My China Workbook: a lifebook tool for kids adopted from China (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Hindi, ... Gujarati, Bengali and Korean Edition) [Loose Leaf]

Beth O'Malley M.Ed (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0970183232 | ISBN-13: 978-0970183231 | Publication Date: June 22, 2008 | Edition: 2nd

"What do my birth parents look like?" "Did I do something wrong?" "Why are so many Chinese girls put up for adoption?" Adoption expert, Beth O'Malley, provides you with an excellent tool that helps you answer these and other sometimes awkward questions. With fill-in-the blank questions, places for artwork, checklists and adoption homework; you and your child can work through the issues specific to being an adoptee from China.
Convenient cardstock pages take you step-by-step through your child's history in China, explaining about his/her biological parents, the adoption process and more. When your child asks questions, it opens the door for communication. That's one of the most important benefits of this lifebook.
Heavy-weight pages are punched for use in 3-ring binder. This gives you the freedom to personalize as needed. ( binder not included)

Editorial Reviews

Review

" Lily was gung ho to get started--- she signed the pledge (in signature style) and we moved forward - She was very excited to have a China project to work on and felt special doing it - She loved the drawing part and had a greater grasp of the "real deal" than I gave her credit for - --Lorraine. Mom to Lily age 5, adopted from China

"I have seen a confidence in Sara since we've done this workbook that I have never seen before. It seems like a big puzzle piece was just put into place for her. This was a real breakthrough." --Fran Zabawa (mother to Sarah age 9 from YiYang)

" Lily was gung ho to get started--- she signed the pledge (in signature style) and we moved forward - She was very excited to have a China project to work on and felt special doing it - She loved the drawing part and had a greater grasp of the "real deal" than I gave her credit for - --Lorraine. Mom to Lily age 5, adopted from China

" Lily was gung ho to get started--- she signed the pledge (in signature style) and we moved forward - She was very excited to have a China project to work on and felt special doing it - She loved the drawing part and had a greater grasp of the "real deal" than I gave her credit for - --Lorraine. Mom to Lily age 5, adopted from China

About the Author

Beth O'Malley is an adoptee, adoptive mom and professional in the field of adoption. With a Masters in Counseling, Beth relies on her instincts and experiences as an adult adoptee as much as her skill when preparing foster children for adoption. In 2000, she wrote Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child. This book has helped thousands of parents and children connect and successfully work through the issues of adoption including understanding why kids don't live with their biological families. Beth's latest work, My China Lifebook, offers parents and children adopted from China new ways to talk about their inner concerns and build upon their attachment to their family.

Product Details

• Loose Leaf: 30 pages
• Publisher: Adoption Works Press; 2nd edition (June 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970183232
• ISBN-13: 978-0970183231
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #956,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, May 24, 2007

By 

M. Claire McDonald - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My China Workbook: a lifebook tool for kids adopted from China (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Hindi, ... Gujarati, Bengali and Korean Edition) (Loose Leaf)

My daughter and I made her lifebook together when she was 3.5 and we have read it many times since. She sometimes reads it to herself privately. We also talk frequently about all the issues/questions/feelings around her first year of life. Though Beth O'Malley's workbook covered much of the same ground, the fact that my daughter was filling in answers for herself felt different. Also, unlike the lifebook, which is largely a mother-written endeavor, the workbook was written by an adoption expert--and my daughter is getting to the stage where confirmation from a non-parent source matters!

This is an excellent resource in what I think of as a progression of lifebooks--the toddler lifebook (mainly photos), the small child lifebook
(photos plus more text and detail), this workbook, and eventually an
autobiography written by the teen adoptee. None of us ever really finishes writing our story, do we?

Claire McDonald
Mom to DD, age 7.5
President, Families with Children from Asia Winchester

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for children, June 18, 2007

By 

Lisa Coppola - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My China Workbook: a lifebook tool for kids adopted from China (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Hindi, ... Gujarati, Bengali and Korean Edition) (Loose Leaf)

I bought this not knowing whether it would be appropriate for my daughter, aged 7. It was, however, a perfect resource for her, guiding her gently to explore some of the facts and circumstances of her birth and life in China prior to my adopting her. She giggled at some questions, thought deeply about others, and seemed to really enjoy that she had the option to draw as well as to write (or dictate) her answers. We work on it together, some weeks a lot, and other weeks just a little. Like many things, creating this book is a process -- and a welcome one. I would highly recommend this to parents of children adopted from China.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great concept but a little disappointed, September 19, 2009

By 

Mom of three - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My China Workbook: a lifebook tool for kids adopted from China (English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Hindi, ... Gujarati, Bengali and Korean Edition) (Loose Leaf)

I have three daughters adopted from China. I was so excited to get them each a copy of this book. I love Beth O'Malleys Lifebooks book, and I was a little disappointed to see that much of the verbiage in the China workbook is taken verbatim from the Lifebooks book. Also, the China workbook has several misspellings that should have easily been caught and corrected. I didn't see til after I received the book that it is just a packet of loose leaf pages...the picture on Amazon shows it as spiral bound, which it is not. OK, that was my mistake I guess for not reading the description closely enough. BUT, if it's going to be sent as looseleaf, I wish it wasn't 3 hole punched, because I would like to spiral bind it myself, and now it will have those 3 unused holes in it, and some of the graphics have a hole punched through them. Not earthshattering of course, but an irritation nonetheless.

The positives...my daughters are excited about the book and it will be fun for them to work through all the pages. It will be their special book, and will be a place for them to think about some questions and some of the pieces of their stories. Also, while we've talked about their stories a lot, there are a few questions the book asks that I never really thought to mention.

Overall, I would order this book again and I think it's worthwhile. I don't think it's as good as I was expecting it to be, though.