34 Responses to “Children’s Books”

1. waitingforcelia Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 7:38 am

   We really like “A Mother for Choco” and “The Red Blanket,” too. Does anyone know of any children’s books about adopting from China that include foster parents? We like “Crazy Cakes” and “The Red Blanket” a lot, but since DD was in foster care, the orphanage situation doesn’t really relate.

2. GatheringNoMoss Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 8:25 am

   For 8 – 10 set, Grace Lin’s Year of Dog & Year of Rat. I tried to introduce them to DD (reading to her) at 6, it was too early for her to relate to the book setting. At 8 she can read them herself providing material for conversations about CNY, moving and the dreaded middle school.

3. ldw4mlo Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 8:31 am

   I also like, Every Year On Your Birthday and Star Of The Week.

   The first is the follow up to Crazy Cakes. The second about a 6 yr old whose turn it is to be Star of the week at school. She is a Chinese adoptee and she tells her story and does some wondering as she gets ready to be Star of the Week.

4. mada Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 8:57 am

   We love many that have been mentioned. I didn’t realize that When You Were Born in China is not being reprinted. We took that one to China w/ us and had the reps from the orphanage all write a message to our daughter on Family Day. Very special.

   I’d like to add Guji Guji to the list. SO sweet and SO many positive messages.

5. olliesmum Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 9:08 am

   “Does anyone know of any children’s books about adopting from China that include foster parents?”

   For slightly older children then those who are reading ” A Mother for Choco” is “At Home in this World”. This has a page that talks about being with foster family.

6. quitecontent Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 9:15 am

   ‘A Mother for Choco’ still made me cry when I first read it. I still tear up.
   This isn’t a book, but the movie ‘Meet the Robinsons’ is another good one that has an adoption theme in it. I cry at the beginning scene still. Our daughter first watched it when she was 5. It has opened the door for good discussion. We are able to say we don’t know why your Chinese mother couldn’t keep you, just like Luis’ mother couldn’t keep him. Your mother loved you very much and wanted you in a safe place, just like Luis’ mother.

7. TongguMomma Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 am

   Elementary School (younger):
   Kids Like Me In China by Ying Ying Fry
   At Home in this World: A China Adoption Story by Jean MacLeod
   Three Names of Me by Mary Cummings
   Star of the Week: A Story of Love, Adoption and Brownies with Sprinkles by Darlene Friedman

   Elementary School (older):
   The Jade Dragon by Carolyn Marsden
   not adoption or China related, but the Hannah West mystery series by Linda Johns is about a Chinese adoptee

   Junior High:
   Throwaway Daughter by Ye, Ting-Xing
   Double Luck: Memoirs of A Chinese Orphan by Lu, Chi Fa
   Chu Ju’s House by Gloria Whelan

8. scjchardy Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 9:41 am

   “We Belong Together: A Book about Adoption and Families” by Todd Parr and “Motherbridge of Love” by Josee Massee are absolute MUST HAVE books for adoptive families. (Both are picture books). The Todd Parr book was recommended in Adoptive Families magazine as a must-have as well.

   “The Family Book” by Todd Parr is another great one. While it mentions adoption only briefly, it presents every possible combination that families might come in, and I think it would help adoptive families realize just how normal they are since EVERY family is uniquely built.

   In fact, many, many of Todd Parr’s books are fabulous for helping kids feel normal about what might not FEEL normal to them at times (ie- his book “It’s OK to Be Different” which is a book every parent should own, IMHO).

9. jlync1 Says:
   April 23rd, 2010 at 10:51 am

   I can add 3 more wonderful books. We See the Moon, which is a great book when talking about birth parents, Ruby’s Wish, which is a true story about a young girl in China back in the early 1900s who was raised in a Chinese home with many brothers and sisters who wanted to go to college. It really shows life in China. Also The 7 Chinese Sisters is a wonderful book.

10. southslopemama Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 10:52 am

    I don’t know if it’s still in print, but we loved White Swan Express (picture book)–by Jean Davies Okimoto. lots of different families represented there.

    Also, Waiting For May by Janet Morgan Stoeke–she wrote the Minerva The Chicken books and this is based on her own adoption experience. Great book for families with older bio siblings!

    Grace Lin has a new book out–Where The Mountain Meets the Moon–with a very strong female character, sort of a folklore type story. This would be for upper primary grades.

    All of these books should be at your library!

