Books for 2 to 8 Year Olds on Multiracial

Books for 2 to 8 Year Olds on
Multiracial / Multicultural Issues

Included is a brief description of the book’s content and potential uses. Some of these
books will have a book icon in the Title Box. These books are available to be borrowed
through the NJ ARCH Library, free of charge. Simply click on the book icon to go to the
online book request form. Books can be borrowed for up to 14 days.
(Special Note: Books valued at $50.00 or more will require submission of a credit card number.
Charges will only be made to the account in the event a book is not returned by the due date.)

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Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Boyd, Brian	When You Were Born In Korea		1993
Notes
Children adopted abroad often wonder what life was like before they came to America. Who took care of them? How did they come to leave their birth mother? What was daily life like at the orphanage? This book clearly answers a child's many questions.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Budin, Catherine and Sherry	Is That Your Sister?		1992
Notes
Catherine is a member of a multi-cultural family. Her friends often ask her questions about her family; especially her sister, whose physical appearance is different from Catherine’s. Taking a matter-of-fact tone, she answers them.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Caines, Jeanette	Abby		1973
Notes
Preschooler, Abby, an adopted African American girl, enjoys reading her adoption story book over and over. An exuberant child, she looks for reassurance from her loving parents and typically teasing older brother.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Czech, Jan M.	An American Face		2000
Notes
Jessie, a young Korean boy adopted into an American family, counts the days until he will become a citizen so he will have an American face like everyone else. Tender story told with colorful illustrations.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
D’Antonio, Nancy	Our Baby From China		1997
Notes
With simple texts and loving photographs, tells the true story of the adoption of Ariela. Her family travels to China to meet her; they see many lovely sights, but the loveliest one of all is their new daughter.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Dorrow, Sara	When You Were Born in China	A Memory Book for Children Born in China	1997
Notes
A must-have book for any child adopted form China. In simple language and beautiful black and white photos, the reader will see China’s grand country, its people, its historic sites and poor countryside. A clear, loving explanation about why parents place children for adoption or in orphanages, etc.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Fry, Ying Ying with Amy Klatzkin	Kids Like Me in China		2001
Notes
Written by an 8-year-old girl adopted from China. Ying Ying returns to visit her orphanage, meets her caregivers, and discovers paths of connections with the orphanage children. Makes other friends in her home, playground and school.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Grace, Roz	Anthony’s Surprise		1994
Notes
After getting teased on the way home from school because of his dark skin, Anthony discusses the incident with his mom. To his surprise, his parents tell him he is bi-racial, and learns that it doesn’t matter what others think.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Lewis, Rose	I Love You Like Crazy Cakes		2000
Notes
A mother describes to her adopted young daughter how she went to China to adopt a special baby girl. Beautiful and lovingly illustrated to be read to toddlers through school age children. This book is a treasure.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
McKay, Lawrence	Journey Home		2001
Notes
Story about a baby who was adopted from a Vietnamese orphanage. The only keepsake she has is a beautiful kite. Mai and her mother are happy with their adoptive family, but still have a desire to go to Saigon to find her birth family.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Mora, Pat	Pablo’s Tree		1994
Notes
Five-year-old Pablo was adopted from Mexico as a baby by his single adoptive mother. His beloved grandfather planted a tree to celebrate the happy event. Every year on Pablo’s birthday, he surprises Pablo by decorating the tree in a new way – a very loving story.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Okimoto, Jean D.	The White Swan Express	A Story About Adoption	2002
Notes
In China, four baby girls are fast asleep in their cribs at the orphanage. In America, four families are getting ready to start an exciting journey. With tenderness and humor, this lyrical story tells how they all come together. Appropriate for single parent families or couples.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
O’Shea, Robbie	I’m Brown and My Sister Isn’t		2002
Notes
Perfect for starting discussions with children and their siblings who have been adopted across racial borders. A simple book told in the words of an adopted child. Differences include their likes and dislikes, and how they tan or burn in the sun.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Pelligrini, Nina	Families are Different		1991
Notes
Mom explains to Nico, adopted from Korea, that there are many different types of families, all glued together with love. Children can live with one or two parents, with grandparents, and they can have step brothers and sisters, and not look alike.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Peacock, Carol A.	Mommy Far, Mommy Near		2000
Notes
Because Elizabeth was adopted from China, she assumes every baby was born in China. Her mommy explains that babies grow inside their mothers and can come from any country. She explains why her other mommy couldn’t keep her, though she loved her.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Portnoy, Francie	One Wonderful You		1997
Notes
For an adopted child, forming a healthy identity requires incorporating two family legacies into his/her self-definition. Shows how the child is a blend of traits from the birth family and nurturing contributions from the adoptive family.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Petertyl, Mary	Seeds of Love	For Brothers and Sisters of International Adoption	1997
Notes
Written for children whose parents will be traveling abroad to complete an international adoption. Helps children work through their feelings about being separated from their parents when their parents travel. Beautifully illustrated.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Recorvits, Helen	My Name is Yoon		2003
Notes
Yoon’s name in Korean means Shining Wisdom. Yon struggles to write her name in English, where all the lines and circles stand alone – just how Yon feels in the U.S. An inspiring and luminous book about a little girl as she finds her place in a new country.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Roberts, Cindy	Danielle Where Are You?		2003
Notes
This is the author’s true story of the search to adopt her daughter. It began in China, and ended in Vietnam. The author travels with the young reader through different countries until she finds Danielle. Colorfully illustrated.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Shemin, Craig	Families are Forever		2003
Notes
Rain, a Chinese-American adoptee helps us learn that a family’s origin is only the beginning to what it means to be a family. In this heartwarming tale of family, love, and beginnings, Rain meets Bo and her Forever Mom and they become a brand new family.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Waybill, Marjorie A.	Chinese Eyes		1974
Notes
When a first-grader, adopted from Korea, is teased about her appearance, she doesn’t understand what “Chinese eyes” means, but she knows the comment is unkind. Her mother explains how her beautiful eyes are both the same and different than others.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Fisher, Iris	Katie -Bo
Notes
Relates the adoption of a Korean baby girl into an American Family as seen through the eyes of her brother to be.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Girard, Linda Walvoord	We Adopted you Benjamin Koo
Notes
This is a welcome and needed picture book introducing to the concept of interracial adoption.

Author	Title	Subtitle	Year
Say, Allen	Allison		1997
Notes
When Allison, an Asian adoptee, realizes that she looks more like her favorite doll than her parents, she comes to terms with this unwelcome discovery through the help of a stray cat. Colorful and very expressive illustrations.

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