Love Blossoms

“ An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break. - Chinese Proverb. ”

Suggested Reading Lists


These lists were gleaned from recommendations from fellow Love Blossoms as well as from other DTC websites.

Basic Baby/Childcare/Development Books

  • The Baby Book by Dr. William Sears
  • Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock, MD and Steven Parker, MD
  • The Attachment Parenting Book by Dr. William Sears
  • The Fussy Baby Book by Dr. William Sears
  • Making the "Terrible" Twos Terrific! by John Rosemond
  • Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy Healthy Children by John Rosemond

Being An Adoptive Family


  • Becoming a Family: Promoting Health Attachments with Your Adopted Child by Lark Eshleman, PhD
  • How it Feels to be Adopted by Jill Krenentz
  • How to Raise An Adopted Child by Judith Schaffer, Christina Lindstrom
  • Journey of the Adopted Self by Jean Lifton
  • Primal Wound-Understanding the Adopted Child by Nancy Verrier
  • Making Sense of Adoption: A Parent's Guide by Lois Ruska Melina
  • The International Adoption Handbook: How to Make Foreign Adoption Work For You by Myra Alperson
  • Loved by Choice: True Stories That Celebration Adoption
  • The Waiting Child by Cindy Champnella
  • Keys To Parenting An Adopted Child by Kathy Lancaster
  • Talking with Young Children about Adoption by Mary Watkins and Susan Fisher
  • How to Adopt Internationally by Jean Nelson-Erichsen and Heino R.Erichsen
  • The Adoption Resource Book by Lois Gilman
  • Raising Adopted Children by Lois Ruskai Melina
  • Attaching in Adoption by Deborah Gray
  • Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self by D. Brodzinsky, PhD et al
  • Child of My Heart: A Celebration of Adoption by Barbara Alpert
  • Toddler Adoption by Mary Hopkins-Best
  • 20 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew by S. Eldridge
  • The Waiting Child: How the Love of One Child... by Cindy Champnella

Adoption from China

  • The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans
  • Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son by Kay Johnson
  • A Passage to the Heart: Writings from Families with Children from China edited by Amy Klatzkin
  • Daughter from Afar by Sarah Lynn Woodward
  • Wuhu Diary: On Taking My Adopted Daughter Back to Her Hometown In China by Emily Prager
  • The Waiting Child by Cindy Champnella
  • Melanie and Me by Terry Garlock
  • Love's Journey - Available from Love Without Boundaries.com -

Transracial Adoption Books

  • Inside Transracial Adoption by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall
  • Are Those Children Yours? by Cheri Register
  • Dim Sum, Bagel and Grits: A Sourcebook for Multicultural Families by Myra Alperson
  • Does Anyone Else Look Like Me? by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
  • In Their Own Voices by Rita James Simon
  • Why Are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Beverly Dabiel Tatum
  • Secret Thoughts of an Adoptive Mother by Jana Wolff

Chinese History and Culture


  • China: A New History by John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman
  • China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wundunn
  • Culture Shock! A Guide to Customs and Culture - China by Kevin Sinclair with Iris Wong Po-yee
  • Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
  • The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
  • The Good Women of China by Xinran Xue
  • The Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls, Their Journey to America, and the Search for a Missing Past by Karin Evans
  • Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud by Sun Shuyun
  • To the Edge of the Sky by Anhua Gao
  • Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
  • The Cambridge History of Ancient China by Michael Loewe, Edward Shaughnessy
  • Spectacular China (Coffee Table Book)
  • Modern China by Graham Hutchins
  • When China Ruled the Seas by Louise Levathes
  • River Town: Two Years of the Yangtze by Peter Hessler (more of a memoir, less of a history)
  • Escape from China by Zhang Boli The story of one of the Tiananmen Square revolt leaders
  • The Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls, Their Journey to America, and the Search for a Missing Past by Karin Evans

Books about the Chinese-America/Asian American Experience

  • The Chinese in America by Iris Chang
  • Asian American Dreams by Helen Zia
  • Bound Feet, Western Dress by Pai-Mei Natasha Chang
  • Yellow by Frank Wu
  • Yell-Oh Girls! Edited by Vickie Nam

