Adoption Books

I was so impressed with the beautiful message and captivating illustrations of this book! As a licensed clinical social worker and upcoming occupational therapist, I have worked with dozens of adopted children who long to understand and organize emotions related to their life changing adoption. The author, a mother of an adopted child herself, has created a story that serves as an excellent tool for caregivers of adopted children to do just that. I highly recommend this book to all parents of adopted children, as it paves the way for children to express emotions and thoughts to their parents with ease. Creating this opportunity for your children is critical to the parent-child relationship. Most importantly, this books reminds all people of the ultimate love- selfless love- that every child so much deserves.

The illustrations in this book are gorgeous and they go along well with the story. The characters all look so soft and sweet, the illustrator has an amazing talent and she deserves recognition! Way to go ladies!

When adopted children do not have access to a birthparent and the answers they are looking for, adoptive parents become the sole source of this information - and their child's perception of what it means to be placed for adoption. As a birthmother, with an agenda of spreading the word on the love that goes behind this decision, I was extremely pleased to receive a copy of Letters of Love from China by Bonnie Cuzzolino. In an effort to provide answers to her daughter, adopted from China, author Bonnie Cuzzolino brings us an endearing children's book written as through the voice of a birthmother who writes to answer her child's questions. Illustrator Jax Bennett brings the letter to life with beautiful pictures that share the birthmother's love of her child and her country. The book begins "To My Precious Daughter," and provides the story of the birthmother's thoughtful but difficult decision to place her child with another family through adoption. The love that drives this decision is undeniable. Then, the book goes on to tell the child a bit about the country they were born in, China. The descriptions and illustrations share the traditions and beauties of the country that anyone can appreciate. By following this format, the book not only lets the child know how much they are truly loved (by birth families and adoptive families), but shows a respect for their beginnings and the country where their life began. The book helps children to see their self-worth and be proud of ALL that makes them who they are. It is a beautiful resource for adoptive parents with children from China, and an inspiration for all adoptive parents on how to talk with their child about being adopted. I highly recommend Letters of Love from China, and commend author Bonnie Cuzzolino for her insight and love when creating this heartwarming book.
By Patricia Dischler, Author, "Because I Loved You: A Birthmother's View of Open Adoption."

A must read for every global citizen. A story of conscience and a story of despair.

A great piece of work by a young Sri Lankan author.

The Lost Cause by Udara Soysa is a truly amazing story. It begins with a young man's quest for identity, which reveals love, happiness and grief.
As a citizen of a country, which was badly affected by a loss of tourists due to the tsunami, I especially enjoyed reading about how the disaster affected the local people.
I highly recommend this book to anyone in for a good read!

Lucy's Feet is one of the few books which goes beyond " adoption day." It captures the subtle attachment rituals which are created over time in an adopted family. I should know. I was adopted at age 5 months. I was surprised to hear anyone describe this book as " bizarre". Lucy's Feet is adorable and " real".

This is a great book! The pictures and words tell an appealing story that has many levels of meaning, metaphor. My 9 1/2 year old, who is hesitant verbally, and especially so regarding her personal issues, just loved this book. The cover and title caught her eye and she curled up with it right when she handled the slim volume. And she never said a thing about having read it for several days. And, then, a propos of nothing--just like a 9 yr old!-- she initiated a long "deep" very expressive dialog which Lucy's Feet clearly had stirred in her. The meaning of a "real" family. How adopted children are matched to their real families (the ones that they know, not their genetic link). She loved looking at Lucy and noting similarities with herself. She loved Lucy's family and how it is similar (and dissimilar) to her own. If you like this age group, you'll love this book because they will love it

Every family with more than one child experiences sibling rivalry.

It's not always the same, however, when one child was adopted and another was born into the family. Sure, you still have the usual "he said," "no, she said" fights, spats over ownership of toys and games--and who gets first dibs on the sofa to read their favorite book.

But this book addresses the special kind of rivalry that arises between a child who looks like her parents and one who is shorter, more plump and has different hair. The second will one day say, "You love her more, because she came from your tummy."

Parents don't, of course, love biological children more than their adopted children. But kids need to hear that--over and over and over again.

