Did you know it was National Adoption Month?

Me, neither.

You’d think I would know. I think about adoption. A lot. In fact, I recently realized that all of the novels I’m writing as well as the one already published (Moonlight Dancer) relate to adoption. My family has been impacted by adoption, but long before that I was drawn to the world of the orphan.

I blame it on Shirley Temple.

Growing up, I watched Shirley Temple movies every Sunday morning. Again and again. My favorites—Bright Eyes, Captain January, and Curly Top (this last, my favorite favorite)—all feature Shirley Temple as the spunky, irrepressible orphan about to embark on a new adventure in life. I read somewhere that the orphan is a symbol of resurrection. Watching Shirley Temple movies, you believe it.

From my Shirley Temple days onward, I find myself drifting toward orphan fiction the way a ghost moves into shadow. Here is a list of 21 novels that focus on adoption, fostering, or orphans. With one exception, I’ve read them all (I didn’t read Cider House Rules, but I saw the movie), and recommend them for your reading pleasure.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Cider House Rules by John Irving

A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble

The Seance by John Harwood

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

So, what did I miss (aside from Harry Potter)? What are your favorite adoption novels? Please tell me. I want to read more!