Customer Reviews

When You Were Born in Vietnam: A Memory Book for Children Adopted from Vietnam

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every child adopted from an orphanage anywhere in the world--and every friend of every child adopted from an orphanage--should have this book in her or his collection. The photographs are simply gorgeous, and the main message--that orphanage caregivers (usually) do their best for the children in their care and want them to have a family to love and care for them forever--is immensely reassuring. Books like this one help all children understand what adoption is all about. Give one to your children, your children's friends, your children's teachers, and your local library.

I totally recommend this book! The pictures are lovely, and the text is excellent (best for ages 6 and up, although can be para-phrased for those younger). The pictures put clear images into my mind's eye, images that had been absent prior to reading this book. Further, seeing the orphanges and the caretakers, not to mention the beautiful children, have allowed me to visualize more clearly where my daughter will soon come from.

I highly recommend this book to all, whether in the process of adopting, having already adopted or simply interested in a good, hearwarming read. You won't be disappointed!

This is a very good book and I recommend it for anyone adopting from Vietnam. We will be adopting our baby in a few months and it reflects everything we have learned about our process so far. Also, if for no other reason, buy this book for the beautiful photographs.

BUT, and this is a big BUT, this book is not something you can sit down and read a toddler or even have a first or second grade student read through. It's fairly long (44 pages) and has complicated enough words that I would guess it's at a third or fourth grade reading level. Believe it or not, this book was actually best suited for educating our relatives unfamiliar with how Vietnamese adoptions work. I would love to see the authors write a related book (with fewer pages and simpler words) that I can read to my child when he/she will be at pre-school level.

This is a must book for anyone who has or is thinking about adopting a child from Vietnam. The pictures are wonderful and the text is so accurate as to what the process is to adopt a Vietnamese child that it made me cry remembering the process of adopting my daughter. I can't recommend this book enough.

If you only buy one book for your child about their birth culture - this is it (my advice goes for the When You Were Born in China and Korea books as well). Why? The stories we will tell our children, even their life books will be told with some emotion and our memory behind them. Though life books are tailored to their specific start in life and are meant to be purely informational for our children (as opposed to emotion based), the reality is that it is hard to keep from editorializing it and acting as the "color commentator." This book does what we can't do and does it in a broad fashion. When we were on the journey to our oldest child in China my husband gave me the When You Were Born in China book and of all the books I'd bought or received during our wait, that was the one that was never far from my mind because it told the story of our journey. I love this book because it brings to life for our children the story of how they forever became part of our family.

If you are reading this review because you know someone adopting from Vietnam, you will not regret buying this book for them, it's truly a treasure. If you are reading this because you are in the process of adopting from Vietnam, congratulations - there is truly no experience or journey quite like the one you are on. This book will not only mark your journey, but it is a great thing to take with you on your adoption trip. We took our oldest daughter's book with us to China and had the director of her orphanage sign it as a way to celebrate and remember where she had come from and a person who had been a part of her life in China.

I think the book is excellent.For those,such as myself who were adopted from Vietnam.

This is the most interesting and informative book I've seen yet dealing with adoptions through Vietnam. A very thorough book that has the most striking photos. Of course I had to take a number of small breaks to keep from tearing up too much when I read it out loud to my three boys. If you are adopting from Vietnam, this is the book you want.

My daughter is only 3 but this is one of her FAVORITE books. When she was 8 months old she loved looking at the pictures and as she has grown she has enjoyed having the book read to her. It does a fabulous job of explaining the adoption process and giving you a starting point to talk about it. Our daughter was adopted at 4 months old so she has no memories of it except our home movies and pictures and this book. I think every person adopting or that has adopted from Vietnam should have this book. I also think it is a great book about adoption in general. If you buy only one book, it should be this one.

This book describes our experience adopting our son in Vietnam very well! It is a great book to have for you now and for your child when they get older. I am happy I bought this for my son when we first brought him home, he will now always have it.

This is a fantastic book and it is the third one I have purchased. I bought one for my daughter years ago, and then bought one for a friend who adopted from Vietnam. This last one is for my son, also adopted from Vietnam. I felt that both of my children should have their own copy. It really helps explain the adoption process and has great photos of the country and orphanages as well. As a matter of fact we found out recently that the orphanage in the book is my son's orphanage.