This book helps get the message across. Lots of things happen in the story, and I won't give them away.

But this nugget is what your adopted child wants to hear: "I carried you around in my heart for a very long time," Lucy's mom assures her. "And while I waited, I thought...about how it would be when I held you close,...the songs we would sing and the places we would go. Then my heart would start beating very fast, and I would think, 'Now that's my baby kicking...away at my heart'."

When both children understand, that's when the fighting will stop. Alyssa A. Lappen

my mother and myself enjoyed this book so much. we both teared up towards the end. a great book for adopted children to share with their adoptive parents.

The Mom with the Red Lipstick is a story that will touch the hearts of many! It is an incredible story! It is a Must Read! Thank you!

Richard P.

"The Mom with the Red Lipstick" by Lydia M. Kordalewski (as told by Nicholas to his mother on the way home from the orphanage) is a very heartwarming and real story. Great photos of little Nicholas, his orphanage, and his arrival in his new family. Lydia translates Nicholas' adoption and pre-adoption story as it came from his own mouth....combined with supplemental information. It is a must for anyone waiting to adopt from, or families with children already adopted from, any ex-Soviet orphanage, especially Bulgaria. (PS: ask for a copy with both the author AND Nicholas' autograph! Nice touch!)

After reading this book, I passed it along to my mother. She has also enjoyed it. I feel that Dr. Stone portrays a part of her feelings that really involve you and true feelings in life. Sometimes its hard to deal with the facts and family. Sharing this with everyone can sometimes help others deal better with it. I strongly recommend this book. The book not only involves personal feelings and got me worked up, but it also involves sympathy for Dr. Stone herself. I was given the book to read by Dr. Stone herself, I had no idea that she had ever undertaken this kind of horrific event. There is not a week that goes by that I do not think "How did this women survive?" I am only thankful that her husband was there to help her through such a tragic event. If only every family was like that. There for each other.

"More than love" offers a personal view of the devastating effects of physical, mental and sexual abuse. Dr. Stone shares her heartbreaking experience of adopting Attachment Disorder children, and allows the reader to see the many difficulties that parents in every community will face. This book is a wonderful educational tool for every member of society.

Impossible to put down!! WOW!!! Everyone should read this book, even if you never plan to adopt children. As a matter of fact, I highly suggest that anyone that has children, works with them, and or is around them read this book, including Parents, Teachers, Doctors, Psychologist, Sociologist, Police Officers, Adoption Agencies, and Government officials. It will really open your eyes. While reading "More Than Love...", I was filled with every emotion possible, sadness, anger, and yes even happiness. I could not help crying, laughing, smiling, and empathizing with Dr. and Mr. Stone. I take my hat off to them.

As the grandparent of a young grand-daughter adopted a year ago from China, I found this book to be highly informative, and have passed it on to my daughter and her husband. The book brings home, through the poignant words of the adoptees and the sensitive treatment of the authors how important it is for families adopting from other cultures to expose their adopted child to the culture of origin and to encourage the child to explore his/her origins, even if the biological parents cannot be identified. I highly recommend it to prospective parents who are considering cross-cultural adoptions as well as to the current parents of such children.

I had the opportunity to read this book while I was on a small vacation. When I began I didn't know that what was I was going to read was Korean adoptees' stories in their own words. I could not wait to read each one as to experience the differences within their particular story and the similarity that Korean adoptees experienced. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The stories were heartwarming, even in all the sadness and struggles they expressed. I saw in them courage and growth and understood in ways I couldn't have before reading the book what being adopted within another country, another culture can create for the one adopted. I read this book with the heart of a human being meeting the hearts of other human beings in their journeys. I also read it with the eyes of a psychotherapist who has worked with adoptees in their struggles, but to have the added insight about the cross cultured adoptees was enlightening and informative.

