“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”

Adoption World Specialties has a plethora of ancillary pieces targeted at foster children and adopted children – or those kids and parents that are in the transition process. One piece from our product line is called “Animals and Me!”.

Often times children in foster care or those that have moved into an adoptive situation have made several animal friends along their lives paths. In some cases the animals in their lives are even more special to them than people. Many children have lived in multiple homes and the trust they’ve gained from human relationships is less than desirable. It is important for the child to keep a memory book dedicated to their animal friends.“Animals and Me!” is a booklet written especially for these animal-loving kids.

An excerpt from this booklet:

“Hi, my name is Gracie and I’m 10 years old. I haven’t always had neighborhood friends to hang out with, but I’ve had a bunch of cool animals around!My favorite was a collie named Lokey. He was wild and fun and lived 2 houses away. Kane was a tiny white puppy across the street. He was so soft and cute! Last time I visited my old neighborhood he was huge! He still remembered me! I mainly love dogs. Bo and Truffle were my dogs I had to say good-bye to. My cat Taz also went away. But now I have 3 cats and a turtle! Animals will always be special to me. I want to be a veterinarian. Maybe YOU have special animals that you can write about in this journal! Have fun!!!”

This adoption memory book allows the child to write about and draw the animals they have met in their life journey. They can write details about their favorite animal friends or pets, and also write about the animals they didn’t like so much. Animals are like people – lots of people are nice, and some don’t seem so nice.

“Animals and Me!” allows the foster parent or adoptive parent to discuss this fact. It touches on the idea of “stranger danger” as it pertains to animals. Animals are often the lure used by strangers to abduct children, and this booklet teaches the value of recognizing such dangers. Another learning tool detailed in this booklet is how to find information about the child’s favorite animals on the computer. There’s a world of information at their fingertips when searching out animal facts… what a great activity for child and parent to do together!

This is a valuable memory book for foster and adoptive children. Please check out the other ancillary pieces, such as “Positive Adoptive Language”, “Foster-to-Adopt Booklet for Child”, “Foster-to-Adopt Booklet for Parent”, and “Family Connections” at www.AdoptionWorld.net – discover our world!