Children's Books

  • I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose A. Lewis, Jane Dyer (Illustrator)
  • The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption by Jean Davies Okimoto, Elaine M. Aoki, Meilo So (Illustrator)
  • Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, Meilo So (Illustrator)
  • Kids Like Me in China by Ying Ying Fry, Amy Klatzkin, Brian Boyd, Terry Fry
  • When You Were Born in China: A Memory Book for Children Adopted from China by Sara Dorow, Stephen Wunrow
  • Over the Moon : An Adoption Tale by Karen Katz
  • Let's Talk About It: Adoption by Fred Rogers
  • All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka (multi-racial)
  • An Mei's Strange and Wondrous Journey by Stephan Molnar-Fenton, illustrator Vivienne Flesher
  • At the Beach by Huy Youn Lee
  • A Blessing From Above by Patti Henderson
  • Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat by Jennifer Armstrong
  • China's Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan by Charlie Chin
  • Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
  • Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes by Robert Wyndham
  • Coloring Book of Ancient China
  • Count Your Way Through China by Jim Haskins
  • The Cricket Warrior: A Chinese Tale by Marcia Vaughn
  • Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett
  • The Dancing Dragon by Marcia Vaughn
  • The Day We Met You by Phoebe Koehler
  • Dim Sum for Everyone by GRACE LIN
  • Doctor Me Di Cin by Roberto Puimini
  • The Dragon Prince : A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale by Laurence Yep
  • Dreamland: A Lullaby by Mary Chapin Carpenter
  • El Chino by Allen Say
  • The Empress and the Silkworm by Lily Toy Hong
  • The Empty Pot by Demi
  • Happy Adoption Day by John McCutcheon
  • How the Rooster Got His Crown retold by Amy Lowry Poole
  • The Hunter retold by Mary Casanova
  • I Don't Have Your Eyes by Carrie A. Kitze
  • In the Park by Huy Youn Lee
  • In the Snow by Huy Youn Lee
  • Journey Through China by Philip Steele
  • K is for Kiss Goodnight: A Bedtime Alphabet by Jill Sardegna
  • The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, Ruth E. Harper, Nancy M. Leak
  • Kite Flying by GRACE LIN
  • Kites: Magic Wishes That Fly Up to the Sky by Dem
  • A Koala for Katie: An Adoption Story by Jonathan London
  • Ladybug, Ladybug by Ruth Brown
  • Legend of Mu Lan: A Heroine of Ancient China by Wei Jiang, Cheng an Jiang
  • Liang and the Magic Paintbrush by Demi
  • Little Miss Spider by David Kirk
  • Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
  • Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children from the Tang Dynasty by Minfong Ho
  • Mei Ling's Hiccups by David Mills & Derek Brazell
  • Mei Mei Loves Morning by Margaret Holloway Tsubakiyama
  • Millions of Snowflakes by Mary McKenna Siddals
  • A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kaza
  • Mommy Far, Mommy Near: An Adoption Story by Carol Antoinette Peacock
  • The Monkey and the Panda by Antonio Barber
  • Monkey King by Ed Young
  • The Mouse Bride by Monica Chang
  • Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale by Ed Young
  • The Mulberry Bird: An Adoption Story by Anne Braff Brodzinsky, Diana L. Stanley
  • One Grain Of Rice : A Mathematical Folktale by Demi
  • Our Baby From China: An Adoption Story by Nancy D'Antonia
  • Red Is A Dragon: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong
  • The Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jang and DW Hwang
  • Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong
  • Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim
  • Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by Amy Tan
  • The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy
  • The Seventh Sister: A Chinese Legend retold by Cindy Chang
  • Silk Peony, Parade Dragon by Elizabeth Steckman
  • The Story of Chopsticks by Ying Yang Compestine
  • The Story of Noodles by Ying Chang Compestine
  • The Story of Paper by Ying Chang Compestine
  • The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
  • Teddy and the Chinese Dragon by Jan Mogenson
  • Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis
  • Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
  • Three Pandas by Jan Wahl
  • Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mose
  • A Time of Golden Dragons by Song Nan Zhang and Hao Yu Zhang
  • Toddler Two by Anastasia Suen
  • Too Many Suns by Julie Lawson
  • The Weaving of a Dream: A Chinese Folktale by Marilee Heyer
  • We See the Moon by Carrie Kitze
  • We're Different, We're the Same by Bobbie Jane Kates
  • White Tiger, Blue Serpent retold by Grace Tseng
  • Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
  • Yeh-Shen, A Cinderella Story from China retold by Ai-Ling Louie
  • 1, 2, 3, Go! by Huy Youn Lee

Chinese New Year

  • Celebrating Chinese New Year by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith
  • Chin Chiang and the Dragon's Dance by Ian Wallace
  • Chinese New Year's Dragon by Rachel Sing
  • Chinese New Year For Kids by Cindy Roberts
  • Dragon Dance a Chinese New Year: A Chinese New Year Lift-The-Flap Book by Joan Holub, Benrei Huang
  • Gung Hay Fat Choy by June Behrens
  • Happy, Happy Chinese New Year by Demi Hitz
  • Lion Dancer by K. Waters and M. Slovenslow
  • Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts by Carol Stepanchuk
  • Moon Festival by Ching Yeung Russell
  • Red Eggs and Dragon Boats by C. Stepanchuk
  • Sam and the Lucky Monkey by Karen Chinn
  • This Next New Year by Janet S. Wong






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