[NeshRoo]

Ok, here's a list I have been compiling of books that are of specific interest to parents of adoptees from China, and parents hoping to adopt (from china), and anyone else who is interesed in a healthy list of books to go through as you wait on your referral!!! (If you find any problems with this list, feel free to PM me and I will update as necessary!)

Please note: I have only read about 10% of these books. I am not endorsing them in anyway. It is simply a big long list to help those interested in narrowing their focus!!

• Books for Parents
  • When You Were Born in China, a memory book for children adopted from China, Sara Dorow (photographs)
  • Emma's Story, Deborah Hodge
  • Talking with Young Children About Adoption, Mary Watkins and Susan Fisher
  • Making Sense of Adoption, Lois R. Melina
  • Our Baby from China : an adoption story., Nancy D'Antonio. (photographs)
  • Wuhu Diary: On Taking My Adopted Daughter Back to her Hometown in China, Emily Prager
  • Shared Fate: A Theory and Method of Adoptive Relationships, H. David Kirk
  • The Waiting Child : how the faith and love of one orphan saved the life of another, Champnella, Cindy.
  • Inside Transracial Adoption, Gail Steinberg & Beth Hall
  • Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son: Abandonment, Adoption and Orphanage Care in China, Kay Ann Johnson
  • Dim Sum, Bagels, And Grits: A Sourcebook For Multicultural Families, Myra Alperson Farrar
  • Being Adopted - the Lifelong Search for Self, David M. Brodzinsky, Ph.D., Marshall D. Schechter, M.D., and Robin Marantz
  • Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural, Claudine C. O’Hearn
  • "Are Those Kids Yours?" , Cheri Register
  
  Chinese Culture and History/Novels (this is a terribly small list, I’m afraid)
  • Language Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts; Festivals of China, Carol Stepanchuck and Charles Wong (Illustrated )
  • China Wakes, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  • The Search for Modern China, Johnathan D. Spence
  • River Town: Two years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler*
  • Wild Swans; Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang
  • The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker, Eric Liu
  • Confucius Lives Next Door, T. R. Reid
  • Katherine, Anchee Min (a novel)
  • Red Azalea, Anchee Min (a novel)
  • The Genius of China, Robert Temple
  
  
  Books for Children (books for children are either China-related, adoption-related, or multicultural in text or illustration.) (unsure exactly what age-group these should fall under…)
  • Infant & Toddler Say Goodnight, Helen Oxenbury
  • We See the Moon, Carrie Kitze
  • Mommy Far, Mommy Near: An Adoption Story, Carol Antoinette Peacock
  • Corduroy's Party, and Corduroy's Day, Lydia Freeman
  • Peek-A-Boo, I See You, Joan Phillips
  
  Toddler & preschool
  • If I Could Be a Circus Clown, J. Ellen Dolce
  • The Day We Met You, Phoebe Koehler
  • Lon Po Po, translated and illustrated by Ed Young
  • The Postman, Rosalinda Kightley
  • Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies, Ann Turner
  • Emma's Dragon Hunt, written and illustrated by Catherine Stock
  
  Preschool & older
  • The Mouse Bride: A Chinese Folktale, retold by Monica Chang and illustrated by Leslie
  Liu
  • I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, Rose A. Lewis
  • Dragon Kites and Dragonflies, adapted and illustrated by Demi, from Tze-Si Huang
  • Red Eggs & Dragon Boats; Celebrating Chinese Festivals, Carol Stepanchuck. (Illustrated)
  • Over the Moon : An Adoption Tale, Karen Katz
  • A Sky Full of Dragons, Mildred Watley Wright (Illustrated)
  • Roses Sing on New Snow, Paul Yee (Illustrated)
  • Long is a Dragon: Chinese Writing for Children, Peggy Goldstein (Illustrated)
  • Hu is a Tiger: An Introduction to Chinese Writing, Peggy Goldstein (Illustrated)
  • Weighing the Elephant, retold by Jin Honggang
  • The Empty Pot, Demi (Illustrated)
  • The Dragon Prince, retold by Laurence Yep (Illustrated)
  • Nina, Nina, Ballerina, Jane O'Connor (Illustrated)
  • The Stonecutter, retold by Demi (Illustrated)
  • Lord Bao Interrogates the Stone, retold by Yan Chun
  • Tye May's Magic Brush, retold by Molly Bang
  
