Customer Reviews

Every Year on Your Birthday

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book for my daughter's 4th birthday. It really captures the experiences and feelings of those first few years following an adoption (from China). The pictures are beautiful and the prose is graceful and moving. Of course I will have to practice until I can read the last page without crying. I'm so glad that Rose Lewis wrote this book. Now I wonder... will there be more? The preteen years? When your daughter goes to college?

I Love You Like Crazy Cakes came out just as I was completing the paperwork for my daughter's adoption, and Every Year on Your Birthday arrived just in time for my daughter's 4th birthday.

When she opened her present, she held up the book and proclaimed, "It's ME!" I can't overemphasize how important seeing other Asian faces is to my daughter-- and our family goes out of its way to ensure that.

The illustrations are beautiful, the sometimes difficult subject matter of orphanage life is treated sensitively, even positively.

I highly recommend this book for Chinese adoptees-- and even other Asian adoptees-- although the content doesn't *quite* match all experiences, it is an excellent starting off point. For example, we talk about what we did on various birthdays, speculate as to how she celebrated her first birthday before she was adopted, how we celebrated her birthdays and GOTCHA days each year. What a wonderful, easy way to begin sometimes difficult conversations.

An excellent addition to any pro-adoption library!

What a joy to open up that Amazon.com box and see the smiling face of Alexandra Mae-Ming Lewis, daughter of Rose Lewis, starring up at me rendered by Jane Dyer in her familiar and much-loved watercolor illustrations. If you and your little ones enjoyed I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (2000), I think you'll want to take a look at Every Year on Your Birthday.

Aimed at children 4-8 years of age, Every Year on Your Birthday is a sweet, simple and lovely book that illustrates, birthday by birthday, how the lives of Rose Lewis and her daughter have proceeded since they first became entwined in a hotel room in China. I think that many who have adopted from China will be able to identify with both the images and the experiences offered up in the book. For example, with my own girls now 4 and 6, I could identify quite completely with lines like "I think about how quickly your gurgles have turned to giggles." And I was equally moved by Jane Dyer's poignant illustrations showing the little one's progression from toddler to little girl; her illustrations could have been watercolor renderings of many of the snapshots awaiting placement in a scrapbook here at our house!

While Jane Dyer's illustrations were probably my favorite part of the book--I love watercolor and will admit to a particular soft spot for her work--I was also very appreciative of the way the book stayed connected to the child's history before her adoption. For instance, one section of the book celebrates the little girl's relationship with her "first friends," her orphanage "sisters" and those who cared for her in the Social Welfare Institute. And, as was the case in Crazy Cakes, the book offers a remembrance of the child's Chinese birth family, using the idea of looking up at the stars as a point of reference for them and a way to send them good wishes.

With Every Year on Your Birthday Rose Lewis and Jane Dyer have given another gift to the adoption community and to those who wish to better understand the experiences of adoptive families. For some, it will be a way to remind a child of the good time spent; for others, it may be used as a springboard for discussions about birth families and a life before adoption. Either way, it is a beautiful, heartfelt addition to the books on adoption from China.

I am an elementary school teacher and avid reader of Rose Lewis. Her new book, Every Year on Your Birthday, has brought so much joy to my students-who come from all types of families and backgrounds. That is what I love about Rose Lewis' and illustrator Jane Dyer's work. It strikes a chord with so many children and adults, no matter who they are or where they come from.
My enthusiasm for her work is equaled throughout our school, by teachers and students. We were all so excited for our library to receive a copy of Every Year on Your Birthday, it is rarely on the shelves! I can not say enought about her new book. It is beautifully written, incredibly illustrated, and (from her fans)certainly appreciated!

We bought this for our dauther's 4th birthday and she LOVES it. I thought it could be too advanced compared to one of our other favorites, "Crazy Cakes." This is a different kind of story, but one well worth sharing. Our girls, 4 & 7, enjoy all of the connections to Chinese culture and traditions, as well as watching the baby grow into a young girl as they have. They easily see themselves and their "story" in the main character. Parents likewise will not be disappointed with this story. Lewis came up with another that pulls at the heartstrings, especially for the lucky parents of Chinese daughters.

Every Year on Your Birthday is a perfect follow-up to I Love You Like Crazy Cakes. I liked that the author brought up her daughter's first family and friends in the orphanage. Even though my daughter's experiences wasn't entirely the same (every journey is different), this book has been a good spring board for questions about her birth family, orphanage, and early experiences with us. I have not only purchased this for my family, but also as a gift for other children who are three to five years old.

I gave this to my daughter for her 6th birthday. She didn't immediately "bond" with it like Lewis' earlier book (I Love You like Crazy Cakes), but I can tell it had an effect on her. I wouldn't be surprised to see her perusing it herself later and asking questions about her earlier years. The book is pretty (the illustrations are very soft and sweet - same illustrater as the earlier book). I would recommend this book especially for children adopted from China.

I bought this book for a friend who has adopted a little girl. Both she and her 3 year old daughter love this book and read it over and over (not just on her birthday). Really sweet and true to life.

In Rose Lewis's follow-up to I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, readers watch as her real life daughter, Alexandra Mae-Ming Lewis, celebrates her first birthdays.

After being adopted from China, Alexandra comes home with her new mother to America. There are a number of relatives who come to visit, bringing presents and wanting to catch a glimpse of the new arrival.

From her first birthday surrounded by friends and family, to her fifth birthday spent watching the dragon boat festival, we watch as Alexandra explores the world around her, and even becomes a US citizen.

And each year, on her birthday, her mother thinks about the place that her daughter left behind, and even the mother who gave birth to her -- and gives thanks for the joy and love that she has been blessed with.

Once again, Jane Dyer's beautiful illustrations perfectly illustrate Rose and Alexandra's story, which is sure to delight both children and parents alike.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

We gave this book to our adopted daughter for her birthday. It is so sweet.