Holly writes the stories she once needed so that children can feel safe, birth families can be seen with compassion, and every child knows they were chosen on purpose for love. Holly Marlow is a mum to two children, a spirited six-year-old daughter, Zoe, and a three-year-old son who joined the family through adoption about two years ago.
She also authorizes gentle, child-friendly books about foster care and adoption, including the well-known “Delly Duck: Why A Little Chick Couldn’t Stay With His Birth Mother.” When Holly and her husband prepared to adopt, they spoke openly with Zoe. Zoe had endless questions and was shocked to learn that some children can’t stay with their birth families. Holly wanted to protect that empathy while also explaining that when a child is removed, it’s a serious decision made for safety. She went looking for a story that could hold all that, and when she couldn’t find one, she wrote it.
In “Delly Duck,” Holly uses symbols so each family can interpret the story in a way that fits their truth. Delly is easily distracted; she chases butterflies and forgets her egg and duckling. That may be read as addiction or as memory and concentration issues linked to trauma, health, or learning needs. Holly wrote Delly with tenderness: a parent who tries to build a nest, accepts help from a social worker, and still can’t make life safe enough.
The point isn’t to blame. It’s to help children see that birth parents often tried, support was offered, and safety must come first. Holly hopes families use the book to talk about the efforts birth parents made and the support social workers provided, so children understand that removal is not casual and reunification is the first aim when safe.
The story helps Zoe understand the complex realities. When positive feedback began to arrive, Holly kept writing. Her second book, “Adopting a Little Brother or Sister,” is told in the voice of a child around five to seven years old and was illustrated by Zoe herself, whose drawings quickly outshone Mum’s sketches. It prepares children to welcome a sibling through adoption, touching on social worker visits, meeting the foster family, and the little frustrations that can pop up.
Soon, families reached out to say their biological children were struggling with the transition, so Holly wrote “So You’ve Adopted a Sibling,” again with Zoe’s art, to help kids process big feelings and routine changes. Social workers and play therapists now use it with families, which Holly finds deeply rewarding.
She knows adoption adds complexity to welcoming a new sibling. Adoptive parents often prioritize consistency for the newly placed child, so the older child might have to adjust more than usual. Holly wanted to give those big brothers and sisters tools to cope with shifting routines. She also created “Cousins by Adoption” at the request of families who wanted to help relatives’ children understand the process.
Most recently, she returned to Delly Duck’s world with “Room in the Nest,” a foster care story that explains the family court process, different types of care, and possible outcomes, including reunification, kinship care, long-term foster care, and adoption. Holly didn’t expect this to be her life’s path. She writes when they’re at school, preschool, or asleep, grateful for work that feels both creative and useful. Her love for her son was immediate, though it took time for him to feel safe enough to call her “Mummy.” With months of therapeutic parenting and steady routines, he did. Holly uses life-story work to help him understand his past and place in the family. When the adoption order was finalized, she told Zoe, who grabbed her hands and spun with joy.
Her little brother woke to learn he was officially a Marlow; he ran around the room cheering, “I Marlow!” The siblings’ bond has only grown. Sometimes they hold hands at breakfast, and in their grandmother’s garden, he told Holly, “I like it when I’m with Zoe,” to which Zoe laughed, “You’re with me all the time, I’m your big sister!” He replied with pride, “And I’m your small brother!”
Holly is clear: she doesn’t believe any child is “meant” to be adopted; removal happens when things have gone wrong. But she also knows love can grow huge in a safe home, and she is thankful daily for the magic she sees between her children. Her books honor both truths: the pain that precedes adoption and the hope that follows.
