education resoiurcesThe following books are presented to help you prepare for your adoption. Reading the books is an important part of your home study and the reading should be completed by the time your home study is completed and ready for approval.

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED READING

Dear Birth Mother, Thank You for Our Baby, by Kathleen and Phylis Speedlin

Raising Adopted Children: Practical, Reassuring Advice for Every Adoptive Parent, by Lois Ruskai

Adopting After Infertility, by Pat Johnston

Open Adoption

A Letter to Adoptive Parents…On Open Adoption, by Randolph Severson, Ph.D

Lifegivers: Framing the Birth Parent Experience in Open Adoption, by James Gritter

Reaching Out: The Guide to Writing a Terrific Dear Birthmother Letter, by Nelson Handel

The Open Adoption Book, by Bruce Rappaport

The Spirit of Open Adoption, by James Gritter

Toddler Adoption: The Weaver’s Craft, by Mary Hopkins-Best

General Adoption and Parenting

Adoption is a Family Affair: What Relatives and Friends Must Know, by Patricia Irwin Johnston

Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self, by Brodinsky, Schecter, and Nenig

Choosing Assisted Reproduction, by Susan Cooper and Ellen Glazer (Embryo Adoption)

How it Feels to be Adopted, by Jennifer Krementz

Raising Great Kids, by Dr. John Townsend (Christian-based parenting book)

Filling in the Blanks: A Guided Look at Growing Up Adopted, by Susan Gabel (ages 10-14)

Talking with Young Children About Adoption, by Mary Watkins and Susan Fisher

Books on Child Development

Touchpoints: Guide to the First Six Years of Life, by T. Berry Brazelton

Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five, by Penelope Leach

Children’s Books

A Blessing from Above, by Patti Henderson (good for embryo adoption)

A Koala for Katie, by Jonathan London

A Mother for Coco, by Keiko Kasra

Did My First Mother Love Me, by Kathryn Ann Miller

God Gave Us You, by Lisa Tawn Bergren and Laura J. Bryant

Families are Forever, by Deborah Capone (www.simpleasthat.com)

Horace, by Holly Keller (Reading Rainbow book)

Is That Your Sister?, by Catherine and Sherry Bunin (for families with children who are adopting transracially)

Just in Case You Ever Wonder, by Max LucadoThe Keeping Quilt, by Patricia Polacco (September 1994)

Let’s Talk About It: Adoption, by Fred Rogers

Little Miss Spider, by David Kirk

A Little Story About a Big Turnip, by Tatiana Zunshine (ages 2-8)

Meagan’s Birthday Tree: A Story About Open Adoption, by Laurie Lears

Never Never Never Will She Stop Loving You, by Jolene Durrant

Oliver: A Story About Adoption, by Lois Wickstrom

Our Twitchy, by Kes Gray and Mary McQuillan

Sam’s Sister, by Juliet Bond (for children whose parent is placing a child for adoption)

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, by Jamie Lee Curtis

Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies, by Kristine Wise

Transracial Adoption

Cross-Cultural Adoption: How to Answer Questions from Family, Friends, and Community, by Amy Coughlin and Caryn Abramowitz

I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Bi-Racial Children in a Race Conscious World, by Margaret Wright

Kinki Kreations: A Parent’s Guide to Natural Black Hair Care for Kids, by Jena Renee Williams

Inside Transracial Adoption, by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall

Developmental and Behavioral Issues

Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special-Needs Kids, by Keck and Kupecky

Attaching in Adoption, by Deborah Gray

Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awaking Love in Deeply Troubled Children, by Daniel Hughes

Can This Child Be Saved? Solutions for Adoptive and Foster Families, by Foster Cline

Childhood Speech, Language, and Listening Problems: What Every Parent Should Know, by Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi

Facilitating Developmental Attachment: The Road to Emotional Recovery and Behavioral Change, by Daniel Hughes

Help for the Hopeless Child: A Guide for Families, by Ronald Federici

Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss, Revised Edition, by Claudia Jewett

Love is a Start…The Real Challenges of Raising Children with Emotional Disorders: The true story of a mother raising children adopted domestically, with neurological differences, by Donna Shilts

Parenting From the Inside Out, by Daniel Siegel

Parenting the Hurt Child, by Keck and Kupecky

Real Parents, Real Children: Parenting the Adopted Child, by Holly Van Gulden

Relationship of Learning Problems and Classroom Performance to Sensory Integration, by Marie Di Matties and Norma Quirk

Sensory Integration and the Child, by Jean Ayres

The A.D.D Book: New Understandings, New Approaches to Parenting Your Child, by Linda Thompson and William Sears

The Challenging Child, by Stanley Greenspan

The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed. Child, by Pete WrightThe Myth of the First Three Years: A New Understanding of Early Brain Development, by John Bruer

The New Language of Toys: Teaching Communication Skills to Children with Special Needs, by Sue Schwartz, Ph. D

The Out of Sync Child: Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction, by Carol Stock Kranowitz

INTERNET SOURCES

Adopt Shoppe – unique adoption gifts, books, and resources.

Adoptive Families Magazine

Focus on the Family – supporter of our Snowflakes program since July 1999.

Hannah’s Prayer – Christian support network for couples facing “infertility challenges.”

Tapestry Books – exclusively devoted to selling books on adoption. This is a great resource!!