Adoption Books

"My Fathers Eyes" isn't just about Cheryle Timbrook Jennings as an adopted child and her search for meaning. It's about the insecurities and fears we all face inside. Her step-by-step emotional struggle for self-worth and acceptance cast an ugly shadow on a society that accepts moms and dads running away from their problems, responsibilities and sadly enough their families. Ignoring reality doesn't make it go away, Cheryle shows us, especially if you are the one being ignored. She weaves you through an unforgettable journey of heartache and immense courage as she attempts to set her record straight. "My Fathers Eyes" is a mirror that will inspire you to look at your own life and trace your way back to your own responsibilities. Her message is a resounding one of "People are not to be ignored but embraced."

Cheryle Jennings wrote My Father's Eyes for readers who have been adopted out or given away by their parents to others to raise. She seeks to give adoptive and birth parents helpful insight into how the situation of a childhood adoption feels to the now grown-up adoptee. She addresses such very real issues for adoptees as loving the adopting mothers and fathers yet yearning to know about their biologically parents. Especially when these feelings on the part of adult adoptees are not acknowledged or even perceived by the adoptive parent or legal guardian. My Father's Eyes is an intensely personal story with universal implications, deftly and sensitively written, and highly recommended reading for adoptees seeking to understanding their own yearnings, men and women who are being approached by their now adult children once given up to others; and for their adoptive parents and guardians needing to understand those feelings as well.

In this in-family adoption (the grandparents adopted the out-of-wedlock child) the adoptee knew her birth mother and had many questions answered, but always wondered who her father was -- the one secret her birth mother refused to share. Practically at death's door, her birth mother finally admitted who the father was, and Cheryl's search began to find an ending. This book should be read by families who are faced with an unplanned pregnancy and think that "keeping it in the family" is best. The author tells her story with much insight and pathos. It is easy to imagine her hunger for the truth. Her journey is to self-acceptance, and she arrives, finally, and is able to share her love for the missing parent she always wondered about. The book could have used a good editor to hone it into shape, but as a raw manuscript, it has value.

After giving up her baby for adoption, Nikki Sheridan's life will never be the same. That she is sure of. But she attempts to get on with her life despite the anger and hatred she has inside of her heart. She starts to date a trouble marker named Chad who has family problems of his own. Her grandmother is on the road to recovery and is successful with her rehab. Nikki's mom, Mrs. Sheridan, sends her a letter to "explain" why she was such a detached mother, but in her anger Nikki sticks it in a drawer, determined not to read it. Nikki has also made friends with a girl at her high school, Keisha who is also expecting a baby. But unlike Nikki, Keisha's mother is supportive of her daughter and her family lends a helping hand. On top of everything, Nikki's childhood friend, Jeff Allan, also senses her hidden fury and attempts to share his faith with her. Despite everyone's good intentions, Nikki pushes them all away and begins to spiral down hill right along with Chad. She regrets giving up her child and debates whether or not to try and get him back. After all, she hasn't signed the papers yet. As she spends more time with Chad, she has several close brushes with danger. At one point in the story he is drunk but she goes out with him anyway just to spite Jeff. As a result, Chad hits her grandmother's dog with his car. She has even more doubts about Chad when he refuses to drive her and Keisha to the hospital when Keisha goes into labor. That doesn't stop her from hanging out with him though. In the meantime, Nikki finds her mother's journal in an attic and discovers why her mother was always so coldhearted. Because of that, she begins to soften towards her mother. When Chad takes her to another rock concert, it's then that Nikki's eyes are opened to what a jerk he is. In the safety of the Allan household, she finally breaks down and cries. Jeff's mother suggests that perhaps an adoption ceremony could bring her some healing. Nikki agrees and it's during the ceremony that she accepts Christ as her Savior.

"Mysterious Love" was good, not as powerful as the first in the series but I'm hooked. I'm determined to read the whole series. This book may have been written twelve years ago, but the story is still applicable to today's teen. I thought Nikki's anger and bitterness was realistic and completely understandable. Especially considering how her parents treated her. Actually, I found it a little unrealistic that all of the Christians in the story were pushing her to forgive her parents. I guess I'm of the belief that forgiveness isn't always automatic. In fact, I've battled bitterness over the years and even as a believer in Christ, it's taken time for me to overcome and forgive. Aside from that, the rest of the story went pretty smoothly. Except for Chad, from the beginning he rubbed me the wrong way. There were times I just wanted to shake Nikki for going out with him. Particularly when he hit her grandmother's dog with his car.

