Children's Books
 
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All the Colors of the Earth
by Sheila Hamanaka
 
A poetic picture book and an exemplary work of art. The simple text describes children's skin tones and hair in terms of natural phenomena ("...the roaring browns of bears"; "...hair that curls like sleeping cats in snoozy cat colors") and then describes love for these children with rich colors and flavors ("...love comes in cinnamon, walnut, and wheat..."). Hamanaka's oil paintings are all double-page spreads filled with the colors of earth, sky, and water, and the texture of the artist's canvas shines through. The text is arranged in undulant waves across each painting.
 
Danielle, Where Are You?
by Cindy Roberts
 
"Danielle, Where Are You?" is an adoption story written for young children ages three to eight years old. It is a true story told in fairy tale form, with colorful, imaginative illustrations and lively text. Enjoy visiting many foreign lands while searching for Danielle. This book was specially written to help explain adoption to young children.
    
$12
 
$13
 
 
 
Did My First Mother Love Me?: A Story for an Adopted Child
by Kathryn Ann Miller
 
A book that helps a family consider an important, difficult question. Even though Morgan knows all about her adoption, the preschooler sometimes wonders about her "other mother." When she asks, "Did my first mother love me?" her mother reads the letter her birthmother wrote to her. It relates the woman's wishes to be the one to give her child a safe and happy home, but acknowledges sadly that this is not possible. The adoptive family's openness and love are evident. Pen-and-ink drawings realistically illustrate the story. A note for parents about "Talking with Your Child About Adoption" is appended. This slim volume will be of value to adoptive parents, especially those fortunate enough to have letters from a birthmother.
 
Let's Talk About It: Adoption
by Fred Rogers
 
In tackling another difficult subject for children, Mr. Rogers of PBS-TV fame stresses that this photo-essay is intended as a jumping-off point to spark family discussions. However-perhaps as a result of providing such leeway-Rogers's text is vague and lacking specific information. He emphasizes the basic need for a loving family unit: "Being in a family means belonging. You could belong in your family by being born into it, or you could belong in your family by being adopted into it." The "how" and "why" questions sure to arise from this simplified presentation are thrown into the reader's court. Rogers also suggests helpful ways for children to deal with feelings that commonly accompany discussions about adoption. Though they seem somewhat posed, Judkis's photos of three ethnically diverse families gives this treatment a believable universality.
$11
 
$12
 
 
Megan's Birthday Tree: A Story About Open Adoption
 
Megan is adopted, and like many adopted children, she asks a lot of questions. She also receives many answers, thanks to her family's wholehearted embrace of open adoption: "Mom and Dad tell me what I want to know. And since I have an open adoption, I stay in touch with my birth mother, Kendra, too." The simple story focuses on Megan's anxiety about her place in her birth mom's heart, especially once Kendra moves to a new house and leaves behind Megan's "birthday tree," which Kendra had planted in the yard. A face-to-face interaction soothes Megan's fears. The comfortable relationship between Kendra and Megan, qualities emphasized by Farnsworth's sun-drenched oils, may raise unreasonable expectations among children whose experience of open adoption is not quite so ideal. Still, as more adoptive families move toward sustaining "ongoing, meaningful contact" between children and birth parents--now widely preferred by adoption agencies--the story's poignant message will find a growing audience.
 
Mommy Far, Mommy Near: An Adoption Story
by Carol Antoinette Peacock
 
Although Elizabeth, a young Chinese girl, is secure in the love of her adoptive Caucasian American family, she still has questions. Why, if China is such a big country, wasn't there room for all the babies? Didn't her mother love her? Such questions surface in games with her younger Chinese sister, in loving give-and-take with her American mother, and in hurt feelings after seeing a Chinese mother and daughter at the playground. Decorated in floral patterns and colored in lush, velvety hues, the thickly stroked, realistic artwork expands on the text while heightening the emotions it conveys. Elizabeth's misgivings are met head-on by her adoptive mother's reassurance, love, and thoughtful responses. The mother's tender support not only reassures Elizabeth but will also benefit other adoptees, especially those from Third World countries, as it reinforces the efforts of all loving, adoptive parents.
$16
 
