Picture Books about Adoption

Last year we posted a list of picture books about adoption. This time the books are categorized to help you find the book that best fits your child's adoption needs and stage, plus additional titles. Do you want a book to help share  your child's birth and adoption journey? Do you want a book to help discuss your child's birthparents? Do you want a book to help understanding about what being an adoptive family means? Do you need a book to discuss adopting a child into your family to either biological or adoptive children? Check out these books!

Adoption Stories

Tell Me Again About the Night I was Born by Jaime Lee Curtis

How I Was Adopted by Joanna Cole

Over the Moon by Karen Katz

My Family is Forever by Nancy Carlson

The Red Thread: An Adoption Fairy Tale by Grace Lin

I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose A. Lewis

Books discussing Birthparents

Forever Fingerprints by Sherrie Eldridge

The Mulberry Bird: An Adoption Story by Anne Braff Brodzinsky
Did My First Mother Love Me?: A Story for an Adopted Child by Kathryn Ann Miller
Three Names of Me by Mary Cummings

Mommy Far, Mommy Near: An Adoption Story by Carol Antoinette Peacock

Sam's Sister by Juliet C. Bond

Books about Adoptive Families

All Together Now by Anita Jeram

A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza
Horace by Holly Keller

Every Year on Your Birthday by Rose A. Lewis

Happy Adoption Day! by John McCutcheon

We Belong Together by Todd Parr
I Don't Have Your Eyes by Carrie A. Kitze

Books about Adopting a Younger Sibling
Ten Days and Nine Nights by Yumi Heo
My Mei Mei by Ed Young

Rebecca’s Journey Home by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman

Waiting for May by Janet Morgan Stoeke

Bringing Asha Home by Uma Krishnaswami

Most of these titles are available at local public libraries. This is just a starter list of picture books about adoption. There are many more titles available.

Complimentary Photo Session for Adoptive Families

I recently discovered this website called "Celebrating Adoption" that I'm really excited about!

A group of photographers across the nation have volunteered to give one complimentary photo shoot (waiving the session fee) for adoptive couples working on their profiles or for adoptive families with their newest addition. 

The list of the participating photographers for Indiana and Kentucky are hard to read on the actual website due to very small font size, so I have provided them here but please go to the Celebrating Adoption's website for more details and the terms, conditions and disclaimer policies.

Outreach that we can do is email these photographers and thank them for supporting adoption so generously with their time and talents. Also encourage your photographer friends to consider becoming a participating photographer.

Indiana

Jane Fritchley Photography

Jane Fritchley

Southern Indiana/Evansville

http://www.janefritchleyphotography.com/

Carmel Flores Photography

Carmel Flores

Indianapolis, IN

http://www.carmelfloresphotography.com/

Ferie's Fotography

Erin Medlin

Indianapolis, IN

http://www.fergiesfotography.com/

Kristi Hibbetts Photography

Kristi Hibbetts

Fishers, IN

http://www.khibbettsportraits.com/

Tonya Marie Photograpy

Tonya Bussema

Angola, IN and Western MI

http://www.tonyamariephotography.com/

Kentucky

LZ Photography

Lisa Zanchi

Brandenburg, KY
270-422-8090

http://www.lzphotography.com/

Kennedy Photography

Taran Kennedy

Somerset, KY

http://www.kennedyphotographyonline.com/

Erin Ivie Photography

Erin Ivie

Henderson, KY

http://www.eriniviephotography.com/

Lizzie Loo Photography

Elizabeth Lauer

Louisville, Ky

http://www.lizzieloo.com/

Outreach On the Go

Don't have a lot of time for adoption advocacy and outreach?

Let these items speak for you or be the conversation starters needed to share your testimony.

Decals, bumper stickers, license plate frames.

Church bags, library bags, reusable shopping bags.

T-shirts for kids, parents, grandparents.

Magazines and books on your end tables.

Go here to get 30 days of celebrating National Adoption Month 2010 from Adoptive Families magazine.

Many of these items were bought at the FSA store at a recent adoption conference which unfortunately does not have an on-line store or website but you could easily make your own t-shirts, bags and more.

No Matter How Much Time You Have.....

YOU CAN BE AN ADOPTION ADVOCATE!

(Click on the picture below to view a larger version)

Government Advocacy

It's election day!
Here are some ideas for adoption outreach with the courts and government.

