I'm not a writer, editor, publisher, journalist, book seller or librarian (although my dad is--hooray for librarians!). I'm just someone who loves books and loves to read with my kid. I also believe in the power of books to affect our foundational beliefs.
I enjoy having A Project, so I've been compiling a list of children's books on adoption that I would like to check out. I usually borrow them from our local library or peruse them at bookstores. Ones I particularly like I purchase for our home library. As long as I was reading them, I thought I might write down my thoughts here. I appreciate reading reviews when I know a bit about the reviewer, particularly in regards to books on adoption. So perhaps someone else might find
these helpful one day.
We keep the books on adoption mixed in with the rest of our children's books. We view it as one of the ways we make adoption a normal topic of conversation for our son. We don't Talk About Adoption everytime we read them together, but I sometimes add a little commentary connecting the story to his own. He is still too young to give me any feedback on a book's content, but he does let me know when he appreciates the illustrations.
My philosophy on adoption books is that our collection as a whole should touch on each side of the triad and the various aspects of adoption, not each individual book. I am fine with books that don't exactly match our own family's story or incorporate some language we might not use. I am not okay with books which demean first parents and/or countries of origin, unduly romanticize adoption, or perpetuate adoption myths.
There are many good lists of children's books on adoption on the Internet. Here are a few:
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/books.php?cat=8http://www.comeunity.com/adoption/books/index.htmlhttp://mamagigi.wordpress.com/kids-adoption-books/Below is my own in-process list of adoption-related books for children, sorted into the following categories (some books are listed in more than one category):
Reviews are linked
Y = recommeded
x = not recommended
Adoption-friendlyContemplating Your Belly Button (Jun Nanao)
The Family Book (Todd Parr)
Y
It's Okay to Be Different (Todd Parr)
Domestic Adoption
Did My First Mother Love Me? (Kathryn Ann Miller)
How I Was Adopted (Joanna Cole)
My Adopted Child, There's No One Like You (Kevin Leman)
Susan and Gordon Adopt a Baby (Judy Freudberg)
The Day We Met You (Phoebe Koehler)
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (Jamie Lee Curtis)
We Became a Family (Wayne Willis)
Foster Care & AdoptionFamilies Change: A Book for Children Experiencing Termination of Parental Rights (Julie Nelson)
Finding the Right Spot: When Kids Can't Live With Their Parents (Janice Levy)
The Great Gilly Hopkins (Katherine Paterson)
Grover G. Graham and Me (Mary Quattlebaum)
My Alternate Life (Lee Tobin McClain)
Parents Wanted (George Harrar)
Zachary's New Home: A Story for Foster and Adopted Children (Geraldine & Paul Blomquist)
General/Non-fiction
"A" is for Adopted (Eileen Tucker Cosby)
All About Adoption (Marc Nemiroff & Jane Annuziata)
All About Me (Lynn Burwash)
Happy Adoption Day (John McCutcheon)
The Kingfisher Book of Family Poems (collection)
Let's Talk About It: Adoption (Fred Rodgers)
Look Who's Adopted! (Michael S. Taheri)
We Belong Together (Todd Parr)
What Is Adoption? (Sofie Stergianis & Rita McDowall)
Infant Adoption
Did My First Mother Love Me? (Kathryn Ann Miller)
The Day We Met You (Phoebe Koehler)
How I Was Adopted (Joanna Cole)
I Bet She Called Me Sugar Plum (Joanne Gabbin)
Mulberry Bird (Ann Fraff Brodzinsky)
Never Never Never Will She Stop Loving You (Jolene Durrant)
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (Jamie Lee Curtis)
This is How We Became a Family (Wayne Willis)
The Tummy Mummy (Michelle Madrid-Branch)
We Wanted You (Liz Rosenberg)
Welcome Home Little Baby (Lisa Harper)
International Adoption
At Home in This World: A China Adoption Story (Jean MacLeod)
The Best Single Mom in the World: How I Was Adopted (Mary Zisk)
Bringing Asha Home (Uma Krishnaswami)
IndiaChinese Eyes (Marjorie Ann Waybill)
ChinaThe Coffee Can Kid (Jan Czech)
unspecified Asian countryEvery Year on Your Birthday (Rose A. Lewis)
