[imacarolinagirl]

Hello! My husband and I have recently decided to adopt a little girl from China and we delivered our application to the agency today. I am an avid reader and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for books and/or magazine to read that would help us in this journey or help our little girl once we get her home.

Thank you.

[Liliputian]

I found a wonderful book which has brought me great joy and understanding about adoption. It's called "Be my baby" and it features adoptive families' stories, along with gorgeous black and white photographs. It's so well-done, I love reading it before I go to bed each night.

I also am an AVID watcher of "Adoption Stories" on Discovery Health Channel. I cry every time I watch it and have learned heaps about adoption and everything that accompanies that. It's been wonderful and I look forward to watching it every time I'm able.

I look forward to seeing what other people post in response to your question!

Take care.

[spaypets]

Adoptive Families magazine is a nice parenting magazine and has adoption resources in it. It also has more photos of children of color than mainstream parenting magazines.

We adopted from India and just started a subscription to India Today, a news magazine geared to Indian expatriots. If there is a Chinese equivilant, I recommend subscribing to that so that your daughter sees images that look like her.

Lois Melina's Raising Adopted Children is a good book. I've heard good things about "Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft" but never did get around to reading it.

[Byrnes]

carolina Girl-
I agree adoptive families magazine is great and Lois Melindas book is also good. My Agency also required Real Parents Real Children by Holly Van Gulden. China Sprouts is a great Web Store that has alot of books and materials I purchased a Video from there Made in China that was great. During China Heritage Camp last year they played the video for the parents and I ended up buying it. If I think of anyothers I'll let you know-
Byrnes

[jennyfields]

I've had many recommendations for "The Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

[Edited To Remove the URL to a Retail website.]

[sak9645]

The most important "staple" of your child's library should be "When You Were Born in China". Parents, grandparents and other relatives and friends should read it, too. Using pictures and simple text, it talks sensitively about why there are babies, and especially baby girls, available for adoption in China. The pictures are wonderful, both those of children in their bio families and those of children with their new parents.

I also like "Kids Like Me In China", in which a real young girl who was adopted from China goes back to visit her orphanage and talks about the lives of the children she sees there. Again, it's something that parents, not just kids, can appreciate.

But there are other books that are good, as well. When your child is old enough to understand that she has a birth family and feels some sense of loss, for example, you might want to buy, "Mommy Far, Mommy Near."

Tapestry Books is a fabulous resource; it specializes in adoption-related books for kids, parents, and adoption professionals. You can also use Perspectives Press, an infertility and adoption publisher.

There are also some excellent on-line stores for adoption-related items such as dolls, crafts, holiday celebration materials, and so on. One of the largest is Asia for Kids, which -- despite its name -- has materials for both adopted children and the children of immigrants from many countries of the world. Celebrate the Child is smaller, but gives very personalized service and is run by an adoptive Mom. I like Mandy's Moon, also run by an adoptive parent, for things like stationery and room plaques featuring kids of various ethnicities.


Sharon

[manon]

The children's book called "I Love You Like Crazycakes" is really wonderful, and available in a board book version also.

The "Lost Daughters of China" book by Evins is really good -- a historical/sociological exploration of how things in China got to the point they're at about why so many baby girls are abandoned, and also a personal story about the author adopting from China. Since it's so likely that your child won't have ANY personal history available, that's all the more reason why it'd be good to have that book for her when she's older to help explain why she was abandoned. And there's a really amazingly wonderful poem the author quotes at the end that's enough to make you cry.

[imacarolinagirl]

Many thanks to everyone who offered thier suggestions for books, websites and videos. Now I have plenty of material to keep me busy while working on the adoption process.

Thank you again.

[Reneah]

I also was told about reading The lost daughters of China and I am halfway finished with it. It does give lost of information. Before I started this book I read Daughter of China by C. Hope Flinchbaugh. It was unbelievable. It truly touched my heart. And will make you feel so good about going to China a bringing a little girl home. Home to a place of freedom.

Originally posted by jennyfields
I've had many recommendations for "The Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

[Stevejackson17]

Here's what I've read over the past couple of months:

"Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans is a good place to start. It gives useful information about the adoption process, the reasons girls are abandoned in China, and touching information about how the author and her husband felt.

"A Passage to the Heart" by Amy Klatzkin is a collection of adoption articles of 2 - 5 pages each. There are sections on single parents, traveling, etc. I read the entire book. Some of it contains useful information. Be warned, however, that some sections are very scary (sick babies, scabies, etc.). One note about this book is that it was published in the early to mid-90s. I think some of the information may be a bit outdated.

"Paper Daughter" by Elaine M Mah is a biography by a young Chinese woman. She came to America from Hong Kong in the 70s. While not specifically related to adoption it did give me an understanding of some of the racial challenges my future daughter will face. It was a light read.

[jbcoyer]

I just finished reading "Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans. It was a great book! Very heart wrenching though - I cried through most of it! Jean

[NeshRoo]

If anyone out there in forum land is interested, I have a list of books (about 4 - 5 pages) for parents/families/children etc. specifically aimed at families adopting from China. I have not read even MOST of the books, but hope to work my way through it as I wait! If anyone would like a copy, feel free to PM me with your email, and I will forward it to you.

Or I could simply post the list, but it's really long!!

-Nesha

[NeshRoo]

For those of you interested, I am posting my list. It'll be under a new thread on the China Adoption page, under Reading List. Cheers!
-Nesha

[SofiasMom]

I really enjoyed "River Town" by Peter Hessler. His stories of China also appear in the New Yorker.