    Steph

11. BeiLeesmom Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 11:19 am

    I Don’t Have Your Eyes is a great book that covers many races and age ranges. My son and partner look exactly like one of the drawings–a grey haired man and a Asian son. We give this book to his teacher each year, and lots of the children find their own families in the drawings. It helps my son see that many children are adopted or fostered, of all races.

12. Noendinsight Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 11:44 am

    i am going to a shower next weekend for a single mom leaving for china the next week. i would love to get her some books! other than crazy-cakes, are there any people would recommend good for single parents and china. most of the ones we own say “mommy and daddy.” which is fine, i’d just love to give her some single specific books.

13. ItsTime Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 12:27 pm

    I am surprised this hasn’t been mentioned yet.

    Shaoey and Dot: Bug Meets Bundle
    by, Steven Curtis Chapman, Mary Beth Chapman, and Jim Chapman.

    We love this book, along with many that others have mentioned above.

14. beckysmom Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Since no one has yet mentioned Stone Soup by Jon Muth I would like to recommend it.
    This is one of my daughters favorite books. She received it as a gift on her 3rd birthday and now at 6 we still read it or rather she now reads it to me.
    In this version the characters are Chinese Monks searching for what makes people happy and happen upon a village of very unhappy and suspicous villagers.
    Along with a nice story line are wonderful illustrations. I would highly recommend it!
    Noendinsight, I Love You Like Crazy Cakes and Every Year on Your Birthday are wonderful books written by a single adoptive mom.
    My daughters loves those books as well especially Every Year on Your Birthday. She has taken this book to school for book share many times from pre school through Kindergarten. Many people have asked if she was the model for the little girl on the cover as she looks so much like that picture.

15. 3xwait Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    We love The Seven Chinese Sisters. I signed up to be a guest reader for dd1′s 1st grade class and that’s the book she wanted me to read (which was a bonus because I was trying to find something the kids in her class haven’t already heard a thousand times – not an easy feat!). Her class loved it and they seemed to be very entertained. I saw there is also a book called The Seven Chinese Brothers, but we don’t have that one. Both were available through our school’s scholastic book order. There is also a cute book by a Taiwanese author called “On My Way to Buy Eggs.” It’s not about adoption, but the story and pictures are simple and cute. I had donated copies to my kids’ preschool and kindergarten classes when we went to Taiwan to adopt dd3.

16. mom2girls Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    Little Miss Spider. I can’t belive its not mentioned. ….For finding your mother there is one certain test. you must look for a creature who loves you the best!

17. dakotagirl Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE “My Family is Forever” by Nancy Carlson. It’s not about a Chinese adoptee, I think Korean, but it is not country specific. Very general in terms of traveling, etc. Written in first person from a little girl’s perspective. Easy read. Focuses on families being forever no matter how they are formed. My 2yr old DD loves the book.

    Allison by Allen Say is pretty good. A little girl who begins to realize she doesn’t look like her parents. She’s Asian, but they don’t say what country. I would say this for 8-11 year olds, maybe younger, I don’t know. But, I have not introduced it yet to my DD..she’s not quite there yet.

18. shandalaoshi Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 4:04 pm

    This is not specifically an adoption book, but I love “Has Anyone Seen my Emily Greene?” because the illustrations feature an Asian-looking preschooler and her Caucasian-looking daddy. I think it’s nice to have some books that normalize mixed-race families without actually being about race. Along those lines, the illustrations for “Everywhere Babies” feature all kinds of different families, including some of mixed race. Again, the book is not about varied family structure, it just assumes them. This is a great topic! I’ve already read some of the books that have been mentioned, and will be checking my library for others.

19. volinwaiting Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 4:06 pm

    My daughter loves “Over the Moon, An Adoption Tale.” It’s a pretty generic adoption travel story with good art.

20. waitingforcelia Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    I have to say, I was really disappointed with Todd Parr’s “We Belong Together.” I usually really love his books, and I really like his “The Family Book.” But I was turned off by the emphasis in the adoption one on what the child needed and what the parents had to give– I didn’t want DD to feel like she should be grateful to us for fulfilling her needs, when I feel like we gained more than she did from her adoption. But we read “The Family Book” and “The Peace Book” regularly.