I have just finished reading Once They Hear My Name. The book portrays, through biographical accounts, the complex issues faced by international adoptees as they weave together the varying strands of their experience into a coherent sense of adult identity. The stories, engrossing and moving, ring very true to this parent of a twenty-something daughter and son, both born in Korea. I could only read one chapter at a time, because I had to take time to digest and ponder it before moving on to the next. Adoptive families have many more resources for knowing about the special issues that adoption confers during a child's infancy and childhood than during adolescence and, especially, adulthood. I believe this book will resonate with the large, long-established community of internationally adopted persons and their (birth and) adoptive families living in the United States and in other countries around the world. Each adult adoptee from Korea interviewed for the book had a unique story to tell; yet, common issues appeared in all. The book provides a valuable service in framing these issues--especially because they are so respectfully presented in the words and from the viewpoints of the adoptees themselves. Don't read the book to find easy answers. Instead, read it to begin to understand the journey that adopted men and women are making. Read it, also, to be heartened by their courage, insight, humor, and strength!

Our Blessings from China is an anthology of nine authors from across the United States all of whom have adopted children from China in a ten-year period. Each story is a personal account of adoptive parents' journey to form a family via international and cross-cultural adoption. Some families chose adoption because of personal choice and others because of infertility. Regardless, all families must overcome personal obstacles to find their forever family.

Our Blessings from China is self-published; the second by Danny Fuller and Peaceful Sunrise Publications. Fuller has done a nice job in compiling stories from writers of various religious backgrounds, family structures, and points of view. Each story is accompanied with a black and white photo, which helps the reader personally connect with the authors and their histories. The collection does not sugar coat the adoption experience. Most authors recount issues of fear, loss, attachment, trauma, and the process of recovery in an honest and perhaps comforting story format. However, each account also illustrates growth of the families beyond what might have been imagined pre-adoption.

Fuller's anthology is a welcome addition to the burgeoning genre of adoption literature. This easy to read paperback is for anyone touched by adoption, curious about adoption from China in particular, or for those considering an international adoption. Support groups may also find this text useful for group discussions on issues of attachment, bonding, family support, and education.

As a co-author of this book, it was my goal to share my experience in detail of our trip to China to adopt our two little girls. Our experiences were completely different each time and I hope that anyone looking to adopt finds this book helpful and those who have adopted find this book a reflection of their own experiences.

As one of the co-authors of this book, I hope you find this book heartwarming and inspirational. The book tells the story of nine families who went through the hills and valleys of international adoption and finally the joy of finally meeting their children. This is a good book for people who are thinking about adopting, in the process of adopting, or have adopted and enjoy reading the experiences of others.

Even though I was not adopted, I enjoyed reading this encouraging success story of perseverance and love. This is one of those books you hate to put down, because you can't wait to see what happens next. I like the way the author put a copy of her birth certificate and written letters into the pages, instead of typing them into the text. Those things put me 'at the scene' of what was happening in her life. Plus, all the pictures of the people spoken about; that really made me a part of all their lives and included me in Jane's search for 11 years to find her birth family. I'd higly recommend this book. We all come in contact with adopted adults who would be enlightened and encouraged by reading this book.

I was completely unprepared for the emotional impact of this story even though I have known the author for 50 years and even though I helped in a small way in preparing some of the images included in the book.

Reading Jane's book had me in tears over and over again. Not tears of sadness but tears of joy and happiness. I was constantly taking off my glasses and wiping my eyes, then waiting for the tears to stop so I could put my glasses back on and resume the story. It was a most difficult afternoon indeed.

In this book you will not only read about the search by a woman for her origins, but you will also read of the creation of a whole new family in the combination of her mother's family and her father's family. These two families were completely unaware of each other prior to the author's successful search for them. Not only was a new family formed but the two existing families had some of their own fissures and injuries mended. I believe the reader will be especially affected by the words of many of these family members as they described the impact that their new big sister had on their lives.

This story not only has a happy ending, it has a happy beginning and a happy middle. It will lighten your spirit and bring you joy in the knowledge that there really is good in the world and that those who seek it can find it.