$15
 
 
 
 
 
Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale
by Karen Katz
 
Bright, fanciful folk-art illustrations set the mood for (but occasionally get in the way of) this loving story of adoption. The smoothly flowing text is reassuring throughout, reflecting the joy of the new parents and ending with the "forever and always" that is the promise of adoption. The foster parents ("the kind people who had taken care of her") are pictured. The first day includes the first telling of the adoption story to the baby girl, "You grew like a flower in another lady's tummy." However, the first couple of illustrations are problematic. On the first spread, a baby is shown alone on a hillside sitting on a beanbag cloud with a city in the distance. The text states: "Once upon a time a teeny-tiny baby was born." Babies aren't born alone on hillsides, and even though this one is smiling, the picture doesn't seem reassuring. Adopted children need to know that they were born like other children, and did not appear magically without human connection. Also, though the text realistically recounts the new parents' first-day nervousness, the baby is pictured as smiling throughout instead of showing a range of reactions to different activities and situations.
 
Running the Road to ABC
By Lezlie Lauture
 
The joy of learning shines through in this lyrical, freewheeling tale of a group of Haitian children on their way to school. Leaving at dawn, these barefoot students race through the countryside and town to their school to learn to read and write another letter, sound, word, line, and page in the "great and beautiful books on the Road to ABC." The text flows along with the youngsters, evoking the sounds of the early morning and the shapes of the varied terrain over which they travel. Details of the town with its bread sellers and horse tamers provide another memorable backdrop to the children's passage. This rhythmic, richly descriptive account of a "day in the life" of these young Haitians takes readers into this activity as they follow along. With their vibrant Caribbean colors of turquoise, greens, pinks and oranges, the full- and double-page illustrations are perfectly attuned to the text.
$12
$12
 
 
Selavi, That is Life: A Haitian Story of Hope
by Youme Landowne
 
Landowne uses softly rendered, uncluttered pictures and simple text to tell the story of a homeless boy and his friends. The book opens with Sélavi's evocative words, "Not so long ago and not so far away, people with guns could take a family, burn a house and disappear, leaving a small child alone in the world." He joins other children living on the streets of Port-au-Prince and helping one another survive until repressive authorities force them to seek protection at a church meeting. Even the orphanage set up to help them proves unsafe when their murals are destroyed and their new home is burned down. Despite all the difficulties, the children continue to speak out about their needs, eventually establishing a radio station in a rebuilt orphanage. The book deals with complex issues over an extended period of time, so some story transitions are short on details. What does come through are the feelings of fear, anger, and solidarity that bind the youngsters together. A mix of full spreads and small, carefully sequenced illustrations that are varied in scale and tone helps tell the story. Photographs and lengthy endnotes from Landowne and Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat provide valuable background information. Sélavi offers a realistic view of children whose lives are sometimes disconcerting and sometimes hopeful. It will be useful in communities that serve Haitian-Americans, and libraries in which children are exploring issues of social justice.
 
Shaoey and Dot: Bug Meets Bundle
by Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman
 
An endearing tale told from the point of view of one little ladybug, Dot, who happens upon a mysterious bundle one sunny day. Dot stays with the little bundle as she is carried to the place "where babies come to be found" and promises to stay with the little one throughout her journeys toward getting a family. Written by Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth, this heartwarming tale is inspired by the true story of their adoption of three little girls from China and is a story of hope and faith for all families who have been blessed by a "lost little bundle of love."
$14
 
$13
 
 
 
Surprise Moon
by Caroline Hatton
 
On a fall night Nick shows his friends how to celebrate the Autumn Moon festival. It's party time in Vietnam where his dad is from, explains Nick. Nick and his friends carry lanterns and enjoy themselves making plenty of noise. They cheerfully parade around the neighborhood and then out under the full moon. But the best part of all is sharing moon cakes with friends.
Caroline Hatton's colorful children's book does a wonderful job of explaining the components of the full moon ceremony. Appealing illustrations demonstrate vividly the children's enjoyment of the Autumn Moon festivities. The simple language flows along in a soothing and entertaining rhythm that is fun to read out loud. This delightful children's book imparts a very positive statement about Vietnamese culture in a warm and inclusive format.
 
