definitely does not "look" like us. Although I would agree that we shouldn't focus too much on "looks" the fact of the matter (and reality) is that it is something that our children will have to deal with. This book involves the "Mama" tiger telling her baby "Cheetah" that they chose him and that they liked his spots (confirming that there are differences in the world, as opposed to hiding it). The "losing" of the child's first family is a reasonable explanation to provide to a young child. The actual circumstances of an individual child's birthparents can be discussed in more detail as the child gets older and more mature to discuss them.
This is an EXCELLENT book for toddlers 2-4 years old. This book actually openned up the discussion of how our son came a part of our family and he now knows the entire story and is happy to tell everyone about it! Our son loves the book and proudly claims that he also "chooses" us after we finish the story.
Highly recommended!
Hooray for Horace! 2002-01-27
Horace, the little leopard, just wants to belong. His having spots rather than stripes (like his parents) is just a metaphor for his worries about not belonging -- sometimes. By the end of the story, he realizes that "spots vs. stripes" really isn't important at all.
At first, when reading this book over myself, I liked the low-key, reassuring tone that struck me as sweet, not sappy. The real acid test was, however, how my toddler son reacted. It's been over 2 years now and he still requests Horace at bedtime.
About belonging 2001-09-09
This book is not about skin color. It is about belonging--something that goes much deeper than skin. Which is precisely the story's point.
We borrowed it from the library before buying it, and our son loved it so much he begged for his own copy. He looks uncannily like us. His toddler pictures even resemble those of my father. But he will love this book forever, just like we will always love him.
Whether trans- cultural, racial or border adoptees, children need to feel that they belong, particularly when they come home at an older age.
Think of it this way: Being adopted can be like having a set of spots. This book helps children feel deeply at home, spots and all. Alyssa A. Lappen
Delightful Story 2001-08-09
We were given this book. I haven't bought many "adoption" books, but I enjoyed this one. I don't know if my daughter could relate to it (she was 3 1/2 when we got it), but she really liked the part where he goes to the carnival and has cotton candy.
