Below you will the reading lists we recommend for our families. We also have an extensive library in our Oakland office to help you educate yourself and your family during the adoption process.
Click on the topic you are interested in:
A Child’s Journey Through Placement, Vera L. Fahlberg, M.D.
The definitive resource! A look at all the factors which affect children who are in the child welfare system and who then are adopted.
Adopted Child, Vol. 9 No. 8, a special issue for teachers, Lois Ruskai Melina.
PO Box 9362, Moscow, Idaho 83843
A newsletter for the adoption community.
Adopting After Infertility, Patricia Irwin Johnson
Comprehensive, written with empathy. Includes insights into becoming an effective adoptive parent.
Adopting the Hurt Child, Gregory Keck and Regina Kupecky
A realistic, yet hopeful look at children adopted after difficult beginnings. Useful for parents and the professionals who work with the children and their families.
Adopting the Older Child, Claudia L. Jewett
A nationally known family counselor and adoptive parent explains what is in store for those who decide to open their hearts to a waiting child.
Adoption and the Schools: Resources for Patents and Teachers, edited by Lansing Wood and Nancy Ng
A wonderful compendium of articles, drawings, poetry, and wisdom for parents and teachers. Helps parents explore the impact of adoption on their children’s education, and helps teachers to have a positive influence on the adopted child’s experiences at school. Available from FAIR, Families Adopting In Response, PO Box 51436, Palo Alto, CA 94303. http://www.fairfamilies.org
Adoption Nation, Adam Pertman
A fascinating look at adoption today and how it impacts lives and our culture.
An Educator’s Guide to Adoption Celebrate Adoption, 1999. www.celebrateadoption.org
A handy 22 page booklet which provides adoption information and suggestions to teachers.
Anti-Bias Curriculum. Tools for Empowering Young Children, Louise Derman-Sparks
How to create an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance of differences.
Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents, Deborah D. Gray
Explaining that attachment forms the template for future adult relationships, the author stresses how important it is for adoptive parents to be patient in forging this new bond. She shows how to create a high structure/high nurture environment for your child. An invaluable resource.
Being Adopted, The Lifelong Search for Self, David M. Brodzinsky, Marshall D. Schechter, and Robin M. Harris.
A very readable discussion of the issues common to all adopted children and adults.
Building the Bonds of Attachment, Dan Hughes
Illustrates the process of repairing children who have been severely damaged by abuse and neglect.
Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens, Debbie Riley
Case studies and treatment considerations for therapists and parents
Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss, Claudia Jewett Jarratt
Here is compassionate, step-by-step guidance for any concerned adult who wants to help a child talk about, cope with, and recover from a loss.
Imagining Adoption: Essays on Literature and Culture, Marianne Novy, ed.
A collection of essays about literary portrayals of adoption and adoption themes.
Inside Transracial Adoption, Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg
An up-to-date book which covers all of the complexities of transracial adoption from a personal and well-informed perspective.
Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child, Beth O’Malley
Lifebooks help families answer difficult questions and provide a link between adoptees and their history. This resource will help you create a treasure for your child.
Making Sense of Adoption, A Parent’s Guide, Lois Ruskai Melina
Basic sound information.
Parenting Resources Manual of the Transracial Parenting Project
Available from the North American Council on Adoptable Children,
970 Raymond Ave., Suite 106, St. Paul, MN 55114-1149.
Created as a guide for parents and professionals involved in transracial adoption.
Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow, Gregory C. Keck and Regina M. Kupecky
The authors explain how to manage a hurting child with loving wisdom and resolve, and how to preserve your stability while untangling a thorny heart.
Perspectives on a Grafted Tree, compiled by Patricia Irwin Johnston
Poems expressing the emotions of adoption. A wonderful gift book.
Playful Parenting, Lawrence J. Cohen.
This is an exciting new approach to raising children that will help you nurture close connections, solve behavior problems, and encourage confidence. It is a welcome reminder that the serious business of parenthood can also be fun! A Family Builders favorite.
Raising Adopted Children, A Manual for Adoptive Parents, Lois Ruskai Melina
An excellent source of sound information.
Real Parents, Real Children, Holly van Gulden and Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb
An adoptive parent and professional brings a wealth of insight and practical advice to parents.
Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Guides the way to peace and tranquility with humor, compassion and understanding, making life easier for both siblings and their parents.
The Adoption Life Cycle: The Children and Their Families Through the Years, Elinor B. Rosenberg
This book looks at research and theory relating to adoptive families and the issues they face over the years.
