Frankly, I love to give my kids gifts, so pretty much any excuse to do so is good enough for me. This year I am especially excited about the Easter gifts we will be giving them. Much more so than they probably will be actually, at least the younger two. This year we got each of them some sort of book about adoption. This was actually spurred on by my oldest, Ariana. I was reading some thick "Complete Adoption Guide" book, and she was sure she wanted to read it too. Of course, the reading level was a bit above her, and it was filled with many details she wouldn't want to read. So, I decided to search on Amazon, and these are the books I decided on. I'm sure there are many adoption books out there that I didn't even happen upon, but I am happy with what I chose.
All About Adoption is for Ariana. It was so perfect for her; I couldn't believe I actually found a book that was exactly what she wanted. I asked her what she wanted to know about adoption and she said "Everything!" This is basically an everything book for children. It talks about the birth family, the family looking for a child, how they connect (agency, attorney, etc.), the home study and so much more. The second half of the book mostly talks about the feelings an adopted child may experience. This book is actually written for an adopted child, but I think it will be good for Ariana. The details are exactly what she wanted to know, on her level of understanding, and I think as we read it over and over (which I know we will), she will grasp some understanding of what our adopted child may feel at times. It will also be a good book to keep in our library for when our next child gets to the same age as her.
Horace is for Wesley. This book is about a leopard (with spots) who was adopted by a tiger family (with stripes). Every night before bed, Horace's mother tells him the same story. "We chose you when you were a tiny baby because you had lost your first family and needed a new one. We liked your spots, and we wanted you to be our child". But Horace always fell asleep before the end of the story. He began to notice his spots and how he was different from everyone in the family, so one day he decides to run away (to the park). Of course the book ends happily ever after. I would never have bought the book if that wasn't so. I think this will be a good book for Wesley because to him it will just be a storybook, but it will also hopefully help make him aware of the concept of adoption. I know of the three children he will be the least impressed with a book, but he's still getting it.
I Love You Like Crazy Cakes is for Eden. I don't love the story of this book as much as the others, but I was actually very surprised that I could even find a board book about adoption. I absolutely love the title of the book and the illustrations. It is a story of a woman's journey to go get her daughter from China. There is really nothing wrong with this story, I just think I would have liked it much better if it was about a family adopting a little girl from China instead of a single woman since that is more relevant to our family. But, the pictures and turning the pages are really all Eden will pay much attention to now anyway, and as I said, the pictures are wonderful.
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