 
Williams and Stock here bring a cultural tradition to life for young readers. The setting is Haiti, zestfully rendered in Stock's brightly hued watercolors. Sasifi carries a basket on her head for the first time as she walks to market with Mama. Tired and hot, the girl longingly watches a passing tap-tap--a covered, festively painted pickup truck carrying marketgoers and their goods. Announcing they do not have enough money to ride the tap-tap, Mama curtly says, "Perhaps you are not yet big enough to help me on market day." Sasifi proves otherwise, competently selling all of their oranges--and collecting the correct amount of money--while Mama goes off to do her marketing. Her reward is her very first "fine new hat"--and some coins to buy herself a treat. The spirited child passes up the tempting goodies of the bustling marketplace for a ride home in the tap-tap. Children (even those younger than the intended audience) will enjoy the rollicking ride almost as much as Sasifi herself--who learns to "tap-tap" on the truck's side when she wants it to stop.
 
$10
 
$12
 
Ten Mice for Tet!
by Pegi Deitz Shea & Cynthia Weill
 
In a traditional counting-book format, mice prepare for their Tet celebration, from "one mouse" that plans a party to "ten mice" that watch fireworks. The bright, lively pictures, which convey various activities associated with the Tet celebration, were drawn on paper and then transferred to cloth and embroidered in cotton thread. The bare-bones text is a vehicle for the vibrant art, but it does provide a festive introduction to Tet for young children. Older children will examine the embroidery and discover more information in the notes. Appended notes elaborate on the text, explaining Vietnamese customs and traditions. The notes also provide pronunciation assistance, noting regional variations.
That's the Ticket: The Game of Success Your Kids Will Play for the Rest of Their Lives
by Kevin McMahon

 That’s The Ticket is a fun, interactive, motivational game that empowers parents to inspire their kids to WANT to: Set clear goals, complete specific tasks, build positive habits, EARN the things they crave. By playing That’s the Ticket, you’ll be able to:
• Make achieving your goals (as parents) valuable and important to your kids.
• Instill vital, winning qualities such as goal-setting, self-discipline, commitment honoring & financial management (even in kids as young as 7-years-old).
• Bring added peace and structure to your home.
• Turn the daily successes found while playing the game into lifelong habits.

$15
 
$50
 
 
 
 
The Colors of Us
 
Lena discovers that she and her friends and neighbors are all beautiful shades of brown. "I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up," says Lena. Then she sees everyone else in terms of delicious foods: Mom is the color of French toast. Lena's friend Sonia is the color of creamy peanut butter. Isabella is chocolate brown like the cupcakes they had for her birthday. Lena's best friend, Jo-Jin, is the color of honey. Katz wrote and illustrated the story in affirmation of her adopted Guatemalan daughter and her friends, and the diversity that surrounds them. The message is heavy, but it's made palatable by the loving words and the brightly colored, lively illustrations, which are a combination of collage, gouache, and colored pencil. The pictures of Lena and her friends and city neighbors celebrate the delicious colors of the individual people, all brown, and each one different.
 
Whoever You Are
by Mem Fox
 
Fox has composed a simple refrain to celebrate human connections in this lovely picture book. "Little one, whoever you are," she explains, there are children all over the world who may look different, live in different homes and different climates, go to different schools, and speak in different tongues but all children love, smile, laugh, and cry. Their joys, pain, and blood are the same, "whoever they are, wherever they are, all over the world." Staub's oil paintings complement the simple text. She uses bright matte colors for the landscapes and portraits, placing them in gold borders, set with jewels and molded from plaster and wood. These frames enclose the single- and double-page images and echo the rhythm of the written phrases. Within the covers of the book, the artist has created an art gallery that represents in color, shape, and texture, the full range of human experience.
$12
 
$11
 
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* please note that some items are available while supplies last only,
feel free to call Vicki Baker 503.233.1099 for availability.