As a single, working mom of two, I have a long to-do list of things that don't get done.

But when I was working on a reorganization of the basement the other day, I came across the box of materials I had put aside for my younger son's life book. There was the journal I kept during my two trips to Sakhalin Island in 2005, and copies of all the e-mails I had sent or received while I was away. There were photos, but I am not the world's best with a camera and most of the time during my trips I was playing with my son, not taking his... more

Hey ya'll - I have a book coming out in about a year. It's called Mishka: An Adoption Tale, and it's about a teddy bear who's given as a gift to a little boy by his prospective adoptive parents. The bear stays with the boy while the parents have to return home, and he's there when they return as well.

My main character (the bear)'s name is Mo. Here he is on the way to Russia with his new people!

My very talented illustrator, Miranda Mueller drew him. Isn't he adorable?

I am very... more

Hey ya'll - I'm writing an adoption ABC book. I'm not sure if I'll do anything with it when I'm done (publish it, find a publisher, etc.) but this fall I'm putting out my shingle to do some school workshops as a writer-in-residence and I need a week-long activity to do with the kids. Book-making is my forte (I mean the actual making of books, not placing bets..he he) and I was trying to think what would be a good topic for the books. My books are about adoption, but I certainly don't think every kid I talk to will want to write about adoption, nor should... more

Okey dokey. I'm really going to review these two books in this post. As I said in my last rant post, they are both suitable for the pre-school set and for pretty much any adopted child. I actually read My Family is Forever at a pre-school adoption storytime and it went over very well.

Happy Adoption Day! is the book version of some song lyrics by John McCutcheon. It's... more

Today I'm reviewing two adoption books, suitable for most adopted kids of pre-school age. I say most because although the messages in the two books are suitable for any adopted child, the illustrations are of Asian children with Caucasian parents. I think for most kids this isn't a problem. Most kids can make the leap from seeing an illustration of one race of child and applying the situation in the story to themselves. Some kids are a little more literal and they won't get it without the parent saying, "look Bobby, this kid has an adoption day, just like you..."

Before... more

The Sea Chest was written by Toni Buzzeo and is illustrated by Mary GrandPre, of Harry Potter fame. It is a truly wonderful story that transcends the typical limits of most adoption books for children. This is probably my favorite adoption book for children, and one of my favorite non-adoption books, too.

Warning: it is guaranteed to make you cry, especially if you're a mom. (I'm actually tearing up right now just thinking about... more

Borya and the Burps, by Joan McNamara and illustrated by Dawn Majewski, is one of three books currently on the market about adoption from Russia. Well, technically, this book is about adoption from Eastern Europe, but that includes Russia so I include it in the three. The other two are my book, When I Met You: A Story of Russian Adoption, and Nikolai the only Bear, by Barbara Joose. I wrote about Nikolai yesterday. Today is all about Borya.

I like Borya and the Burps. I think it is a wonderful, respectful... more

It's book review week here at the Russian Adoption blog. Why, you ask? Because we're moving this week, I answer, and I've had to do all my blogs ahead of time. Thinking of a whole bunch of pithy topics in 2 short days isn't easy so I've decided to talk about the children's books about adoption that we have around the house.

Nikolai the Only Bear is by Barbara Joose and illustrated by Renata Liwska. This was the very first children's book about adoption from Russia on the market. I think it came out about a year ago, in March. It's about Nikolai, the only bear at orphanage... more

Okay, okay. I know this is a book about adoption from China. So why, you ask, are you including it in your Russian adoption blog?

Simple. It's the first book I read to Big J about adoption when we were first thinking about it. We'd already decided to adopt from Russia but at that time there were no books on Russian adoption available for children. It's also the book that inspired my book, When I Met You: A Story of Russian Adoption. I wanted to write something personal, just like I Love You Like Crazy Cakes,... more

Todd Parr rocks! We love, love, love Todd Parr in our house! We have The Family Book, The Mommy Book, and The Daddy Book, and we've checked all the rest out of the library. These are simple books, but they are simple genius. Here's the basic philosphy of his books:

We're all a little bit different and we're all a little bit the same. That's what's cool about the world.

Now, if you don't believe that and you don't want your kids learning about differences like, for example, multiracial families... more