Sites Worth a Look

So much is available on the web, but often hard to find. Below is a list of our current favorites. Most of these sites relate to children, families and adoptive families in some way, although occasionally we may throw in a few unrelated sites we think are cool.

• My Creations Company
  What a cool concept: personalized stories for families created "uniquely" through adoption, in vitro and surrogate processes. They provide laminated, spiral bound books that are the story of you, your family. The artwork is cute and they allow you to not only customize the words, but also the artwork to some extent (choosing number in family, genders, birthdates and physical characteristics such as skin, eye and hair colors). We also love the groovy posters. 
• Tolerace.org
  A web project by the Southern Poverty Law Center that provides a wide-range or resources for parents, teachers, teens and kids. They have a nice section for younger children with interactive readings and games. We find some of their teaching resources particularly useful for elementary class activities encouraging diversity appreciation.
• The Virtual Instrument Museum
  This is one amazing resource for children and adults alike. You can search on instruments by region, material or type. We loved the pictures of the Lu Sheng (a traditional Miao instrument-see our Heritage Holiday Kit for Chinese New Year to learn more about the Miao people).
• Cheng & Tsui
  Okay, maybe this should go under Print/Media, but it is a web site for printed materials. This company provides an amazing variety of books and media materials on all things Asian. They carry some unusual materials we haven't seen available too many other places.
• The Internet Chinese Music Archives
  What a fun site to look at with your kids. The link goes to the children's music, but you can explore from there.
  
• Children's Cognitive Abilities Map
  A practical and educational site for parents from the Cognitive Development Center of Lexington.
  
• Kit and Kin
  First, the official disclaimer: this site is a "blog-ish" site authored by Heatherly and her sister Amanda. The site's essays provide thoughts on family and community. We are probably too old for a true blog, but this site gives us sisters a forum to work together and satisfy our writing urges at the same time. We do hope you enjoy it. You can leave comments and respond as you like.
• Mama Says Om
  Heatherly's latest pick on mom/family blogs. This site is a bit wacky, irreverant and fun, but the moms who author the site are honest, real and caring. They also have recipes! We don't know any of them in person, but might impersonate a few on occasion.
• Laura Christianson
  We met Laura through the web and love her site. She is a freelance writer on adoption and infertility issues. Her site has information and encouragement for anyone on an adoption journey. What a wonderful ministry!

Print/Media Resources

We are addicted to the written word, particularly when it is bound nicely in a solid book or informative magazine. We also like a good movie now and then. Here are some resources we believe you might like.

• Bones that Float by Kari Grady Grossman
  "This magnificent book encompasses Kari’s personal journey to adoption, Cambodia’s gruesome history of war and genocide, and the stories of two Cambodians—one who escaped the Khmer Rouge’s bloody reign and one who did not."
  This book impressed us with honesty and passion. We also appreciate the author's greater goal and focus. Check out the site!
• Rabbit Mooncakes by Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer.
  This delightful book tells a story from the author/illustrator's childhood in a Chinese American family celebrating the Moon Festival. It seems to be out of print, but you can find it on some websites. Try Amazon from sellers or ABE Books (the American Book Exchange) for used copies. Heatherly's girls love this story and see themselves as the two sisters featured in the book. We found it in a used bookstore.
• There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene
  Check out this website and book. Ms. Greene is parent to both biological and adopted children, including two from Ethiopia. An accomplished writer, she shares in this book the story of Mrs. Haregewoi Teferra, an Ethiopian widow who has given refuge to hundreds of AIDS orphans. The website also has a section on how we can all help with links to many wonderful groups.
• As Simple As That Books
  We found this site awhile ago and Heathely (the confirmed, but untreated bibliophile) just had to buy some of the books for her girls. The books are delightful--the girls love them, they are fun to read, well written and illustrated and they each present a simple message about diversity, community and alike/different. We also think these books would be fabulous resources in a preschool or lower elementary classroom setting.
• What to Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home
  Heidi Murkoff, the mom who wrote the popular and informative "What to Expect" book series, has teamed The What to Expect Foundation with Clorox to offer a FREE "What to Expect: Guide to a Healthy Home" book for parents. The guide includes current and sane advice about keeping our homes healthier.
• Flavor and Fortune Journal
  This printed journal and accompanying website is dedicated to "the art and science of Chinese cuisine." We've enjoyed the issues we've read, although be warned that the journal's readership is mostly in the restaurant or food business, so can articles can be quite detailed or involved regarding histories, recipes, reviews, etc.

*We are not affiliated with any of these people or organizations. We just like their stuff and what they are doing.