Adoption-Related Books for Children Ages 9-12
(10-01)

NAIC compiled this list by searching numerous sources, including subject-related searches of Amazon.com, book lists posted on various adoption-related Web sites, and recommendations posted online by individuals. The suggested age-level is a general guideline. The list is intended as an overview; it is not comprehensive, and NAIC has not reviewed the books. Other helpful sources for locating books related to adoption include public libraries and children's bookstores. Parent support groups also frequently compile lists of recommended reading--to locate a parent support group in your State, consult NAIC's National Adoption Directory. (Search the Directory online or call the Clearinghouse at (888) 251-0075 for assistance.)

NONFICTION
Adopted From Asia: How It Feels to Grow Up in America, by Frances M. Koh
1993, hardcover, EastWest Press, ISBN 0960609067

Adoptees from Korea share their experiences being raised by Caucasian parents and discuss separation and loss, parental love and support, concerns about birth parents, racial prejudice, friends and dating, ethnic identity, and self-esteem.

How It Feels To Be Adopted, by Jill Krementz
1988 (reprint edition), paper, Knopf, ISBN 0394758536

Boys and girls from ages 8 to 16 and their adoptive families, tell their feelings and experiences about their adoption.

Kids Like Me in China by Ying Ying Fry and Amy Klatzkin. Photographs by Brian Boyd, Terry Fry
2001, hardcover, Yeong & Yeong, ISBN 0963847260

Written by an 8-year-old who was adopted from China as a baby, Kids Like Me in China is the first view of Chinese adoption from a child's perspective. Ying Ying returns to visit her orphanage so that she can remember what it was like. She meets her caregiver and discovers points of connection with the orphanage children. She also makes friends with other children; in their homes, on playgrounds and at school. She wrote her story so that other adopted children will understand their own life story.

W.I.S.E. Up Powerbook, by Marilyn Schoettle
2000, paper, Barbour Books, ISBN 0971173206

Friends, teachers, and even strangers often ask children questions, both personal and general, about adoption. The WISE UP POWERBOOK gives your children tools to cope with these sometimes uncomfortable comments from others.

Who Am I?: And Other Questions of Adopted Kids, by Charlene C. Giannetti, illustrated by Larry Ross
1999, paper, Price Stern Sloan, ISBN 084317529X
1999, hardcover, Price Stern Sloan, ISBN 0843175567

A book for preteens and teens seeking answers to their questions about being adopted, with advice from experts and quotes from adopted teens.

FICTION
Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me, by Julie Johnston
1995, paper, Puffin, ISBN 0140375880
1999, hardcover, Econo-Clad Books, ISBN 0785778071

Sara Moone's adoptive parents died when she was a baby, and since then she has passed through a series of foster homes. Although guarded and uncommunicative, Sara finds herself growing attached to her latest foster family, who live on an Ontario sheep farm.

Anna Casey's Place in the World, by Adrian Fogelin
2001, hardcover, Peachtree, ISBN 15614552491

Anna must deal with the loss of her family and adjust to living in a foster home.

Dicey's Song, by Cynthia Voigt
1995, paper, Fawcett Books, ISBN 0449702766
1983, hardcover, Atheneum, ISBN 0689309449

The abandoned Tillerman children, led by 13-year-old Dicey, find a home with their grandmother.

Gathering Home, by Vicki Covington
1999, paper, University of Alabama, ISBN 0817310029

A story of a girl who decides to look for her biological father when her adoptive father runs for Congress.

Halinka, by Mirjam Pressler
2000, paper, Laureleaf, ISBN 0440228573
1998, hardcover, Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 0805058613

Twelve-year-old Halinka, who was abused by her mother, shares a dormitory room with six girls in a welfare home in Germany in 1952 while her aunt tries to gain custody of her.

Heaven, by Angela Johnson
2000, paper, Aladdin, ISBN 0689822901
1998, hardcover, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0689822294

Marley, 14, part of a loving African-American family, is thrown into turmoil when she learns that she was adopted by her aunt and uncle and that her itinerant uncle is actually her birth father.

