Our Baby From China: An Adoption Story [Hardcover]

Nancy D'Antonio (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

With simple text and lovely photographs, Nancy D'Antonio tells about the adoption of Ariela Xiangwei. To learn about the land their new daughter comes from, the author and her husband travel to China.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3. A moving photo-essay about an international adoption. Addressing the text to her daughter, D'Antonio uses simple, straightforward language to relate her experiences as she and her husband traveled to China, met Xiangwei and her caregivers, signed official papers, celebrated with other American parents and their adopted babies, and journeyed home to meet the rest of the child's "forever family." Designed to look like a photo album and set against an embroidered silk background, the book has a warm, intimate feel. Beginning with a smiling, older Ariela Xiangwei on the cover, the clear, full-color photos express the feelings and events described in the text. Like Phoebe Koehler's The Day We Met You (Bradbury, 1990), this story serves as a warm welcome to a new family member. Nicely written and filled with honest emotions, this book will also appeal to those interested in nontraditional families.?Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-7. Although this book will be of most use for families involved in overseas adoption, it should appeal to other adoptive families as well. Certainly, it is easy to fall in love with little Ariela Xiangwei, the child whom the author and her husband went to China to adopt and whose journey to the U.S. is chronicled here. The format is that of a photo album, with each picture receiving a caption that is a paragraph or two long. Too many of the color photographs are pictures of places that have no real relevance to the story (the Great Wall, for instance), but once the couple gets to the orphanage where Ariela and other babies are waiting to be adopted, the pace picks up; the book ends with the new family's arrival home. Since the picture of Ariela on the front cover shows her to be three or so, it would have been nice to see some of her acclimation to her new home, but this still works as a where-did-I-come-from tale. Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807561622
• ISBN-13: 978-0807561621
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 8.2 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good model, August 14, 2002

By 

Tim E. Swett (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Baby From China: An Adoption Story (Hardcover)

This book is actually a pretty good model of a scrap book or photo book you could put together for your own Chinese child (if you have adopted one) or a good way for other children to learn some basics about a China adoption.

Some of these reviews seem to take one line in the book out of context. Although I lead a charity whose mission is to help Chinese adoptees feel good about being Chinese and proud of their heritage, I don't think anything in the book could be construed as harmful. Its factual. Yes, most adoptees probably have birth parents who abandoned these children for very understandable reasons, the fact remains, that these children can no longer be loved by their birth parents in any way that is likely to benefit the child. Sure the birth parents might still love the child in a spiritual sense, but we don't know that and cannot know that and to tell your child otherwise is to tell your child something you don't know. Psychologists warn against doing that.

But to focus on one line in this book is to miss the point. This book tells a story that is positive and that I am sure most adoptees can relate to in a healthy way. In actual fact, I will borrow the idea and put together a book for our Chinese children.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the love of a child, August 15, 2001

By 

Sharon Knutson "chinamomma" (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Baby From China: An Adoption Story (Hardcover)

In a mere 25 pages, with simple text and beautiful pictures, the story of a China adoption unfolds. My own China girl loves looking through the pictures and seeing the country of her birth. She never tires of it. It is not only her story but hundred's of Chinese children's story. My favorite picture is of the two pairs of quilted children's pants, hanging from the clothes line. Thank you for sharing this story! A good addition for your personal library.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A charming, simply-told adoption tale., May 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Baby From China: An Adoption Story (Hardcover)

My 2-year old daughter loves this book! At first, she simply loved to look at all the pictures of the babies. When we reached the anniversaries of our referral and her adoption day, we used the book to help explain to her the significance of those dates. I'm sure it will remain a favorite as she grows older and her understanding of her story increases.