This is the second book in one of the most wonder series ever written. The second book is better then the first.

I think that thhis book was really good. It's great for teen girls to have a good Christian book. Also, it talks about the consequences of having a baby and having to give it up. Great book!! I recomend it to teens 13-16.

Martha This book is about a girl named Martha who is the only green eyed person in her family but everyone else has brown eyes.Martha is conviced she is adopted,Her parents won't let her have a dog and sh e meets these old people who love's dogs so she think they are her grandparents and she trys to find out more and more about her (supposed)to be mother.

Lindbergh, a master at fantasy, proves that she is equally skilled at realistic fiction with this funny book. The main character is realistic, funny, and consistant. A definite winner, "Nobody's Orphan" will delight all mid-grade readers.

Ten-year-old Martha is convinced she's an orphan. Why else is she the only one in the family with green eyes? Why is her little brother Kermit good at math, while Martha isn't? And how convenient that their mom says all the baby photos of Martha were in a lost suitcase during a move several years back!

Nonetheless, Martha's determined to get through it all...especially now that she's got Parker as her best friend. With Parker, it doesn't matter that Martha's failing math, or that all her classmates can't stand her.

Then Parker transfers to a private school, and Martha realizes just how horrible her situation really is. Without Parker, she has no one to protect her from the other kids' taunts; and at home, things are tense since her father's away on an extended business trip to South America.

But now Martha's befriended the Ables, an elderly couple who Martha believes to be her true grandparents. If only they weren't so crazy...

Civil Wars, famines, tyrannical governments, so many factors may take parents from a child so early in their life. "Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child: From Your First Hours Together Through the Teen Years" is a guide for those parents with big enough hearts to take in a child that is not only not their own, but from another country entirely. Focusing on advice on helping bridging the cultural divide and helping the children get over the loss of their old home, regardless if it was horrible or not, it's an ideal guide for these parents who want to help these children's transitions be as smooth as possible. "Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child" is a must for these parents for the info contained within.

This book offers honest insights into the ebbs and flows of parenting your internationally adopted child while taking us inside the lives of families facing important decisions as parents.

The sections about teens are especially important in today's world of confusion about parenting the adolescent. Most touching to me is the respect the author shows for teens.

The book leaves the reader feeling supported, with a sense of warmth and hope that even when faced with the most challenging moments as a parent of a teen, there are proven ways to grow through them. Patty Cogen shares concrete methods to use as a parent.

This is an important book that would be useful for any parent of a child adopted from a foreign country. Clinicians interested in clear views about proactive and supportive parenting of children in general would be grateful to have this comprehensive, real-life guide close at hand.

As a parent of an internationally adopted son, I have found this book very helpful in assessing behaviors witnessed in my son and getting to root causes to deal with them. The book also includes several games and strategies that foster attachment. Most importantly, it will help clarify your expectations regarding the parenting of internationally adopted children. This is a difficult adventure and you must always take time to relish the victories when they occur (such as when your child takes you by the hand to show you a toy for the first time).

I have every China adoption book known to humans. This one is okay, nothing special, but not bad, either.

During our journey to our daughter in China, I collected fabric squares and wishes for a 100 Good Wishes quilt for my daughter, based on a tradition that started in Northern China. My daughter's quilt is made up of fabric and wishes that people from around the globe sent to her. This book by Teresa Werner brings to life all the hope, dreams and love I had while collecting for my own child's quilt. I have been asked how I could love someone so much, someone I'd never met let alone seen a picture of. This book answers that question in a way that allows people to understand, not just hear the words. Ms. Werner's book also addresses the faith that I had to have during the wait for our daughter - that she was loved and cared for during her first 14 months in China. I've read many adoption related books over the past few years and not one touches all of these aspects and traditions like A Quilt Of Wishes does. Bravo Teresa Werner for writing an amazing book that I'm proud to have in my daughter's library, and that of our child we are starting the journey to. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

A great book for those waiting to travel and wondering if the baby has been born, how old she is, is she healthy, happy, warm?

