Characters like Fuzzihead, Piper Pig and Lambabelle are adorable.  They combine with activities like Musical Motions and Moving Day to create a warm and therapeutic setting not found in other adoption and foster care lifebooks.

Among the best parts of the book are the short stories from children in similar circumstances.  They help a child to identify with and understand that their circumstances may not be unique.

Be sure and go to “What they’re saying” at the bottom of our home page.  Look for the big red button!  Click on the button and it will take you to a review on My Growing World which was published in Adoptive Families magazine.

“Hi there! My name is Piper. Your adventures in your growing world are so important that you are going to write them down in this life book. This is your story! You might have a caseworker, foster parents, or adoptive parents who can help you along as you write your story. They will also do their best to help you record information that you may not know.

As you work on your story, you might notice that you have a lot of different feelings. If the information is new to you, you might be excited to find out more about your life! However, there may be things that you think about and record that could make you sad or angry. Don’t worry! We’ll all help you on your journey. All of your feelings are important, and none of them are wrong to feel.

Enjoy the adventure of writing your story!!! If you need to skip a page, go for it! Try to take the time to come back to it later when you feel ready to work on it. It’s more important to think and feel through these pages than to complete each one quickly and in order. You’ll find that some of the pages are just for your enjoyment, and you might find some activities that you can do with other people too! Have fun creating your life book. Happy writing and drawing!”

Kathleen Carroll

Author of “My Growing World”

Piper the pig, Elley the elephant, BeeBear, Linus the giraffe, Hairy, and Fuzzyhead are characters in this memory book for foster children and kids that are adopted after foster experiences. Piper and all of the characters have had foster and adoption stories. This book has a special page about “moving day” which is most usually a traumatic and confusing day for children. Other special pages for child expression are “birth family tree” and “adoptive family tree”, “memories of foster homes”, “memories of adoption day” and many more sensitive subjects that are expounded upon for child therapy. The foster or adoptive parents and/or social workers are also easily engrossed in this beautiful book of artwork and therapeutic messaging. Each child’s story is different. Each adult that touches their life has a unique perspective. “My Growing World” caters to that important fact and allows for personal expression.

In addition to bibliotherapy, there are wonderful arts and crafts for the child. Dot-to-dots, musical motions (the child is asked to find a song they love and something to draw with and draw how the music makes them feel), coloring pages, mazes, word finds, and even a special list of child-friendly recipes. This concept for kids is to spend time in the kitchen getting to know their foster or adoptive parents better.

“My Growing World” is just one of Adoption World Specialties’ publications. We have resources for teenagers, social workers, case workers, agencies and more! Visit our main website at AdoptionWorld.net, and discover our world.

Kathy Mobley, Chuck Carpenter and Jim Ketchum will represent Adoption World Specialties. Our company aims to help foster and adoption situations by providing children with a lifebook and therapeutic, enjoyable guides to life. These life books and resources help children, parents, agencies and social workers document the child’s past and help engage, excite and educate the child about their adoption experience. Please visit our website for further information about our authors, our publications and meet our staff. We look forward to joining you on November 14^th function, in an effort to help facilitate a healthy transition for foster and adopted children.

www.adoptionworld.net

*If you are interested in adding a link to our page or if we could add ours to your page, please let me know! We can help more children if we reach out!

Ann Boland

aboland@cornerstonepress.net

]]> http://adoptionworld.net/blog/november-is-adoption-month/feed/ 0 http://adoptionworld.net/blog/the-characters-in-my-growing-world-foster-life-book/ http://adoptionworld.net/blog/the-characters-in-my-growing-world-foster-life-book/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:00:24 +0000 kmobley http://adoptionworld.net/blog/?p=118 The characters created by illustrator Lucy Cook-Taylor for “My Growing World” are very special.  This is the first time a foster life book has used such compelling artwork.  To get kids to pay attention to a lifebook, you need a visually interesting book.  Lucy’s art draws kids in and they relate to the characters.

It’s important to have whimsical, non-gender characters.  Piper (a pig) and Linus (a giraffe) lead kids through the book and Hairy and Fuzzyhead help illustrate points.  BeeBear and Lambabelle add interest and a friendly, comforting tone.  Historically, adoption life books have been boring and lacked color or visual interest.  But “My Growing World” breaks the barrier into creating something that is not only useful but fun to use.  Interesting graphics surround a great cast of characters.

This is a book social workers will enjoy using.

Jim Ketchum
Cornerstone Press