Just Add One Chinese Sister: An Adoption Story

by Patricia McMahon and Conor Clarke McCarthy, illustrated by Karen A. JeromeBoyds Mills Press; $16.95

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"Finally," I tell my daughter, Natalie, "the mamas brought you into the big room where Daddy and I were waiting, and you said…."

"Mama. Papa." she says on cue.

"And we loved you right away."

If, like me, you enjoy snuggling up with your daughter and re-telling her adoption story, you'll love Just Add One Chinese Sister. In this book, a mom recounts her daughter's adoption story as they create her lifebook.

"That first night," I tell my son, Aaron, "you saw Natalie rocking in her bed and asked me what she was doing. I told you she'd never had a mommy or daddy to rock her to sleep, so she learned to rock herself. And you said, ‘If everyone saw her rock, then everyone would be sad.' And I knew you were going to be an awesome big brother."

And, if, like me, you enjoy snuggling up with your son and re-telling the story of how he became a big brother, you'll love Conor Clarke McCarthy's insightful journal entries that accompany the main text.

Reviewed by KAY MARNER, a mother by birth and adoption. She works for the public library in Ames, Iowa.

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