In Sinead Moriarty's follow up to 'THE BABY TRAIL' Emma and James, a couple who have tried for years to have a baby with no success have decided to adopt. Going the international route they decide to adopt a Russian child, but deciding on what country to adopt from is the easiest part of this process! Emma and James go through extensive background checks, parenting classes and a wait list the size of Russia itself all to get the child that they have dreamed about but will this child be the right fit for Emma and James?

I thoroughly enjoyed 'THE BABY TRAIL' because Moriarty's depiction of a woman struggling to get pregnant seemed very truthful and there were no easy answers at the end. In 'THE RIGHT FIT' however, the same determination that Emma had to conceive a child in 'THE BABY TRAIL' seemed a bit over the top in 'THE RIGHT FIT' and the ending seemed a little too neat and predictable for my taste. However, the secondary characters are just as lovable and the story of Emma's best friend Lucy and new boyfriend Donal is once again a real treat. Can't wait to read the third book in this series 'FROM HERE TO MATERNITY'!

It is best if you read this book after the first in the three part series. I enjoyed it. I hate ruining the storyline so I will just say that I LOL through most of the book. Do yourself a favour and try it.

James and Emma have gone though two years of trying to have a baby with no sucess, So they decided to adopt. What seem likes any thing to do is in fact very hard. From the social workers, to classes James and Emma find themshelves now on a different treadmill in their quest in having a family.
"The Right Fit" by Sinead Moriarty is the follow up to her first book "The Baby Trail." While it was was good it did seem to lack some of the charm of the first book.

The Secret of me is a good book that is based on a kid that is adopted. When you start to read this book you wont be able to put it down because its so good. But the best part about this book is the format becasue it is poetry. The Secret of me is a book that all of you should and see what is it like to be adopted.

I bought this book at the recommendation of a friend, and was initially concerned that the format (poetry) wouldn't hold me. Turns out it was so engaging and fluid that I couldn't put it down. Like the lead character, I'm adopted and this book really captured the essence of growing up with a "secret me". I laughed and cried, and bought extra copies for friends and family. It's a moving, beautifully written book. Cheers and thank you Meg Kearney!

It seems pretty daring to attempt "a novel in verse" for young adults---how many of them read poetry?---but Meg Kearney brings so much passion, narrative skill, technical ability, and insider's insight to this wonderful little book that kids (and adults) will love it. There's a very engrossing story here, told in a novel way. Make that a poetic way. I have friends and relatives who were adopted, and I never felt such understanding and empathy for them as I did after reading this book. I hope "The Secret of Me" gets the attention it deserves.

My 8 year old daughter devours these books. She has become attached to every puppy in every book, and is very excited to meet Cody, the new Puppy Place member. Shadow is a sweet and gentle dog and my daughter loves the book. She has even started to write her own Puppy Place series about dogs she makes up. I like her enthusiasm for these books.

I wrote a review for the series under the book "Snowball" so my extended comments are located there.

So far, my daughter (first grade) has covered the first three books in the series and the quality is equally high among all of them. All books seem to be successive but I only know the sequence for the first three: Goldie, Snowball, Shadow, Rascal, and Buddy. Reading them in sequence is not necessary but I highly recommend doing so because character development and the storyline build (slightly) across the series. Also, later books reveal the outcome of prior books.

As a sidebar, I agree with the reviewer's comments about the toddler character. Through the first three books, his main activity is to crawl around the house acting like a puppy and playing with puppy toys, and his vocabulary seems limited to "Uppy." Fortunately, the primary children characters think and behave--and have emotions--like real children.

and she doesn't even like dogs! There are 4 books in this series, she is on the 3rd one and has loved each one. She is in first grade and had no trouble reading or understanding the books, so I think the age range given here (9 to 12) is a little misleading, The plot is very straighforward, which is why she is able to read them. We recently got a puppy (she wanted a kitten, but her dad is allergic) and she's learned alot about puppies, how to care for them and why they do what they do, so even though this isn't great literature it's helpful in that regard. One odd think that she had noticed - the main characters have a baby brother who is 3 - but can't talk and crawls around on the floor - her brother is 3 and he's certainly not like that. I don't know if the author just doesn't know about small children or the child has some disability that the book doesn't talk about, but my daughter always brings it up as "weird."