• Write a letter to one or two of the elected policymakers who represent you. Share a story about how good (or bad) adoption policies have affected your life. Thank the policymaker for working on adoption issues or encourage them to do so.

• Bring stacks of brochures about an adoption agency, an adoption support group or adoption pass along cards to courthouses and leave them in waiting areas or at free literature stands.

• Thank the judge who finalized your child’s adoption by sending a card and recent family photograph.

• Surf the Internet looking for children’s advocacy sites. Add your email address to an action alert listserv so you can get messages about and respond to pressing legislative issues.

• Volunteer to work on the campaign of a pro-child candidate, help with voter registration, or assist at the polls on election day.

 

Government websites:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/  Contact the President, Vice President, or other staff.

http://www.house.gov/  To learn about current legislation and contact

http://www.senate.gov/  To contact Congressional representatives.

thomas.loc.gov  Read text of past and current legislation and view records from committee hearings.

http://www.fec.gov/ Obtain forms to become a registered voter from the Federal Elections Commission.

http://www.dnet.org/ Enter your zip code into the League of Women Voters’ Democracy Net to find out

which candidates and issues will appear on your ballot.

http://www.cdfactioncouncil.org/ See each Congressperson’s voting record on children’s issues by visiting the Children’s Defense Fund.

http://www.cwla.org/ Review action alerts on children’s issues from the Child Welfare League of America.

The Indiana/Kentucky FSA chapter is looking for an indiviudal or a couple who are interested in government outreach and legislation to be on our FSA board. If you are interested in participating and volunteering please contact Sara or Esther at indianafsa@gmail.com 

National Adoption Awareness Month

The Indiana/Kentucky chapter of Families Supporting Adoption just wrapped up hosting and attending the 2010 adoption conferences. In May and September there was our chapter’s training conferences. Then in July there was the National FSA Conference in Utah and October was the Regional FSA conference. FSA puts a lot of prayer, time, money and effort into these conferences with a hope to fulfill one of FSA’s purposes: to support adoptive couples, adoptive families, adoptees and birth parents and to provide pre-adoption and post-adoption education and services. We hope you were able to take advantage of these conferences and your testimony of adoption was strengthen.

Another purpose of FSA besides supporting adoptive families is to have our adoptive families and others support adoption. As we all know the family is under attack including adoptive families. Recently at the regional conference, Brother Sunday of the National FSA Board, expressed his concern about domestic adoption remaining an option for building families. He stated that in many countries similar to the US (such as Britain and Australia) domestic adoption has become practically nonexistent. This limits the likelihood for many children to be sealed and raised in an eternal family or for a chance at life at all. This limits the choices of the unmarried expecting parents and potentially leads them further away from the straight and narrow path. This also limits the options a couple can choose from to build an eternal family. If the construct of adoption falters and fails, then Satan wins a major battle in the war for the family.

We need our FSA members who understand the truth and doctrine about adoption- that it is a part of Heavenly Father’s plan for building eternal families and it is about love- to support adoption through outreach. November is National Adoption Month which provides a good opportunity to do outreach. There are many ways to outreach and support adoption and many are simple and easy. A few of my personal favorites are:

• Put “Adoption: It’s About Love” window cling/bumper sticker on your car. (There was one provided in all the folders at the May conference and I believe the Sept. conference too).

• Share your testimony about adoption with others.

• Ask your local libraries to create a display of adoption related books in November.

• Blog about your adoption journey or put posts about adoption on Facebook.

• At our chapter’s blog (www.indianafsa.blogspot.com) we have accepted the challenge to try and post daily during the month of Nov. So make sure to stop by to read, comment and share with others what we have there.

I know if we do these things Heavenly Father will bless us and adoption will grow and prosper. As we outreach, our waiting for placements will become shorter; there will be fewer failed and disrupted adoptions and the environments we work, play, go to school and live in will be more supportive of our children, our families, and birth parents; and love will abound.

With great hope and much love,
Esther Edwards
Co-Chair IN/KY FSA

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret J. Wheatley

Regional FSA Conference

The Regional FSA Conference in Kirtland, OH is coming up on Oct. 8th & 9th.

If you haven't registered for the conference, please do so before Oct. 1st.

For more information about workshops, hotels or to register, click here.

Coming Up...

Over the next several weeks we will post highlights from some of the different workshops from the National, Chapter & Regional conferences this year.