  Young Elem. & older
  • When You Were Born in China, Sara Dorow
  • Kids Like Me in China, Ying Ying Fry
  • The Moon Lady, Amy Tan
  • The Best Single Mom in the World: How I Was Adopted, Mary Zisk
  • The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption, Jean Davies Okimoto
  • Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes, Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, and Meilo So (Illustrated)
  • Red Thread, Ed Young
  • Count Your Way Through China, Jim Haskins (Illustrated)
  

Feel free to let me know if this list helps anyone!! I spent sometime compiling it, and would love to hear feed-back!
-Nesha

[lookingup]

Great list. We will be DTC soon!!!!

Pamela in LA

[SofiasMom]

Great List.

I'd add

"Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans
"Passages of the Heart"
"I Love you Like Crazy Cakes"

[NeshRoo]

Yes, the Karin Evans book (how could I have forgotten to add that list??!!!) is a WONDERFUL book. Heartbreaking, but realy really wonderful!!

(I do have "I Love you Like Crazy Cakes" on there, it's under Preschool & older, in case anyone wants to know the author. It is also a very nice book. The illustrations are lovely too!!)

Thanks for the input, I'll add the others to my "master list"!!
-Nesha

[hcromwell]

Thanks for the long list! I'll have to check some of these out.

[NeshRoo]

I'd be happy to hear your thoughts on these books as you read them. I've actually read a few and thought they weren't very good and was thinking of removing them from my list. Then of course, there are a few that I think are a "must read"! So, any and all thoughts or additions would be welcomed!
-Nesha

[Liz0811]

I think The Waiting Child is a must read. I just finished it and I just loved the entire book.

I read Lost Daughters of China. I liked most of it, but I think parts dragged a bit. A lot of repitition.

I also read Kids Like Me in China. I think that is a great childrens book.

I just ordered Little Miss Ladybug & Her Magical Red Thread, by Karen Acers. I have not read it yet but I heard it was really good, so I'll let you know. This is also a childrens book

[NeshRoo]

Excellent! Definitly keep me posted on your readings! Thanks for the input.

[jennyfields]

I've got a few to add to the list. There's been a lot of buzz about a new book, called, "Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son," by Kay Johnson. I have not read it, but I have heard really good things about her and I believe some of her research is mentioned in the "Lost Daughters of China" book.

I also just finished Anchee Min's latest, "Empress Orchid," about China during the Opium Wars. It was a very good read & made me want to find out more about China's history.

For those of you with children already, some good books to prepare them for the adoption include "Seeds of Love" by Mary Petertyl & "Things Little Kids Need to Know" by Susan Uhlig.

[odi]

Thanks for the great list.
I can't say enough good things about The lost daughters of China and A Passage to the Heart (Amy Klatzkin). They are just what I have needed to answer many questions about adopting our daughter.
I also have enjoyed Wild Swans, Two years on the Yangze, and Across China for their genreral info on China.
We just bought Seeds of Love for our bioboys and Lifebooks Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child by Beth O'Malley to start our daughters lifebook.

[odi]

This is such a great list I just wanted to bring it to the front so that everyone that is new can see it.

[Ozzy]

Excellent list, thank you for posting it!

We're just in the preliminary research stage, not yet certain whether we plan to adopt in a few years or not. Though I'm an avid reader and have gotten through quite a number of the aforementioned books, my husband tends to prefer watching DVDs and videos at this point. We loved the recent National Geographic special ("China's Lost Girls") and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for additional DVDs/videos that would be valuable to watch at this stage in the game.

[kwoo]

This is a wonderful list!! Thank you so much!! I also would be interested if anyone knows of any other DVDS/videos.
Kristin

[NeshRoo]

I recently watched a powerful (and painful in some ways) DVD documentary about a young woman who was adopted from Vietnam and raised in TN. It is her story of going back to meet her birthfamily. I thought even though this is a China focused group, some of you still might find it interesting. It's called Daughter From Da'nang.

[Liz0811]

this is such a great list, I just wanted to bump it up