In two previous blogs in my series on adoption-themed books for kids, I talked about adoption books specifically focused on children from China and on kids from Korea and Vietnam . This blog showcases books featuring children adopted from Eastern Europe and Latin America. I also highlight books which feature internationally-adopted children without specifying a country.
Eastern Europe:
Borya and the Burps: An Eastern European Adoption Story Author Joan McNamara tells of how Borya was used to being in his crib in the room with many other cribs, and how wonderful but how strange it is to be with parents and sleep in a room with just one crib and no other children.
Nikolai, The Only Bear Children’s author Barbara Joose, best known for “Mama Do You Love Me?” and “I Love You the Purplest”, wrote Nikolai, the Only Bear about a friend’s child’s experiences in an orphanage waiting for his parents to come. Nikolai watches others be adopted and wonders while he waits for the parents right for him.
In When I Met You: A Story of Russian Adoption. The author balances a child’s memories of life in Russia and her new life in America.
Latin America:
Lucy’s Family Tree At first Lucy thinks her situation is too complicated to complete a school family tree assignment. She realizes many families are unique and ends up making a Mexican “tree of life” with symbols to represent her birthparents as well as her current family.
Pablo’s Tree Pablo’s grandfather plants a tree to celebrate his homecoming.
Carolyn’s Story A nine-year-old adopted from Honduras tells about her life and about returning to Honduras with her parents to adopt a little brother.
We Adopted You, Benjamin Koo focuses on a nine-year-old adopted from Korea, but notes that he has a little sister adopted from Brazil.
Books that feature internationally-adopted children without specifying a country:
Seeds of Love is for children whose parents will be traveling abroad to bring home an adopted child. It helps the siblings-to-be understand the separation and prepare for the new brother or sister.
Things Little Kids Need to Know is a tale for very young children. A young boy tells of all the things he will show and tell his little sister (her nationality is never mentioned; she has dark curly hair and tan skin) at home and at preschool– “just as soon as Mommy brings her home from across the world.”
I Don’t Have Your Eyes is for any child who looks different from his/her parents.
Happy Adoption Day This book is the lyrics to a song of the same title which appears on John McCutcheon’s album Family Garden.
Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale An offering from noted children’s author and illustrator Karen Katz.
In Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies, a young boy flies over the sea on the airplane clutching the pictures of the parents he is to meet and the home that will be his. This book deserves special mention because it is the featured book in a half-hour video from the PBS program Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton. The video shows other adoption-related books reviewed by kids themselves, and includes an introduction in which people of all ages define what family means to them. One segment interviews an African-American family with two birth sons and an adopted daughter. Another interviews a single mother with nine kids adopted from Korea. There are a couple of tough issues addressed, when one child asks her mother why her birthparents didn’t keep her. Parents may want to watch first to prepare what they might say if their children ask questions. Nonetheless my children have loved and appreciated this video from a young age. Many public libraries carry Reading Rainbow episodes on video and will order this episode for you.
Please see these related blogs:
Adoption Books for Children: Focus on Korea and Vietnam
Children’s Books on Adoption from China
Another Perspective on Popular Children’s Adoption Books