The Adoption Reader, Susan Wadia-Ellis, ed.
The stories in this collection are told by birth mothers, adoptive mothers, and adopted daughters. They provide valuable insights into the adoption experience.
The Family of Adoption, Joyce Maguire Pavao
This is a must read for parents and professionals. Dr. Pavao illustrates through stories her view that adoption affects all involved through generations in a predictable and normal way. It provides a framework for thinking about adoption and adoptive family life.
The Open Adoption Experience, Lois Ruskai Melina and Sharon Kaplan Roszia
A bible for everyone involved in or considering open adoption and for those who want to learn more about it.
Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew, Sherrie Eldridge
This book gives voice to children’s unspoken concerns, and shows adoptive parents how to free their kids from feelings of fear, abandonment, and shame.
Twenty Life Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make, Sherrie Eldridge
A celebration of adoption, this book is based on the fact that adoption raises some of life’s most difficult questions, but also creates opportunities to truly understand yourself. It invigorates the healing process by engaging the difficult questions and emphasizing your ability to take control of your emotions through the choices you make.
When Friends Ask About Adoption, Linda Bothun
Helpful as a gift for extended family members, clergy, teachers, doctors. Available from Tapestry Books. (see our link section.)
Working with Older Adoptees, Loren Coleman, Karen Tilbor, Helaine Hornby, Carol Boggis, editors
A collection of writings to guide professionals working with older-child adoptees.
There are many wonderful children’s books with adoption related themes. The following are highly recommended by our families, who have found them useful for sharing in the classroom or reading at home. Even though each book will not relate exactly to a particular child’s story, the components of common adoption experience will help adopted children identify with the characters.
A Forever Family, Roslyn Banish
Eight-year-old Jenny tells her story, including living with her biological parents, foster parents, and finally about being adopted in a courtroom and having a big celebration. Photos help to make the story realistic.
All Kinds of Families, Norma Simon
Many different kinds of families are described.
A Mother for Choco, Keiko Kasza
Choco is a motherless little bird who sets out to find his mother. Finally Mrs. Bear reaches out to him, offering to be his mother and after some difficulty at first, he accepts her as his new mommy.
And I’m Stuck With Joseph, Susan Sommer
An eleven year old experiences the difficult behavior of her new three year old brother.
Beginnings: How Families Come to Be, Virginia Kroll
This is a beautifully illustrated book with six diverse stories of different types of families, told from the perspective of a child asking questions of his parents about how they got to become a family, including single parent, kinship adoption, birth family, etc. Good for reading to and with parents.
Horace, Holly Keller
Little Horace, who looks like a leopard, has spots, while his adoptive parents, who look like tigers, have stripes. He finds a family that looks like him in the park one day and has a wonderful time playing with them, and at the end of the day, realizes that he misses him family, and, instead of going home with the leopard family, he runs home to his parents. He learns that being a family has nothing to do with what you look like.
How it Feels to be Adopted, Jill Krementz
Interviews with adopted children, ages eight through sixteen. A good book to help open up discussions.
Is That Your Sister? A True Story of Adoption, Catherine Bunin and Sherry Bunin
A realistic story told by six-year-old Catherine, who is bi-racial and transracially adopted. Answers adoption related questions.
Lucy’s Family Tree, Karen Halvorsen Schreck
Lucy, who was born in Mexico and adopted by her blond parents in the United States, tells about how she handles her family tree assignment. An excellent book for teachers to use when explaining variations of the family tree project.
Oliver, Lois Wickstrom
Oliver, an alligator-like creature, is mischievous and is sent to his room. He is angry at his adoptive parents and, while confined to his room, daydreams about his birth parents. He wonders what life would be like if he lived with them. Expresses the feelings of many young adopted children.
Why Am I Different, Norma Simon
Children explain the many things that make them unique. Mentions adoption, but does not focus on it.
William is My Brother, Jane T. Schnitter
This story focuses on families built by both birth and adoption through the eyes of Tony, who was born to the family.
The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
A well-written story about a mischievous, spunky, intelligent girl as she at first resists becoming close to her foster family.
Lost in the System, Charlotte Lopez with Susan Dworkin
This is the story of Miss Teen USA 1992 who was finally adopted after many years in the foster care system.
Perspectives on a Grafted Tree: Thoughts for Those Touched by Adoption, Patricia Irwin Johnston
This collection of poetry provides much food for thought.
