Book Review -- Toddler Adoption

One way that Matt and I are passing our time while we wait to bring our children home is by reading books that will help us understand more about adopted children as well as good strategies for parenting them. We have several books that we have each committed to read prior to bringing our kids home. I'm always wondering what other adoptive parents are reading and like/dislike, so I've decided to do a short review of each book when one of us finishes. I'm not much of a reviewer, but maybe my short reviews will help someone decide whether or not they want to read the book.

The first book I have finished is Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft by Mary Hopkins-Best. It has taken me nearly 3 months to read the book cover to cover and while it greatly applies to our situation as we're adopting two toddlers, I had a really hard time getting through it. The main thing I gained from the book is that I now know every possible issue our kids may come home with. And, well, my main complaint about the book is that I now know every possible issue our kids may come home with. I felt the the book was full of short snip-its about issues that adopted toddlers will have (and honestly, having a toddler and one who's just past toddlerhood, I'd say that some of the issues are simply "toddler issues"). What it didn't do was give much practical advice about what to do about the issues. Honestly, I bet that the book has scared many people away from adopting toddlers. It didn't spend any time telling about the happy moments. It was all about the difficult moments. While it's great to know what issues we'll possibly be dealing with, it just wasn't a very practical book. I'm glad that it's not the only adoption related book that we plan on reading, and I think it's good that I read it before some of the more practical reads. I now know the possible issues that we may be dealing with in adopting toddlers, so now I can read the other books looking for more practical advice to help us parent Little W and Littler A.

Would I recommend that you read this? Yes, but probably not until after you have committed to adopt a toddler. Otherwise, you might get sucked into the negativity and be scared away.