When You Were Born in China: A Memory Book for Children Adopted from China by Sara Dorow Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of When You Were Born in China: A Memory Book for Children Adopted from China
Book Review: A risky approach to explaining adoption to a Chinese child
Summary: 2 Stars
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?
Book Review: Amazingly sensitive and loving story
Summary: 5 Stars
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!Book Review: Helpful, Sensitive, Packed with Photos
Summary: 5 Stars
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!
Book Review: great for kids under 6
Summary: 4 Stars
Each page is filled with pictures of China and a couple of easy sentences about Chinese history, beauty, culture, and how kids enjoy Coke and dumplings when they can splurge. Includes sentences that tell about the adoption process, and reinforce the point that the child is loved. Discusses how laws by China's leaders allow only one child per family, and how Chinese parents LOVE children, but ancient ideas about male babies are hard to overcome in some families, and girls get placed for adoption to other loving couples. Encouraging. Primary idea is that your (the child's) story began in China.Book Review: A perfect addition to your Chinese Adoption Library
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the first books I collected for my daughter. We often read this story of how others became forever familes, and she loves looking at the pictures. I found the book to be sensitive and honest. It will be a vehicle for us to talk about her adoption in deeper levels as she gets older. I like the black and white pictures and the variety of Chinese life they capture. My daughter has a rich cultural heritage and this book will be part of it.