21. franceskasmom Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    I’ve mentioned it before but I am assuming because “God” is in the title it was looked over. But I had a book published titled, “God Made Me In China” and it is available at Entryway Publishing.com, or from my blog if anyone is interested. I did not write this book to make a million bucks, it was a story put on my heart and I finally had the courage to write it one sleepless night while my son was in Iraq. I looked at his bravery and decided that writing a book was nothing in comparison, so I started typing. It is about the differences we are created with and how HE loves us all the same. It is a childrens book. Thank you.

    Kristy
    4/21/06
    franceskasjourneyhome.blogspot.com

22. ldw4mlo Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    I forgot these 2

    I Wished For You and A Blessing From Above, both mention God.

23. BabyKaz Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    -A blessing from above by Henderson
    -I wished for you – by Marianne Richmond
    -On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman (Not adoption specific but emphasizes the “specialness” of each child)
    -Shades of people by Kelly (looking at different “shades” of skin color)

    And my new favorite (though some may not agree with it’s perspective but there are no adoption books about Kazakhstan so the animals work for our house) God Found Us You

24. MsMama Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 9:42 pm

    I love “We Belong Together” precisely because it’s about what the child needs. My DD is only 15 months old but she LOVES looking through it, and has pretty much from the day we came home.

25. Waiting2BAmom Says:
    April 24th, 2010 at 12:34 am

    We love several of the books listed. A few more (since we’re a tri-racial family):

    “We’re Different, We’re the Same” by Bobbi Kates and Joe Mathieu. It’s a Sesame Street book.

    “The Colors of Us” by Karen Katz

    “Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies” by Ann Turner and James Graham Hale. You might have seen this on Reading Rainbow.

26. shaziaz1 Says:
    April 24th, 2010 at 3:52 am

    there havent been any LOA news in a long long time, not any news from CCAA at all in a while….any rumors at all about any news coming out of china? LOA? TA? referrals? anything….hoping new batches of LOA coming out soon

27. waiting for godot... Says:
    April 24th, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    My almost 3 year old son likes “A Blessing from Above” (about a kangaroo who adopts a baby bird) and LOVES “Our Twitchy” (about a bunny being raised by a cow mother & horse father). The latter is one of his favorite books. Unlike the kangaroo one — where the plot centers on the lonely kangaroo finding the baby bird, in this one the plot centers on the bunny realizing that he is different from his parents & them explaining about adoption. The bunny gets terribly upset & runs away & wants to change how he looks etc., but in the end he realizes that they’re his “real” mom & dad & that he doesn’t need to change.

28. vicki Says:
    April 24th, 2010 at 3:01 pm

    Motherbridge of Love is another good book.

29. joymweaver Says:
    April 24th, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    I love the book-God Found Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren.

30. WetBird Says:
    April 24th, 2010 at 10:05 pm

    Thanks for this post! We’re book junkies in our house and it’s always fun to find more books to add to our collection.

    We have a TON of adoption books but the one that our 3 year old chooses the most is “Maya’s Journey Home” by Susan E. Lindsley.

    TJ

31. kms Says:
    April 25th, 2010 at 12:30 am

    China theme..

    Empty Pot and Ruby’s Wish have done for groups many times at the library with great success.

32. littleemperor Says:
    April 25th, 2010 at 11:24 am

    My son really loves ‘Rosie’s family’. I’m so glad it’s back in print after a number of years being unavailable.

    The other book is ‘The Lamb-a-roo’. This is the story of a lamb looking for a mother/family and a kangaroo sad because she doesn’t have a baby. We didn’t know it was an adoption story when we borrowed it from the library but it was great. Highly recommended.

33. waitingforcelia Says:
    April 25th, 2010 at 4:57 pm

    We love “The Empty Pot”! I can’t remember the name, but there’s a sequel for older kid, about Ping looking for a prime minister once he becomes Emperor.

34. nanbwill Says:
    April 26th, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    While about 2 girls adopted from Korea, the concept is a really good one in Families Are Different by Nina Pellegrini. Good for helping when our kids feel bad about being “different”.

    For the older elementary, early teen set:
    Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time by Lisa Yee present the two sides of “All Asians are smart” stereotype. Millicent is the brainy Asian, Stanford is the jock, poor student. Entertaining reading, but good for opening up conversations on stereotypes.

    Over the Moon, An Adoption Tale and A Mother for Choco are both favorites of my girls. Just Add One Chinese sister was great preparation for my 6 year old going to China for her sister. Kids like Me in China by Ying Ying Fry is a good one to read for school aged kids, especially before a homeland tour.