Book Reviews

Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft

When parents are looking to adopt, there are many different resources they can use to get a lot of information. When looking into adopting a toddler, I recommend parents read "Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft" by Mary Hopkins-Best. It specifically looks at children between 12-36 months old and some of the emotional, behavioral and cognitive issues that they may be going through. You don't know what you are really getting into when you are looking to adopt, and its good to know some of the things you can expect to happen. Although this book is a few years older, its not out of date. It hits on some very key points that can happen no matter what year it is. 

I also noticed with this book that it can be a little scary, but don't get discouraged. With this book, they are trying to prepare you for what is to come. So it can be incredibly overwhelming at first to read but you have to just remind yourself that its not all bad. These things may or may not happen to you so you kind of have to just plan for the worst and hope for the best. 

Adoption is a process that can be scary and overwhelming, but it's all about educating and preparing yourself before hand. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to adopt a toddler because it can be very helpful and it gives some great information about what you may not have know before. It also seems like there aren't as many books written on this specific age group, so if you know the exact age of the child you want to adopt or are looking to adopt, this book is a really great choice. With that being said, I would also say that it is a good idea to have the extended family of the adopted child read the book. When it comes to adoption, most people have idea's about it, but they really don't know until they experience it first hand. So your extended family may not get it. They may struggle a little more with accepting the child or learning why the child acts they way they do. So I just think it's helpful to let them learn what you have learned. Let them read these books too so they can have a better understanding of what you and the child are going through.

- Taylor Mendes

Hopkins-Best, M. (2012). Toddler adoption: The weaver's craft.

Beneath The Mask

When adopting a teen there can be some issues for the parents and the adopted teen. It is never a bad idea to get help from counselor especially when you and your adopted teen cannot seem to meet common ground. There are many books out there that can help you and your family with adoption, a book I recommend to help with adopting teens is "Beneath the Mask" - Understanding Adopted Teens by Debbie Riley, M.S., with John Meeks, M.D.. "Beneath the Mask", has a great book layout that is easy to read and make it very easy to find the chapters that focus to your teen adoption needs. The layout of the book is divided into 7 chapters as well as an index and glossary in the back that really make it simple to find the topic that interests you. The glossary is very helpful for adopted parents to understand the language of the book as well as the language they might have with their therapist. The book is  written for therapists and parents; using case studies and treatment directions. "Beneath the Mask" is not to teach parents to be therapists but that it outlines the direction into therapy that has shown to be the most effective in teen adoptions. What is really helpful about the book being based off of case studies is that it gives adopted parents a window into other adoption cases. The book gives many case examples that go along with each chapter, this is helpful to stay in tuned with the chapter. In addition the book helps with parents who are stuck in rut with adoption issues, this is done by breaking down the complex issues of  teen adoption, explains adopted teen's need for identity, and how therapy can be very helpful for the family to build bonds together. I recommend this book for parents with adopted teens, it is simple read and is very helpful. 

- Amelia Gallegos

 "Beneath the Mask" - Understanding Adopted Teens by Debbie Riley, M.S., with John          Meeks, M.D.. 

Understanding and Measuring the Cost of Foster Care

This book is primary talking about the costs of foster care adoption and all the details that go between costs and after the child has been adopted. It’s stating that it is bad for future parents thinking to adopt to base their decision only in cost because kids cannot be viewed as an object that you can buy. The costs of foster care adoption can vary depending on the area you are located at. There are a few concepts to consider in measuring the direct cost of adopting a child which are;

Age of child – usually if the child is older the adoption cost is greater. From the time that they start walking all the way through adolescence.

Regional Parts of the Country – if living in the north side of the country, children are going to need winter and summer clothing and usually leaving in the Northeast is less expensive than in other parts of the country.

Sex of child – There is a say that boys never stop eating when they are teenagers and girls require larger wardrobes.

Family composition – the bigger the family and the closest those siblings are the less expensive it is.

In fact, adopting a foster care child, can be more expensive or the same as having your own. Foster parents believe that most food, clothing and medical expenses are reimbursed but that is not always the case. This book is only focusing on one area, and other foster parents may be very different than that ones from this study, it is also focusing on secondary date sources which to their point of view are the best way to get a perfect sample. The cost of having a foster care child can depend on the lifestyle that the foster parents are used to living.

Five of the most important factors that influence quality for foster care adoption are as follow;

The change in standards

The relationship between foster car and welfare

The policies that different agencies have

How much the foster parent group is growing

And the reaction between payments and costs in foster care

How well the book aligns with research: I think this book is very good at showing real date from the real world, it has been tested more than once and they use secondary data which are people that have been through foster care adoption to estimate the cost.

The quality of application: The application of this book is excellent with real examples showing the true cost of foster care adoption.

The quality of writing: The writing in this book is very precise, it has a lot of pictures, date, graphs and tables showing today’s research and it also has a very easy way to understand the point of the book.

Culley, J., Settles, B., & Van Name, J. (1975). Understanding and measuring the cost of foster care. University Of Delaware

-Jessica M.

You Can Adopt

An Adoptive Families Guide

While this book doesn’t reference sources other than, Adoptive Families, a published magazine and website and a few studies done on adoption, it does offer prospective parents practical information and answers to common and uncommon questions about adopting. The ‘research’ that is given is by the authors and Adoptive Families readers who personally went through the adoption process once or multiple times. Credibility falls to their experience in the adoption field that spans decades. The former president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and Booklist has praised this book because of its honesty and comprehensiveness about the topic.

As for application, this book covers everything you need to know to start the adoption process, the experiences you may have during the process, and bringing your new child home and how to cope. It gives you resources to check out online and ‘reality check’ boxes to solicit thought on your reasoning for adoption. These ‘reality check’ boxes also give you good questions to ask attorney’s, and agencies…sometimes you don’t know what to ask. It also gives you a ‘budget checklist’ to make sure you know what you will have to pay for. In the back of the book, it gives a Decision Matrix, so you can decide what type of adoption is right for you. Overall, the practicality of this book is abundant. It not only gives you the answers to your questions but it also gives you the information you need to make sure you are making good decisions throughout the adoption process.

This book was very well written and thought out. It gets to the point of the questions and doesn’t add the fluff you don’t want. It has an appealing layout so you don’t get bogged down on pages and pages of plain words. It gives a good mixture of personal adoption stories, question and answers, tips, questions to ask yourself, and ‘reality check’ boxes.

Overall, it answers the questions that plague your mind before adoption; important questions like, “How much will it cost?  Can I love a child from another race? When is it time to stop trying to have a biological child?” It covers the most basic questions and also questions that you haven’t even though to ask!  If you are looking for a book to turn to, to get a well-rounded view on how adoption works, if it’s best for you, how to get started, and the legality of adoption…this book is for you! It gives you the pros and cons to different adoption paths so that you can make a well-informed decision.

Caughman, S., & Motley, I. (2009). You can adopt: An adoptive families guide. New York: Ballantine Books.

-Kaela J.