There are many excellent books on every aspect of adoption. We highly recommend that families prepare themselves for the adoption of their child before the bringing their child home. Reading is a great way to gain an overview of the possible issues you may encounter once you are home with your child. Below are some of the best adoption books available. You can read a summary of the book on amazon.com if you would like to learn more about a particular book before checking it out. Amazon has great summaries and reader reviews!
Books can be checked out from the LEEAF library for a period of one month at a time. Books can be brought to the next LEEAF event or you may pick them up at my home. It is the borrower's responsibility to return the book to me either by dropping it off at my home or mailing it back to me within one month of checking out the book (book rate is very inexpensive). Books may be renewed if nobody is waiting for that particular book. If you are unsure if you are up-to-date with your LEEAF membership, please contact Karen Bordelon, karenbordelon@hotmail.com
01. New! Successful Adoption by Natalie Nichols Gillespie. One of the latest books (copyright 2006) on adoption. Covers every aspect of adoption from decision about adoption, costs, how to afford adoption, sample documents, home studies, packing, travel tips, after adoption, handling others' reactions, forming heathty bonds, birthparents, adoption and orphan ministry, personal stories of adoption and much more.
02. Recognizing and Managing Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Its Effects
03 Attaching in Adoption by Deborah Gray
04. With Eyes Wide Open: A Workbook for Parents Adopting International Children Over the Age 1
05. Generation in Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union
06. Real Parents, Real Children, Parenting the Adopted Child - Infancy through Adulthood
07. Talking to Your Child about Adoption
08. Being Adopted - the Lifelong Search for Self
09. How it Feels to be Adopted
10. Adoption and the Schools - great book with projects for kids, letters to teachers, and much more.
11. Holding Time - a book about attachment and a particular method used to help children attach.
12. The Whole Life Adoption Book - Realistic Advice for Building a Healthy Adoptive Family.
13. Adopted Children: How Teacher Can Help - This is a booklet.
14. The Family of Adoption
15. Raising Adopted Children - A Manual for Adoptive Parents. Excellent book!
16. The Out-of-Sync Child - Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration
17. Adoption and the Schools - Great resource for all school issues and assignments
18. Perspective on a Graft Tree - Thoughts for Those Touched by Adoption. Sample letters, projects.
19 It Takes Two to Talk - A book that gives strategies for babies/children with speech delays.
20 Raising Your Spirited Child A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistence, and Energetic.
21 Siblings Without Rivalry - How to Help Your Children Live Together so you Can Live Too
22. Adopting After Infertility by Patricia Irwin Johnston
23. Adoption Nation by Adam Pertman - Great book on how the adoption revolution is transforming America.
24. Becoming Attached by Robert Karen
25 Why Didn't She Keep Me- Answers to the Questions Adopted Children Ask
26 Dear Birthmother: Thank You for Our Baby -Great book for those considering writing to their
child's birthmother. It includes sample letters and responses.
27 Driven to Distraction - Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
28. Life Books - ideas for creating an adoption lifebook by Beth O'Mailey
29. Our Own: Adopting and Parenting the Older Child
30 After the Dream Comes True- Helps families through the first year as adoptive parents.
31. The Post-Adoption Blues: Overcoming the Unforeseen Challenges of Adoption - Uplifting book that
offers solutions for the normal but unspoken feelings of stress that adoptive families encounter.
32. Considering Adoption: A Biblical Perspective - A HomeBuilders study from Family Life. Topics: How do I begin? How can we afford it? How will our extended family react? How will it impact the children in our family? Can I love an adopted child the same as a biological child?
35. Carried Safely Home - Excellent book for waiting families! Very uplifting and encouraging.
36. How to Adopt Internationally by Jean Nelson-Erichsen. This book includes packing list, INS forms,
checklists, info on parenting the adopted child, and much more.
37. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Adoption by Christine Adamec. Includes how to choose an agency, how
respond to nosey questions, waiting Do's and Don'ts, etc.
38. The Russian Adoption Handbook by John Maclean. Everything imaginable is in this book. It covers the "waiting period", packing, travel, sightseeing, medial conditions, lifebooks, postadoption, attachment, and MUCH more.
39. The Unofficial Guide to Adopting a Child - Covers a wide range of adoption topics, adoption attitudes, the homestudy, adoption costs, postadoption issues and much more.
40. Dateline - "From Russia with Love" - About a couple that adopted 3 sets of twins from Russia, all biologically related! A positive, uplifting story. This is a DVD.
41. Smart Packing for Today's Traveler by Susan Foster. Very helpful! Tips on traveling light, security tips, packing lists and much more.
42. From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians - this book is great for gaining a better understanding of the Russians and their culture. Interesting and easy to read!
43. The Russian Way, Aspects of Behavior, Attitudes, and Customs of the Russians -
The Russian Way is brimming with practical and lively facts on: home life, meals, and housing healthcare, education, politics, religion, and professions, hotels, dining, shopping, and entertainment
language, gestures, literature, and the Russian soul. Very interesting book!
44. Talking with Young Children about Adoption by Mary Watkins and Susan Fisher
45. New! Adoption Parenting: Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections by Jean MacLeod (Editor), Sheena Macrae (Editor). The format, essays by experts, parents, and fellow life-travelers, is inviting. You can skip around; you can focus on certain issues. Perhaps your child is hoarding food. Perhaps you haven't slept for 2 weeks, or your child's kindergarten cannot understand that a `family tree' project is not a comfortable subject for every child in the classroom. Or maybe you've walked that road already and need a little support in the teenage years. It has information that can help in countless situations for such a variety of problems or worries. If it can't help then it refers you to places to find help. You'll find it all here!
Learning the Russian Language
01. Russian Phrases for Children Handbook and CD by Fred Des Chenes, an adoptive father. Gives adoptive parents basic Russian phrases to get through the first weeks.
02. Vocabulearn Russian - cassettes, Level 1 - 3. The word is said in Russian, then English. Then moves to phrases.
03. Russian for Everybody - Textkook, teacher's manual, workbook, cassettes
04. English-Russian Phrasebook
05. Russian DVD's for children (adopted at an older age) or for families that are learning Russian.
Titles that are available:
The Story of Jesus for Children (this is a VHS video)
Little Mermaid - not a Disney version. With real people.
Through Fire, Water, and Brass Pipes - Russian Fairy Tale
Father Frost Russian Fairy Tale
Tale of Time Lost - 4 sorcerers appear in town and look for kids who waste their time.
Tiger Tamer - Lena, a humble girl, dreams of becoming a tiger tamer. A grand success story.
Treasure Island - Jim and friends venture out on a seabound journey to find a lost treasure.
Popular DVD of Russian Cartoons - similar to Tom and Jerry. 18 episodes.
My Big Armenian Wedding - (adult movie) Russian version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding
For a listing of Children's Adoption or Culture Books, available for check, see Children's Library
