[.ca] When You Were Born in China: A Memory Book for Children ... (ISBN 096384721X)

A risky approach to explaining adoption to a Chinese child:
I am not Chinese but I felt, throughout reading this book, that the author may be treading on thin ice with some of her descriptions of China ("...houses and apartments are small and usually don't have hot running water. In the countryside, people often have no indoor plumbing at all...") and her in-depth explanation of the Chinese government's rule that only one child is allowed per couple, preferably a son. The author spends a great deal of time explaining to the young adoptee why it is a costly catastrophe for a Chinese couple to have a girl when they really wanted a son. . . and so "your birthparents couldn't find a way to keep a daughter in their family and still have a son to take care of them later in life..." I cannot imagine that a girl child (no matter what age) reading these pages will feel good about her adoption, or, indeed, feel good about being a girl even though, toward the end of the book, the caring adoptive parents arrived. There is also too much explaining of other reasons why the baby girl was given up, such as medical problems, unmarried birthmother...all this added to the reality that girls are not wanted. "They then carried you to a public place, like a park, or a busy street corner, or a police station- a place where they knew you would be found..." Frankly, I cannot imagine reading this book to an adoptee. These truths will be bitter enough when the adoptee is an adult and learns about Chinese history and culture, but are too brutal to be told at an early age. Just love the child, please, and reserve the unhappy details for much later. An enchanting book like that written by Rose Lewis, I love you like Crazy Cakes is all that is needed to soothe the little girl's soul and let her understand that she came from China. Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

Helpful, Sensitive, Packed with Photos:
Members of my family and friends as well have found this book very helpful in gaining an understanding of our Chinese daughter's home country and the situation surrounding Chinese adoption. They feel they've learned many things that they did not know before. I am hopeful that this book also will be useful and interesting to my daughter as she grows. I particularly appreciate the sensitivity with which the book presents the Chinese culture and tbe reason that most of the children adopted from China are girls. The other wonderful thing about this book is that it is packed with photos of everyday China and of adopting families in China. If Chinese adoption has touched your family, I encourage you to add this book to your collection!

When You Were Born In China:
We adopted our daughter from China in 2003 and this book is an excellent resource for us, our daughter as well as for family and friends who do not exactly understand the whole China Adoption process. We are thrilled with the content as it is factual but presented in a sensitive/caring manner. I cried from the first page on. This will be an excellent tool as we get ready for our second China adoption.

Good Book For Parents To Read To Their Children:
This book gives a general view on the 'whys' of your child's adoption, from the culture, rules in China to why you are her parents and what that means to her. It tackles some issues that well certainly spawn endless amount of questions. Be prepared to answer them honestly in a heart to heart conversation. The book is simple, averaging one or two paragraphs per page, with many black and white pictures of China and the children. It's a nice book for children four or older as it takes comprehension of what is being said. You'll be able to tell when the right time to read this book is. Aesthetically the book is beautiful and artistic, despite the fact that it's slender, it's not the best for small hands.

Amazingly sensitive and loving story:
Our daughter was adopted from China and this will be one of the first books we will read to her as she gets older. It tells of how much they were loved by their birthparents and how special they are. But it plainly but sesitively explains the one child policy and the preference for boys in their culture. It is a fantastic book and one the tells of their life in China before they joined their forever family. FANTASTIC!