Noteworthy New Adoption Reads | Adoptive Families

CARRIED IN OUR HEARTS, by Dr. Jane Aronson
			Tarcher/Penguin; As a pediatrician specializing in adoption medicine and founder of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation, Dr. Jane Aronson has made a difference in the lives of thousands of families. She’s collected some of the most memorable stories she’s heard and lived through in Carried in Our Hearts. All of them, including her own story of finding her calling and adopting her two children, speak to the transformative power of adoption–and love.
WILD ABOUT YOU!, by Judy Sierra; illustrated by Marc Brown
			Knopf; ages 3-7; A kangaroo longs to have a baby and “jumps” at the chance to take care of an egg. When a penguin hatches, the other animals at the zoo pitch in to help. Brown’s charming illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to Sierra’s lively, rhyming text. Your child will ask you to read this one aloud again and again.
LOVE ME, FEED ME, by Katja Rowell, M.D.
			Family Feeding Dynamics, LLC; “I have not even finished this book yet, and I have already made some changes to our mealtime routine that I am hoping will help our entire family. I personally feel encouraged and validated just reading the many examples of other families who have faced challenges and whose kids have shown improvement with the Trust Model presented in the book. I only wish I had found it sooner.” –SHANNON
RED THREAD SISTERS, by Carol Peacock
			Viking; ages 8-13; When 11-year-old Wen is adopted from China, she struggles to adjust to her new family and preteen life in America, which is very different from the orphanage where she spent so many years. Most of all, Wen misses her best friend, Shu Ling, and wonders whether she’ll be able to keep her promise to find Shu Ling a forever family. Your middle-schooler (and maybe you) will find this one hard to put down.
LITTLE CUB, by Olivier Dunrea
			Philomel; ages 3-7; In this follow-up to Old Bear and His Cub, we learn how Old Bear found and adopted Little Cub. Dunrea’s text and illustrations are gentle and heartfelt. “My daughter loves this one. The book never uses the word ‘adoption,’ but that’s definitely what it’s about!” –GAIL
THE MYSTERY OF THE MULTIPLE MOTHERS, by Regina Kupecky and James Breig
			Park Chase Press; Adoption expert Regina Kupecky, coauthor of Adopting the Hurt Child, has teamed with her brother to write an engaging whodunit. The quirky characters of Cub County, Ohio, will draw you in as you explore the dual mysteries of who committed the murder and whether adult adoptee Stephanie will find the answers she seeks about her birth parents.
PENGUIN AND PINECONE, by Salina Yoon
			Walker; ages 3-7; Penguin befriends a pinecone, but realizes it can’t thrive in the cold, so he takes it to a faraway forest. “This book, though not explicitly adoption-themed, is a wonderful way of explaining a birth parent’s decision to place a child.” –RACHEL
SAVING THE DREAM, by Vanessa D. Gilmore
			Xlibris; “Saving the Dream alternately explores the life of a boy growing up with his birth mother and in an adoptive family. It raises interesting questions about poverty, single-parent and two-parent families, and biology. Both families love him and try to do their best, but have different parameters to work with. For anyone transracially adopting black children, I want to add that it gives you insight into middle-class black culture not usually shown on TV.” –MICHELLE