Search Results for: blog adoption books for children focus on korea and vietnam

Book Review: Katie-Bo–an Adoption Story

Iris Fisher’s Katie-Bo: an Adoption Story tells the adoption process from the point of view of an older sibling. The book describes the entire adoption process, with only a sentence or two for each step. It would be excellent for helping older siblings understand the process of adoption. I would say it is aimed at kids about kindergarten age. The narrator shares how his parents explain adoption to him and his brother. They make clear that the birthmother loves the baby, but because they can’t take good care of a baby right now she goes to an adoption agency, “a … Continue reading →

Book review: A Quilt of Wishes

A Quilt of Wishes is a charming little book. It tells how, while a baby girl sleeps in China, her mother waits across the ocean, wondering about her baby. She finds an old quilt that her mother had made for her, and hopes that her baby is warm and loved. She decides to make a quilt for her baby. She uses her own old baby clothes, and friends learn about the project and make squares for the baby’s quilt. They send wishes for the new baby and for the family’s happiness, which the mother repeats to herself as she sews. … Continue reading →

Book Review: Adoption, Race and Identity

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This volume contains the results of studies done in 1972, 1979, 1984 and 1991 on a consistent group of families with transracially adopted children. The authors hope to show the range of experiences of transracial adoptive families by comparing the same families over time. The formal study was conducted in 1972, 1979 and 1984 with families who had at least one transracially adopted child, with that child being between the ages of three and eight at the beginning of the study in 1972. Therefore the children were between ages twelve and nineteen at the study’s formal conclusion with the 1984 … Continue reading →

Book Review–Kimchi and Calamari

My last blogs have featured adoption books for young children. I’m pleased to be able to talk about one aimed at the middle-school crowd. This age group is often hard to find books for. Parents want books that introduce adoption themes so that their kids can feel that there are other kids like themselves and also to spark discussion between parent and child. But most books are either children’s picture books, or teen novels dealing with heavy themes like child abandonment and searching, such as Throwaway Daughter. Kimchi and Calamari also touches on these themes, but in a light-hearted way. … Continue reading →

Adoption Books with Beautiful Art: Over Land and Sea: a Story of International Adoption

Books showing children of color are becoming more common, but books showing multiracial families are still relatively rare. So books that show multiracial adoptive families with gorgeous artwork, while giving a sensitive and accurate portrayal of adoption, are a real find. Many families will find themselves reflected in Over Land and Sea: a Story of International Adoption. This book is one of my new “absolutely favorite things”. This book is one of my new “absolutely favorite things”, largely because of its stunning artwork. Author Steven Layne is a father of three children who were internationally adopted. The simple story—“hey, I … Continue reading →

Hostility Can Harm Your Immune System

Researchers from Duke University have found that hostility and depression can harm a man’s immune system and increase the risk of heart disease. Negative emotional states can also increase a man’s risk of diabetes, chronic inflammation, and high blood pressure. Hostile, angry, and depressed people are more likely to have increased levels of C3 — an immune system protein associated with chronic inflammation. Elevated C3 levels have been connected to heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. The Duke University study tracked more than three hundred male Vietnam veterans over a decade — these study participants were part of a … Continue reading →

Book Review: Digging to America

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Novelist Anne Tyler’s book Digging to America centers around the relationships of members of two families who meet at the airport the night their daughters arrive from Korea. Although very different, the couples decide to get together annually to celebrate the anniversary of the girls’ arrival. Eventually their lives intertwine in many different ways over the next ten years. The book is fiction, and not strictly or even primarily an adoption book. One family is Iranian-American and, although they are thoroughly “Americanized”, I enjoyed learning a bit about that culture. We hear a bit about the grandmother’s life as a … Continue reading →

Adoption Blog Month in Review, April 2007: Part One

I’d like to start this April Month-in-Review with a word about March. Most of you know that my co-blogger Ed Paul left. However he was a prolific writer here so there are many blogs in our archives to enjoy—check some out! When Ed left, Rachel Whitmire (who wrote for the adoption blog before either Ed or I did) was ready to come back from her leave of absence–during which she picked up her toddler son Jayden from Guatemala! She has about ten blogs in the adoption blog in late March describing aspects of her journey and new motherhood. Check them … Continue reading →

Books on International Adoption for Adults

I recently published a blog on books for adults on adoption from Korea and China. This followed a series of blogs presenting children’s books on adoption, from various countries and domestically. This blog presents books which deal with adopting from Eastern Europe, Africa, Vietnam and Latin America, as well as many books dealing with international adoption in general. Books on Adoption from Eastern Europe: Russian Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt a Child from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan Author: John H. Maclean Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption Author: Theresa Reid The Russian Word for Snow Author: Janis Cooke Newman … Continue reading →

Books for Adults on Adoption from China and Korea

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I recently published a series of blogs on children’s books dealing with adoption, including books specifically featuring kids adopted from different countries. Here, I will present books for adults on adoption from China and Korea. Many are memoirs which tell of adoptive families’ experiences. Others are memoirs of adoptees and even of birthmothers and an adoption worker. Others are serious looks at the topics of preserving heritage and the reasons children are available for adoption. Books for adults on Korean adoption: A Single Square Picture tells the story of a girl adopted at age 7 who returns to search for … Continue reading →