The Family Tree

A family tree assignment leads an adopted girl to discover the different ways to be a family.

When her teacher gives her class a simple family tree assignment, Ada is stumped. How can she make her family fit into this simple template?

Ada is adopted. She can see where to put her parents on the tree, but what about her birth mom? Ada has a biological sister, but her sister has different adoptive parents — where do they go on the tree?

But with the help of her friends and family, Ada figures it out. She creates her family tree . . . and so much more.

Loosely based on the author's own experience, this moving story explores the different ways families are created and how the modern family is more diverse and welcoming than ever before.

SEAN DIXON is a playwright, novelist and banjoist. His plays include the Governor General's Award nominated A God In Need of Help (Tarragon Theatre 2014), JUMBO (Blyth Festival 2019), The Orange Dot (Toronto's Theatrefront 2017) and Orphan Song (Tarragon Theatre 2022). His novels include The Girls Who Saw Everything (aka The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal), The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn, and, upcoming, The Abduction of 7 Forgers. He lives in Toronto with his wife, the multi-award-winning documentary maker Katerina Cizek, and a daughter whose brilliant, funny, stubborn character permeates his work.

LILY SNOWDEN-FINE is an artist and illustrator with a focus on portraiture, children's design and sculpture. She was the voice of the original Peppa Pig when it first aired in 2004, and she is the author and illustrator of Why Do Dogs Sniff Butts? and Why Do Cats Meow?. Lily is currently based in Vancouver, BC.