Adoption Books for Children

November is National Adoption Awareness month, and I compiled a list of some good adoption books for children. These are for all kids, not just the ones who were adopted; sharing a book together is an excellent way to begin talking about the different ways families are formed.

Picture Books

• Bringing Asha Home, by Uma Krishnaswami, pictures by Ruth Jeyaveeran. Told from the viewpoint of a big brother, the story of a biracial family who adopts a baby in India.
• A Mother for Choco, by Keiko Kasza. Choco the bird needs a mom, and finds one in Mrs. Bear.
• Horace, by Holly Keller. A leopard in a family of tigers wearies of being the only leopard around.
• Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, by Jamie Lee Curtis; pictures by Laura Cornell. A celebrity book but a good one.
  
• And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell; pictures by Henri Cole. Two male penguins hatch an egg together.
• Let's Talk About It: Adoption, by Fred Rogers. Mr. Rogers' matter-of-fact, pitch-perfect book for younger children.

Middle Grade

• Kimchi & Calamari, by Rose Kent. Novel about adoption, identity, and the perils of the eighth grade. The appealing, funny boy narrator was born in Korea and adopted by an Italian-American family.

You'll find even more suggestions at Spence-Chapin's Book Nook file (PDF). (Spence-Chapin is an adoption and social services agency in New York.) Also, the Tapestry Books catalogue specializes in adoption.

Comments

[Wendy]

I have a bibliography here: http://www.windowsill.net/orphans.htm

[Susan Thomsen]

Wendy, that's a good bibliography. Thanks for the link. I especially want to check out Pablo's Tree, by Pat Mora. That's a new one for me.

[BeckyB]

That's funny - I just did one like that too - I based mine more on China as that is what we have an interest in at our house!! BUT - it is good for overall adoption as well.
http://bilbybunch.blogspot.com/2007/10/adoption-books-on-our-shelf.html

[Bonnie Cuzzolino]

Hi,
I am the proud Mom of a daughter from China and the author of a new children's book called "Letter Of Love From China".
It sends an important message about birth Mom's love.
A book for the non adopted child to help them understand international adoption.

Please visit.
Bonnie C.

[Bonnie Cuzzolino]

Hi,
New to this.
Our site is http://www.plumblossombooks.com

Bonnie Cuzzolino

[Susan Thomsen]

BeckyB and Bonnie, thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave a comment! The world of children's books is a fine one.

Congratulations on your book, too, Bonnie!

[Camille]

Great list, Susan!

[cloudscome]

Thanks for doing this. I realized I have a list of adoption books for grown ups but not for kids. I need to work on this! I am afraid I am too often disappointed in the kid's books because so many times they leave out the point of view of the child's first family.

I want books that respect and acknowledge the complexity of our families and the ambiguity of both the pain and the joy that is all tied up in adoption.

I want it to speak to the child's experience, not just the adoptive parent's experience. The child's experience involves a crushing loss that is hard to put in a picture book.

Maybe my own mixed emotions make it hard for me to chose kid's books on the subject.

[Susan Thomsen]

Thanks, Camille.

Cloudscome, it sounds like you have a children's book you need to write!

[Aaron Ballengee]

My wife, Fran Ballengee, wrote and illustrated a children's book about our daughter's adoption. The story is told from the child's point of view.

Sara Elizabeth, an Adoption Story explores how one young girl met her adoptive family with the help of her social worker. Adoption is described as being part of two families. The one that helps you to be born and one that takes care of you every day. Sara Elizabeth describes how she is similar and different to each family. She is also encouraged by her parents to think and talk about her birth family as she desires. The story ends with a family portrait, Sara standing with her parents, each with a loving picture of Sara’s birth mom in their hearts.

We have setup a website for the book that is a work in progress: http://www.sarasbook.com.

It is also available on Amazon.com at this address: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606105574