Friends can be our family. The family that we choose. It's a sweet reminder sometimes. ( )

"Stick's on a search / for maple or birch. / He can't wait to see / his family tree." Stick and Stone venture into the forest, where they get lost and are rescued by their old frenemy Pinecone. Safe at home, Stick concludes, "I guess I won't find my family tree," to which Stone responds, "Stick! ...Your family's ME!"

The message here seems to be that friends are the family you choose for yourself; I wonder if it will resonate with adoptive families, as well.

For me, the endpapers steal the show: several incarnations of Stick sport different leaves, all labeled: Spruce, Mimosa, Chestnut, Cherry, Cottonwood, Cypress, White Pine, Birch, Ginkgo, Dogwood, Redbud, and more. ( )