FCC
Family Support Committee: Books for
Children
“A
book holds a house of gold” – Chinese
proverb
Reading with your
child is one
of the greatest pleasures of being a parent. But in the past, it was
difficult
to find books for children that represented all families and cultures.
Fortunately,
that has changed, as authors are now writing children’s books which
reflect the
wonderful range of families, children and experiences.
The
FCC
Nova Scotia – Family Support Committee has compiled a list of
books
with adoption themes, books with Chinese children as main characters,
book
celebrating difference, and books about China. We
have not read all of these books; some have been included based on
reviews from
other adoption booklists and online reviews by readers. Some books may
present
ideas or perspectives which are not consistent with your family’s
philosophy
about adoption or with your child’s age and level of understanding.
We
recommend that you read descriptions or reviews of the books before
reading to
your children. A good source of online descriptions and reviews is www.amazon.ca. Also, many of these
books are
available through public libraries, and the library catalogues can be
searched
online. For the websites for Nova
Scotia’s regional public libraries go to: http://www.library.ns.ca/regionals/index.htm
If you have
a
favorite
we have missed, please let us know at familysupport@fccns.ca.
Adoption
from China
A Sister for Matthew – Pamela
Kennedy
At Home in this World: A China
Adoption
Story – Jean MacLeod (for
older
children)
Emma’s Story – Deborah Hodge
I Love You Like Crazy Cakes -
Rose
Lewis
Every Year on Your Birthday –
Rose Lewis
Just Add One Chinese Sister –
Patricia
McMahon
Kids Like Me in China
- Ying Ying Fry
Mommy Far, Mommy Near - Carol
Antoinette
Peacock
My Mei Mei – Ed Young
Shaoey and Dot: Bug meets
Bundle – Mary
Beth Chapman and Steven Curtis Chapman
The Red Blanket – Eliza Thomas
The Red Thread: An Adoption
Fairy Tale –
Grace Lin
When You Were Born in China:
A Memory Book for Children
Adopted from China
- Sara
Dorow
Adoption - Other International
An American Face - Jan
M. Czech (adoption
from Korea)
Over the
Moon - Karen Katz (adoption
from Guatemala)
Rebecca’s
Journey Home – Sugarman Brynn
Olenburg (adoption from Vietnam)
Ten Days
And Nine Nights: An Adoption Story
- Yumi Heo (adoption from Korea)
Adoption –
General
A Koala for Katie
- Jonathan London
Adoption -
Fred Rogers
Happy
Adoption Day - John McCutcheon
How I Was
Adopted – Joanna Cole
I Don’t
Have Your Eyes – Carrie Kitz
Lucy’s
Family Tree – Karen Schreck
Megan's
Birthday Tree: A Story About Open
Adoption – Laurie Lears
Tell Me
Again about the Night I was Born -
Jamie Lee Curtis
The Day We
Met You - Phoebe Koehler
We Belong
Together: A Book About Adoption
and Families – Todd Parr
Adoption
themes
Adoption-themed storieswith animals as
the main characters
A Blessing From Above - Patti
Henderson
A Mother for Choco - Keiko Kaza
Horace - Holly Keller
The Little Green Goose – Adele Sansone
Little Miss Spider - David Kirk
Children’s
books with Chinese
themes, characters or settings
A Time of Golden Dragons -
Song Nan Zhang and Hao Yu Zhang
At the Beach - Huy Voun Lee
(Chinese books offering an introduction to Mandarin. Series includes In
The Park, In
the Leaves, In the Park, One-Two-Three Go)
Bringing in the New Year –
Grace Lin
Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat
- Jennifer
Armstrong
China's
Bravest Girl - Charlie Chin
Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes -
Robert
Wyndham and Ed Young
Daisy Comes Home - Jan Brett
Gai See: What You
Can See in Chinatown - Roseanne Thong
and Yangsook Choi
Mei Mei Loves the Morning -
Margaret
Holloway Tsubakiyama
Millions of Snowflakes - Mary
McKenna
Siddals
Mouse Match – Ed Young
My First Chinese New Year –
Karen Katz
Red Is A Dragon – A book of
Colors -
Roseanne Thong
Round is a Mooncake – A book
of shapes -
Roseanne Thong
Ruby’s Wish – Shirin Yim
Bridges
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
- Amy Tan
Silk Peony, Parade Dragon -
Elizabeth
Steckman
The Dancing Dragon - Marcia
Vaughn
The Empress and the Silkworm -
Lily Toy Hong
The Empty Pot – Demi
The Magic Paintbrush – Joel
Stewart and
Julia Donaldson
The Story of Chopsticks - Ying
Yang
Compestine
Three Pandas -
Jan Wahl
Children’s
reference books about China
Count Your Way Through China
DK Readers Welcome To China
Level 3 -
Caryn Jenner
Find Out About China
– Zheng Qing and Tim
Hutchinson
Moonbeams, Dumplings and
Dragon Boats: A
Treasury of Chinese Holidays, Activities and Recipes – Nina Swartz and
Leslie
Simonds
National
Geographic Countries of the World:
China
Traditional
Chinese stories and
poems
How the Rooster Got His Crown
- retold by Amy Lowry Poole
Lon Po Po – a Red Riding Hood
Story from China
- Ed Young
Maples in the Mist: Poems for
Children from
the Tang Dynasty - Minfong Ho
The Hunter - retold by Mary
Casanova
The Monkey and the Panda -
Meilo So and
Antonio Barber
The Mouse Bride – Monica Chang
The Seven Chinese Brothers -
Margaret Mahy
The Seventh Sister – A Chinese
Legend -
Cindy Chang
White Tiger, Blue Serpent -
retold by Grace
Tseng
Yeh-Shen, A
Cinderella Story from China - Ai-Ling
Louie (featured in FCCNS's Book Club October 2008)
Celebrating
children of all cultures
K is for Kiss
Goodnight – a bedtime
alphabet - Jill Sardegna
The Name Jar
-Yangsook Choi
The Key Collection - Andrea Cheng and Yangsook Choi
Suki’s Kimono - Chieri Uegaki and Stephane Jorisch
Sumi’s First Day Of School - Soyung Pak and Kim Un
We're Different, We're the Same - Bobbie Jane Kates (for Sesame Street)
Whoever You Are - Mem Fox
Special
Themes:
Single
Parents
I Love You
Like Crazy Cakes
The
Red
Blanket
The
White
Swan Express
Adoption and
siblings
A
Sister for
Matthew
Just
Add One
Chinese Sister
My
Mei Mei
Rebecca’s
Journey Home
Ten Days And
Nine Nights: An
Adoption Story
Adoption
into Jewish families
Rebecca’s
Journey Home
Family Tree
Projects
Lucy's
Family Tree