Holding Up the Earth, by Dianne E. Gray
2000, hardcover, Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0618007032

After her mother's death and seven foster homes, 14-year-old Hope finds herself on the Nebraska farm where her current foster mother, Sarah, grew up and where Sarah's mother, Anna, still lives.

Home is Where Your Horse Is, by Dandi Daley MacKall
2000, paper, Concordia, ISBN 0570070872

This book is one in a series (Horsefeathers Mysteries) featuring Scoop, who was adopted. In this entry in the series, Scoop believes she has found her birth mother.

If It Hadn't Been For Yoon Jun, by Marie G. Lee
1995, paper, Avon, ISBN 0380723476
1999, hardcover, Econo-Clad Books, ISBN 0785765131

Alice Larsen, a popular seventh grader, was adopted from Korea as an infant. Alice considers herself completely American, but when she is assigned to a school project with the "geeky" new kid, she learns about her Korean heritage.

Lucy's Family Tree, by Karen Halvorsen, illustrated by Stephen Gassler
2001, hardcover, Harpswell Pr, ISBN 0884482251

Lucy, who was adopted from Mexico, balks at a school assignment to draw her family tree.

Me and My Name, by Mary Jane Miller
2000, paper, iUniverse.com, ISBN 0595003303

Twelve-year old Erin has to decide whether or not she should let herself be adopted by her stepfather and change her name.

Me, Mop, and the Moondance, by Walter Dean Myers 1990, paper, Dell Publishing, ISBN 00595003303

This is the story of three children who grew up together in an orphanage. Brothers Ted and Moondance have been adopted and Mop (Miss Olivia Parish) has to find a family before the orphanage shuts down.

Molly by Any Other Name, by Jean Davies Okimoto
2000, paper, iUniverse.com, ISBN 0595007961

Molly tries to find her birth mother through an adoptees' search organization.

Team Picture, by Dean Hughes
1998, paper, Aladdin, ISBN 0689819900
1999, hardcover, Econo-Clad Books, ISBN 0613088700

David becomes the foster child of Paul, the bellman at the hotel where David had been hiding. David and Paul deal with Paul's alcoholism while David's baseball team prepares for a championship game.

The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson,
1987, paper, HarperTrophy, ISBN 0064402010
1978, hardcover, Harpercollins, ISBN 0690038372

Gilly has been in the foster system all her life. She dreams of getting back to her mother, who is wonderful only in Gilly's imagination, and schemes to get away from her latest guardian.

The Long Journey Home, by Richard Delaney, illustrated by Terry McNerney
1997 (second edition), paper, Wood N Barnes; ISBN 1885473141

A novel about separation from loved ones. A young boy is separated from his mother by a raging flood and searches to find her.

The Ocean Within, by V.M. Caldwell, illustrated by Erica Magnus
1999, paper, Milkweed Editions, ISBN 1571316248
1999, hardcover, Milkweed Editions, ISBN 157131623X

Orphaned more than five years before, Elizabeth is on her third set of foster parents. During a summer vacation, she learns how to be part of a family.

The Snake-Stone, by Berlie Doherty
1998, paper, Puffin, ISBN 0140383921
1996, hardcover, Orchard Books, ISBN 0531095126

Fifteen-year-old James was adopted as an infant by loving parents. James is a diver whose rigorous training schedule contributes to feelings of loneliness. He decides to break training and search for his birth mother.

The Story of Tracy Beaker, by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt
2001, hardcover, Delacorte Press, ISBN 0385729197

Tracy tells about her life living in a group home for children after placements in two different foster homes.

Visiting Miss Pierce, by Pat Derby
1989, paper, Sunburst, ISBN 0374481563

Fourteen-year-old Barry, visiting an 83-year-old woman in a nursing home and encouraging her to delve into her distant past, finds the project affects him deeply in his situation as an adopted child.

When the Road Ends, by Jean Thesman
1992, hardcover, Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 039559507X

Three troubled foster children and a disabled widow fend for themselves at a summer cabin, eventually forming a new family.

This material has been taken from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse Web site as reviewed and approved for addition to this site on January 14, 2004.

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse http://naic.acf.hhs.gov, can be reached toll free at 1-888-251-0075,or by e-mail at: naic@calib.com.

Credits: Child Welfare Information Gateway (http://www.childwelfare.gov)