I bought Finding Katherine a few weeks before we were leaving to get Ella with the intentions of saving it to read on the plane. Well, that was a silly intention since I devoured the whole thing within a few days of purchasing it! I was adoption memoir hungry and was absolutely entranced with Ellen Fitzenrider’s journey to bring home her daughter from Viet Nam.

As I waited for my travel date, Fitzenrider let me experience the Viet Nam that she lived. As much as this book is a personal... more

When You Were Born in Vietnam by Therese Bartlett with photographs by William Bartlett is a lovely hardcover book that can really help open up the lines of communication between you and your child. And if we have anything in common, it'll make you want to either hop on the next flight to Viet Nam or start to update your home study papers :)The author and photographer are the parents of two kids from Viet Nam, so they really have a firm grasp on the emotions behind a Vietnamese adoption.

The story line... more

Tet Mice for Tet by Pegi Deitz Shea and Cynthia Weill, illustrations by To Ngic Trang, embroidery by Pham Viet Dinh

Ten Mice for Tet is a beautiful hardcover book that I know will be read often as Ella gets older. We bought this book before we even received our referral, and it helped my husband and I become more familiar with the Vietnamese New Year celebration. It’s the only children’s book about Tet that I have found so far; luckily, I think it’s wonderful!

The book follows the story of ten different mice in Viet... more