I got this book to read to my 4-year-old son, who will soon be getting a little sister from Kazakhstan. Although the story is about China, it covers the issues that apply to most international adoptions and is generally well done. My main concern is the following: "Matthew wasn't too sure it was wonderful... His friend Jason had a little sister, and she was a pain." I recognize that children have these concerns. However, my son seems excited about getting a sister, so I don't want to plant the idea in his head that she might be "a pain."

Also, be aware that Matthew stays with his grandparents while his mom and dad travel to China. In our case, we will bring our son with us to Kazakhstan, so this part doesn't work for us. We don't want our son worrying that we will leave him behind.

For our family, Waiting for May is a better fit. It is also about adopting a girl from China, but the big brother travels with his parents. He also has a great attitude and talks about how he can't wait to have a sister.

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

This is a great introduction to adoption for all children. It sensitively teaches children what it means to be adopted and even gives some practical tips (in narrative form) for how parents can best introduce a new, adopted child to siblings. The book anticipates the worries of a young child and answers the questions they have. The illustrations are beautiful and engaging too.

I bought this book for my two kids (ages 5 & 6) as our family is in the process of adopting a baby. The book does a great job bringing up questions kids might have in a reassuring manner. It has been a great springboard for conversations about adoption.

I think some people will find this book very meaningful, and chances are better than even that they will be adoptive parents. I am both an adoptive parent and an adoptee, and the book spoke to my experience of adopting much more than my experience of being adopted. From the adoptee's perspective, the author's insistence on minimizing the losses involved in adoption undermined some of the other points she was making. This is clear from the start of the book: "Whereas many social workers emphasize the elements of grief common to birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents, I focus also on the reality of gift, which is as consistently a life-long companion as the grief." And most of the "grief" that is acknowledged in the text is the grief of the adoptive parent (such as the grief of what the author calls a "miscarried adoption," in what I think is a bizarre phrase).

The author has compassion for those with different roles in the adoption story, but perhaps her own adoption experience was still too fresh (she is an adoptive parent) for her to give others an equal voice. This would be fine if the book were written for adoptive parents, but it is aimed at a wider audience.

The explanation of the New Testament metaphor of God as an adopting parent is very well done and its interest is not limited to those who have adopted, or who have been adopted, themselves.

Readers who feel comfortable within the Reformed tradition will find much of value here, but it is not a book I would recommend for those who are just beginning to experience or deal with grief issues.

I know Dr. Moessner personally and studied her book for a class. She is a warm and caring person with a deep personal faith that really shines through in this book. If you are wondering about adoption from a Christian faith perspective including all the really difficult, heart-wrenching things this is truly the book to own. For adoptive parents, birth parents, children and intersted persons this book will help you understand the perspective of each person in the adoption -- their feelings and struggles as well as joys. This book will also help those who are not adopted understand God better - God who adopts us into the eternal. I highly recommend this book.

As the pastor of a church, and as one who has adopted two children, I have come back to this book again and again. It not only combines biblical and theological issues pertaining to adoption, but takes a look at the emotional and psychological issues as well. I have loaned or given this book to a number of couples (and some single individuals) who are in the process of adopting, and they have found it to be quite helpful.Part of the book's strength is that though the book is written by a scholar (a seminary professor of pastoral care), much of the book simply tells the stories of a wide range of people who have gone through the adoption process--sometimes successfully, and sometimes unsuccessfully.
Particularly poignant are the sections that deal with "barrenness," the terribly difficult realization that a couple is not able to conceive biologically. Though the "shame" of infertility is not as great as it was in biblical times, there is still great pain that is often not talked about or acknowledged. Several couples said it was good to know that they were not alone in their pain and grief, and this book helped them deal with that. Another couple said it gave them "permission" to finally put their efforts to conceive aside and move ahead towards adoption.
It's a book that clergy should have, and the author has done us a great favor in compiling these stories, both biblical and contemporary.