Tag Archives: book reviews

My Favorite Book Reviews of 2008

Most of my readers won’t be surprised to learn that I love to read—kids’ books, adult books, nonfiction, picture books—anything. But even I was surprised to learn that I’ve reviewed over 45 books this year. Since many bookstores have post-holiday sales, and since many of us were fortunate enough to receive bookstore gift cards, I’m challenging myself to pick my favorite “top twelve” of the adoption books I’ve reviewed this year. I began the year by starting a series: Adoption Books with Great Art. Although I’m a “word person”, I’ve become increasingly moved by the beautiful ways some artists can … Continue reading →

Book Review: How it Feels to be Adopted

Jill Krementz is a writer and artist known for her simple but powerful black and white photographs and for the word portraits which accompany them. She has written the series “A Very Young..[Dancer, Musician, Gymnast,] and also the series “How it Feels..[to have a Physical Disability, to be Fighting for Your Life, When Parents Divorce]. How it Feels to Be Adopted contains the stories of 19 children, told in their own words and accompanied by photographs. As with my last review, Why Was I Adopted?, I hesitated to read this book because it is twenty years old. Like Why Was … Continue reading →

Book Review: Why Was I Adopted?

Carole Livingston’s Why Was I Adopted? Is a book I almost didn’t read because its copyright date is 1978. Lots of things about adoption have changed in the last thirty years. But I’m glad I did read Livingston’s book (and end up buying it for my kids), attracted in part by the vibrant cartoon illustrations by Arthur Robins. The book has a straightforward tone which I like. It talks about how being adopted is special, but so are some other differences; that being chosen by your parents doesn’t mean they’ll never get angry with you or vice versa; and that … Continue reading →

Book Review: When Joel Comes Home

When Joel Comes Home is written by Susi Gregg Fowler and illustrated by Jim Fowler. The Fowlers have two daughters, one by adoption. This book is based in part on their fond memories of their own “welcome home” celebration. This book is written from the perspective of a little girl. The adoptive parents are her parents’ best friends. The book describes the girl’s painting a welcome sign with her mother and making elaborate plans to dress up in a party dress to welcome the baby, to give the new mother flowers and make a pretty speech, and to be the … Continue reading →

Book Review: Birth is More Than Once

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Birth is More Than Once: The Inner World of Adopted Korean Children was written by Hei Sook Park Wilkinson, Ph.D. Wilkinson is a clinical psychologist. She has been in private practice and also consulted with hospitals and human development centers. Besides her psychology background, she has another source of insight into the inner worlds of children adopted from Korea. Wilkinson herself is Korean. While she was not adopted, she shares the experience of moving to a new country with a new language in which she is a racial minority. In addition, while she was a student in Korea she volunteered … Continue reading →

Book Review: Did My First Mother Love Me?

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We don’t have enough books about the birthmother’s perspective on adoption (The Tummy Mummy and The Mulberry Bird being happy exceptions). Fortunately, one birthmother has written a book for her child to read if she ever asks whether her first mother loved her. Kathryn Ann Miller has fortunately chosen to share her response with all of us, realizing that not all of us will have access to our children’s birthparents and that not all birthparents will be able to articulate their feelings. Miller’s book: Did My First Mother Love Me? –A Story for an Adopted Child opens with a girl … Continue reading →

Book Review: A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China

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The uniqueness of A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China is that adoptive parent Chris Winston has not only encouraged her children to feel pride in their Korean heritage, but has made connections with Koreans and Korean-Americans on a scale most adoptive parents have only dimly imagined. Winston helped to begin both Friends of Korea, a regional group (in Sacramento) for adoptive families that welcomes anyone interested in Korea, and the Korean American Adoptee/Adoptive Family Network (KAAN), a national networking organization linking groups and individuals concerned with adoption from Korea. Winston and her husband had … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Adoption Decision

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The Adoption Decision, by Linda Christianson, is not a how-to manual for adopting. He book’s subtitle, 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting, only hints at the insight contained within its pages. This book doesn’t just tell you 15 facts about adoption. Its 15 chapters deal with issues families who contemplate adoption must think about. The issues include: attachment and feeling like a “real” parent, affording adoption, managing the grief of infertility, waiting for an unknown length of time during the adoption process, birthparents, open adoption, adopting an older child, international adoption, transracial adoption, integrating a different culture into … 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 →

Book Review: The Post-Adoption Blues

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The Post-Adoption Blues, subtitled “Concerning the Unforeseen Challenges of Adoption”, is written by a husband and wife team. Dr. John R. Thompson, MD, is a child and adolescent psychiatrist. His wife, Dr. Karen Foli, PhD., is a registered nurse and a medical writer who has written extensively about children with special needs. Together they are the parents of two sons by birth and one daughter by adoption. Their daughter arrived from India at the age of five months. Karen Foli experienced many emotions upon meeting her daughter. These included some emotions which she had never expected, such as guilt, confusion, … Continue reading →