Last time I shared some children’s books on adoption which specifically featured kids from Korea and Vietnam. This time I will share some books on kids adopted from China.
When You Were Born in China, like its companion books When You Were Born in Korea and When You Were Born in Vietnam , shows pictures of life in China and in Chinese orphanages and of the adoption process. It tells a little about why children are often available for adoption from China.
The White Swan Express is the story of families who meet at the White Swan Hotel (an actual hotel often used by adoptive parents in China) while receiving their new children. Mommy Far, Mommy Near talks about a girl who realizes she has one mommy near and one mommy far away in China. She sees a Chinese woman at the park and wonders about her “mommy far away” in China. She and her adoptive mother are able to share feelings and bond. My Mei-Mei tells of a girl returning to China with her parents to adopt a little sister. Just Add One Chinese Sister tells the story from the point of view of the older brother. I Love You Like Crazy Cakes tells the story of a single woman’s adoption from China.
Kids Like Me in China is unique because it was written by a nine-year-old when her adoptive parents took her back to visit her hometown and former orphanage. In Three Names of Me, a girl reflects on how she has an American name, a name she was called at the orphanage in China, and an unknown name deep in her heart that she imagines her birthmother called her.
Shaoey and Dot is unique in that Dot is a ladybug who lands on a little swaddled bundle and decides to stay with the bundle (Shaoey) throughout her journey to the orphanage and to her forever family. There are also a couple of other books featuring Shaoey and Dot.
At Home in This World: a China Adoption Story is for children about age 7-14. It is written by an adoptive parent of girls from China, but is told as if from the point of view of a nine-year-old adoptee. It deals with the feelings of a child wondering about her birthparents and learning to feel at home as both a Chinese-American and a member of an adoptive family.
Other children’s books dealing with adoption from China include The Red Blanket , Grace from China , Waiting for May, A China Adoption Story: Why Mommy Do We Look Different? and Our Baby from China.