Search Results for: blog books for kids about foster care

Book Review: All About Adoption:How Families Are Made and How Kids Feel About It

Posted on by

All About Adoption: How Families Are Made and How Kids Feel About It is a book from Magination Press, which specializes in titles helping children understand tough situations or deal with feelings. (Magination Press is also the publisher of Maybe Days, a Book about Foster Care.) All About Adoption authors Marc Nemiroff and Jane Annunziata are both clinical psychologists specializing in families and children. All About Adoption starts out by saying “there are lots of different ways to have a baby. ..some parents have one baby..and some parents have two or three babies all at once. “Babies grow inside a … Continue reading →

Book Review: Maybe Days: A Book for Kids in Foster Care

My last blog mentioned some books written to help foster care kids understand and come to terms with their experiences. I wanted to write a full review of another book, Maybe Days: a Book for Children in Foster Care. This book, labeled for ages 4-10 years, seems to me to be for somewhat older kids than The Star or Zachary’s New Home (books discussed in the last blog). It is written by Jennifer Wilgocki, M.S., a child and family therapist who presents training on attachment and bonding issues to professionals and foster parents. Dr. Marcia Wright is a clinical psychologist. … Continue reading →

Books for Kids About Foster Care

There are many good children’s books about adoption, but still a dearth of books about foster care. It is a painful subject to write about, but it is also hard when a foster child thinks he or she is the only one going through it, and also when other children don’t understand. The following books can be used by foster parents, social workers and therapists to help children understand some of the reasons they might be in foster care, the roles of the adults including biological family, foster parents, social worker, therapist and judge; and who makes the decisions about … Continue reading →

Book Review: Issues That Concern You: Foster Care

I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy the Opposing Viewpoints series of books, such as Opposing Viewpoints: Adoption. Greenhaven Press now has another series, aimed at students, called Issues that Concern You. These issues include Date Rape, Discrimination, Dieting, Electronic Devices in Schools, Gangs, Zoos and Animal Welfare, and other issues that may be relevant to students’ everyday lives, to things they care about, causes they may wish to support, or issues they may vote on when they become adults. Issues that Concern You: Foster Care is one such book. Like the Opposing Viewpoints series, the book is an anthology … Continue reading →

Book Review: Let’s Talk About Fostering and Adoption

Let’s Talk About Fostering and Adoption by Sarah Levete is part of the “Let’s Talk About” series from Stargazer books. Other titles include “Let’s Talk About….Racism, Learning Difficulties, Bullying, Drugs, Stepfamilies, Keeping Safe, Being an Immigrant” and more. The book begins with “What’s My Family Like?”, “Why is Someone Fostered?” and “What Will My Foster Family be Like?” It mentions reasons why children are referred for foster care and explains that foster families are chosen and trained to provide a safe place. The book talks about the feelings kids may experience about being placed in foster care and about moving … Continue reading →

Month in Review: Adoption Blog, December 2007

I began the month with a book review that tied in to my November series on coping with discrimination and racism. The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate is based on an inspiring true story of how a town in Montana came together when Jewish and African-American families were terrorized. Then I ran Part One and Part Two Part Two of Is It Okay to Be Choosy? regarding the comments adopting parents often get that if they “really wanted to help”, they’d choose the most needy child or the one with the most special needs–and sometimes we lay this … Continue reading →

Books for Adults on Adoption from China and Korea

Posted on by

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 →

Adoption Books for Children: Focus on Korea and Vietnam

Posted on by

This blog will be the first in a series. I’ll share some adoption books which tell the stories of children from different parts of the world. Of course, many of the stories will be interesting to children adopted from other countries than the ones depicted, or to non-adopted children who are likely to meet adopted friends or classmates at some point in their lives. Next I’ll do a series of books for adults on adoption from different regions. In An American Face, a boy looks forward to receiving his American citizenship, but thinks he will be getting a new “American” … Continue reading →

More Ways To Help Foster A Sense Of Community In Your Kids

In an earlier blog, I talked about ways to volunteer in order to teach your kids to have a sense of community. In this blog, getting to know your neighbors is the goal. Here’s what the authors of, 365 Ways to Help Your Children Grow, suggest: (1) Have a neighborhood block party— Make up a flyer and put one in each of your neighbor’s mailbox. Have everyone bring a dish and party at your house, in the street or at a local park. (2) Start an after school child care service— The authors suggest that you find out which mothers … Continue reading →

Why Pets Aren’t Good Presents

This goes without saying, but you can never say it too often because it happens every year: don’t give pets as presents.  If you’re thinking about gifting a pet to someone you love this year, consider very carefully.  Pets are lifelong commitments and responsibilities, not fun presents. Now, I can think of one context in which it could be OK to give a pet for a present: if the person receiving asked for it, knew that’s what they were getting, and understood the responsibilities involved.  That means in most cases, it’s not appropriate to get pets as gifts for children: … Continue reading →