Tag Archives: Adoption Books

Baby Dolls with Adoption Stories

My last blog talked about a line of school-age dolls which each had a story including adoption. I was very surprised to find a second line of dolls—baby dolls this time—who each have an adoption story. Precious Doll Company was founded by Mary Beth Wells, who placed her first child for adoption and then later adopted a daughter herself. Mary Beth says on her website that she had a three-fold dream: to reunite with her birth daughter, to become a parent herself, and to found a book and doll company that would breathe life into stories of adoption by recognizing … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Encyclopedia of Adoption, Third Edition

The Encyclopedia of Adoption by Christine Adamec and Laurie Miller, MD contains brief entries on a large number of terms and subjects relevant to adoption. Adamec is a medical writer and Miller is a director of an international adoption medicine clinic. The book covers terms and issues found in domestic infant adoptions (both agency and independent), child welfare system adoptions, international adoptions, and kinship adoptions. The book’s focus is breadth, not depth. My first reaction was that, after nearly a decade of reading adoption magazines, I was not learning anything from the book. I thought it might be appropriate only … Continue reading →

Reading and Thinking about Birthmothers

Reviewing all these adoption books has got me wondering. I’ve always read adoption books to the kids, but not ones that focus on birthmothers as much as the ones I’ve been reading lately. Over and over I read interviews with adopted teens and adults saying that they were curious about their birthparents and longed to talk about them, but their adoptive parents didn’t seem open and/or the kids feared hurting the adopted parents’ feelings. Social workers now seem to counsel parents to speak openly about birthparents. Recently a spate of books dealing with birthparents have been published, such as Mommy … 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 →

Book Review: Adoption Stories for Young Children

It can be hard to find books for young children that address adoption questions. Those that do usually talk about differences in appearance not affecting ability to love, or about a young animal finding a mother. Those few that do talk about adoption usually talk about how badly the adoptive parents wanted a baby. Only a very few address the birthmother and why the child was available for adoption. Adoption Stories for Young Children by adoption attorney Randall Hicks, fills this need. It is a book written for the very young child, illustrated with black and white photographs of real … Continue reading →

Attaching in Adoption by: Deborah Gray

Attaching in Adoption Practical Tools for Today’s Parents by Deborah Gray is in-depth guidebook for any adoptive parent but especially for parents who adopt an older child. As a clinical social worker, Gray has hands-on experience and offers child, family, and individual therapy specializing in attachment, grief and trauma. Gray continues to work in the field at the Northwest Attachment Center in Kirkland, Washington. Attaching in Adoption provides adoptive parents and extended families a clear and understandable picture of how children and families adjust post placement and adoption. Gray details the issues families adopting older children most often face. Her … Continue reading →