This is a wonderful true story of a woman's tenacity and determination over a period of eleven years in a search for her biological roots. It will definitely touch you emotionally as she struggles to find these people. But, just as importantly, there is another story here as well!! That is the story of what happens to the lives of the seekers and the sought once the connection is established. This then becomes the story of new relationships that move the participants out of their usual routines and into new experiences of growth in their own lives. Length of time in relationship is not as important as intensity and the author has obviously done her utmost to "make up for lost time". Everyone is a winner here!! This is one of those books that is hard to put down or that keeps one up late at night!! Many thanks for sharing this wonderful experience in life with the rest of us!!

Being an avid reader, I can safely say that this was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. I actually stayed up past midnight on a Sunday evening when I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. the next day. Not quite being done by the time I went to bed, I actually got up and finished it before getting ready for work! This is a story of a young teen who just always seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time - and the consequences of the poor decisions she makes. Living in the same area, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about places that are familiar to me. Throughout the good and bad that happened in her life, I love the way it all ties together eventually, but that's all I better say. Anyway, it's a winner as far as I'm concerned!!

If you have ever been in a crisis as a teen and have felt rejected, unworthy and lost, this book is for you! Kimberly Freel writes with a sincere insight and dedication to her characters. This novel understands today's situations in the "real world" and provides a story of hope and love after many realistic struggles. What I found interesting were the stories within the story that portrayed heart wrentching situations and diverse characters. I felt like this novel covered much ground and offered help and suggestions while captivating it's readers with a great story line. I hope Kimberly Freel continues to write!

I have read more books than I can recall in my life, but "Painted Rocks" was the first book I have read that I did not put down once I began reading it. It is an inspirational story about a young girl's struggle to find not only herself, but her place in this world. The novel is wonderfully written and it keeps the reader intrigued about what will happen next to little Sunny Moss. There is never a dull moment and it keeps you on your toes. This is an eloquent and exciting novel that anyone would love. I can't wait to read it again, and I can't wait for Kimberly Freel's next novel. Buy the book, you won't put it down!

As an adoptive mom of a Chinese daughter, this book has touched the core of my being. I absolutely love the poems! Since I purchased this book last summer (it is now October), I have read each and every one of the poems probably a hundred times over and they touch my heart every single time I read them. I VERY HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone considering it! My only question is...when is the NEXT one coming out?

What a treasure! These poems reached out to me and caught me up in the moments & thoughts of both the adoptive parents and their daughter, Peach Girl. They brought back again similar moments with my own biological daughters, like the questions a child can ask, "Do the days ever end?". They made me feel new ones: wondering what that first mother, in China, was like and how she felt. Some poems, like Joan's "Dandelions", teach me about the adoptive experience: seeing your daughter in this world, "You are bending in the grass/picking dandelions", and wondering about the world from which she came, "I think about your country/where not long ago/you were a bundle left on a roadside". Others, like Joel's "Bath", bring humor: "Wars begin like this./America wants China to take a bath" or the not-often-heard feelings of the new father, "I Have Spent The Day Saying Father." All are filled with such love. This is a book to share with any parent, grandparent or child.

I am also the mom to 2 little girls from China. I bought the book at the recommendation of a friend and when it arrived, I quickly opened it to see what she had 'raved' about. The book opened to page 6, the poem Ghost Mother - which is about the Mom's fears and interpretations of her daughter's night-terrors. It is a brief poem, and as I read it, I audibly gasped and could not stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. Here on this page were the words that ran through my head all of those nights when I, too, tried to help my daughter through the darkness. My fears and heartache were splashed across every page of this book -- as well as my joy and pride and love for my girls.

Both Joan and Joel have detailed the experience of adopting a child from China, probably from anywhere, so well. The emotions are deep and genuine.

I read aloud from the book that night (last night) and as I sat, voice quavering, tears streaming from my eyes at times, smiles darting across my face some times, the same emotions played out across the face of our au pair as she listened to the words. It was wonderful. They are wonderful words.

As my 16 month old slept soundly upstairs, my 4.5 year old came over and took my hand - "Momma, don't cry", she said so sweetly. I hugged her close and showed her the book, the photos of the Siegel-Solonche family. "She is from China"? Yes, she was adopted and came to live here with her Momma and Daddy, just like you - "and our baby" - yes, and our baby. "Then you are crying happy tears?", yes, honey, I am crying happy tears.

You will too .........