Product Review: Letter of Love from China [Hardcover] (Geared for Ages 4-8)
‘There is a home where children are cared for, when their birth families are unable to care for them’
Adoptive parents in a closed adoption (see wiki on closed adoption here) have a huge responsibility in the perception their child has of their birth parents and why they would choose to give up their rights to their child. This is not a story of social or political views (although the book softly and briefly touches on population restrictions in China), this is a story of a young child from China adopted through a closed adoption as a baby who wants to know about her parents she may never meet. I was immediately touched by the concept of Letter of Love from China because it was written by an adoptive parent for their child from the hopeful loving perspective of the biological parent. It is easy to look at adoptive parents and say what a wonderful thing it is for them to give their child a chance at a stable life – because, it is; but we can’t forget that it can be a loving act for a parent to give up their parental rights for their child to hopefully have a better, more secure life. I think we all know that being a biological parent does not make you a fit parent and I can only imagine the difficult decision it would be to give up your parental rights if you are unable to care for your child. I think Letter of Love from China brings this perspective together in a nice touching book for young children who are in a closed adoption situation.
Letter of Love from China is a beautiful letter written in the perspective of the biological parent to the child that they gave up for adoption. The mother’s words are heartfelt, loving and full of hope for their child and the book has really lovely and soothing illustrations throughout. There is a very touching part when the mother tells her child to look at the moon and think of it as a mirror to imagine each others face when they think of each other. While this book is written as a resource for adoptive parents with children from China, I think this could be a great read for adoptive families with young children who can relate to this story or even children who are not adopted to benefit from learning about adoption.
Although I will fully admit I do not have first hand knowledge of adoption in any capacity (and why I struggled writing this post), one of the reasons the Letter of Love from China story touched me so deeply was it brought back memories of stories I’ve heard over the years about children bouncing back and forth from foster care homes to their unfit biological parents who would not give up custody rights. There was a time when my mother was one of the social workers over the court-ordered visitation rights for biological parents through the foster care program in one county and my sister was a case worker for children’s services in another county. Although they would never mention names for confidentiality, I would hear very sad stories of children in difficult situations that broke my heart. Stories of children sitting in waiting rooms for long periods of time because their biological parents would not show up to see them during their court-ordered visits and only my mom would be there to comfort them; some of whom were so young it was hard for them to understand why their mommy or daddy was not coming to see them. Stories of how my sister would have to meet the cops in the middle of the night because the same parents would be getting arrested yet again and their children would have to be turned over to children’s services – yet again. So, yes, I read the Letter of Love from China and I am moved by this story with the limited knowledge I have on this subject. I am moved because I would like to imagine that parents who put their children up for adoption because they are unable to care for them is an act of love and it is nice to think that a young child (this book is geared for children ages 4-8) in a closed adoption situation could hear this book to give them that perspective.
About the Author Bonnie Cuzzolino: Bonnie Cuzzolino is an Award Winning author (self published) who wrote her first children’s book as a dedication to her daughter Jillian Mei, adopted from China in 2001 when Jillian was one. Bonnie wrote this book after Jillian asked her what she thought her biological mom would say to her if they could speak to each other and Bonnie complied with this book.
Bonus! A portion of the Letter of Love from China proceeds are donated to Holt International Children’s Services in Eugene, Oregon.
Extra! Bonnie is offering her book (now in its last printing) bought in bulk orders by families, support groups and adoption agencies for the special price of $7.00 a book that can only be ordered by emailing her at Bonnie@plumblossombooks.com.
Letter of Love from China [Hardcover] (Geared for Ages 4-8)
List Price: $12.00 + shipping
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