ChinaFelicia's Favorite Story (Leslea Newman)
GuatemalaFinding Joy (Marion Coste)
Heart of Mine (Dan Hojer)
unspecified Asian countryI Don't Have Your Eyes (Carrie A. Kitze)
I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (Rose Lewis)
I Wish for You a Beautiful Life: Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of Ae Ran Won to Their Children (collection)
Jin Woo (Eve Bunting)
Just Add One Chinese Sister (Patricia McMahon)
ChinaKids Like Me in China (Ying Ying Fry)
ChinaLucy's Family Tree (Karen Halvorsen Schreck)
The Lucky Gourd Shop (Joanna C. Scott)
Mommy Far, Mommy Near: An Adoption Story (Carol Antionette Peacock)
Monsoon Summer (Mitali Perkins)
Motherbridge of Love (Josee Masse)
ChinaMy Mei Mei (Ed Young)
ChinaA New Barker in the House (Tomie de Paola)
Nikolai, the Only Bear (Barbara Joosse)
RussiaOur Baby from China: An Adoption Story (Nancy D'Antonio)
Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale (Karen Katz)
Pablo's Tree (Pat Mora)
MexicoA Quilt of Wishes (Teresa Werner)
Rain Forest Girl: More Than an Adoption Story (Chalise Miner)
Rebecca's Journey Home (Brynn Olenberg Sugarman)
The Red Blanket (Eliza Thomas)
ChinaSeeds of Love (Mary E. Petertyl)
Shaoey and Dot (Marybeth & Steven Chapman)
ChinaSister for Matthew (Pamela Kennedy)
Sisters (Judith Caseley)
Somebody's Daughter (Marie Myung-Ok Lee)
Ten Days and Nine Nights (Yumi Heo)
KoreaThree Names of Me (Mary Cummings)
Through Moon & Stars & Night Skies (Ann Turner)
Southeast AsiaWaiting for May (Janel Morgan Stoeke)
ChinaWe Adopted You, Benjamin Koo (Linda Walvoord Girard)
When I Met You: A Story of Russian Adoption (Adrienne Ehlert Bashista)
RussiaThe White Swan Express (Jean Davies Okimoto & Elaine M. Aoki)
ChinaOpen AdoptionMegan's Birthday Tree (Laurie Lears)
Y
Nutmeg Gets a Letter (Judith Foxon)
Pugnose Has Two Special Families (Karis Kruzel)
Rain or Shine (Hilary Horder Hippely)
Sam's Sister (Juliet C. Bond)
Siblings & Adoption
Boat in the Tree (Tim Wynne Jones)
Emma's Strange Pet (Jean Little)
Emma's Yucky Brother (Jean Little)
(Dave Moore)Jin Woo (Eve Bunting)
Just Add One Chinese Sister (Patricia McMahon)
My Mei Mei (Ed Young)
A New Barker in the House (Tomie de Paola)
Nutmeg Gets a Little Sister (Judith Foxon)
Rebecca's Journey Home (Brynn Olenberg Sugarman)
Sam's Sister (Juliet C. Bond)
birth sibling in an open adoption
The Sea Chest (Toni Bezzeo)
Seeds of Love (Mary E. Petertyl)
Sister for Matthew (Pamela Kennedy)
Sisters (Judith Caseley)
Ten Days and Nine Nights (Yumi Heo)
Waiting for May (Janel Morgan Stoeke)
Single Parents & AdoptionThe Best Single Mom in the World: How I Was Adopted (Mary Zisk)
The Red Blanket (Eliza Thomas)
Transracial AdoptionAllison (Allen Say)
Brown Like Me (Noelle Lamperti)
David's Father (Robert M. Munsch)
Families are Different (Nina Pellegrini)
Horace (Holly Keller)
In My Heart (Molly Bang)
Is That Your Sister? (Catherine & Sherry Bunin)
The Lamb-a-Roo (Diana Kimpton)
The Little Green Goose (Adele Sansone)
Little Miss Spider (David Kirk)
A Mother for Choco (Keiko Kasza)
Y Mrs. Hen's Big Surprise (Christel Desmoinaux)
Red in the Flower Bed (Andrea Nepa)
Rosie's Family: An Adoption Story (Lori Rosove)
We Wanted You (Liz Rosenberg)
Welcome Home Little Baby (Lisa Harper)
You're Not My Real Mother! (Molly Friedrich)
x Uncategorized
Adoption is for Always (Linda Walvoord Girard)
Carolyn's Story: A Book About an Adopted Girl (Perry Schwartz)
Families are Forever (Craig Shemin)
Forever Fingerprints: An Amazing Discovery for Adopted Children (Sherri Eldridge)
Giant Jack (Birte Muller)
Guji Guji (Chih-Yuan Chen)
Is That Your Sister?: A True Story of Adoption (Catherine Bunin)
A Koala for Katie (Jonathan London)
Little Lost Bat (Sandra Markle)
Max and the Adoption Day Party (Adria F. Klein)
Molly's Family (Nancy Garden)
My Family is Forever (Nancy Carlson)
My New Family: A First Look at Adoption (Pat Thomas)
One Wonderful You (Francie Portnoy)
Our Twitchy (Kes Gray)
Place In My Heart (Mary Grossnickle)
This is the Day! (Phillis Gershator)
Twice-Upon-a-Time: Born and Adopted (Eleanora Patterson)
We See the Moon (Carrie A. Kitze)
Welcome Home, Forever Child (Christine Mitchell)
Recommendations and suggestions are always welcome!