How many days until a little girl’s adopted sibling is brought home? Follow a little girl as she and her family prepare for the new baby that will soon be joining them. And simultaneously, watch the girl’s mother fly off to Korea, meet the new baby, and bring her home. Here is an utterly simple, sweet, and child-centric look at the adoption process through the eyes of a soon-to-be older sibling. From cutting a red paper heart and taping it above the new baby’s crib to telling her best friend about the adoption, the young narrator counts down every day and night with growing anticipation, marking them with a big X on her calendar. Unlike other adoption books which are aimed only at the adoptive child, Ten Days and Nine Nights is also perfect for older children who are about to become big sisters and brothers.

An inspiring true story of the tumultuous nine years Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent in the foster care system, and how she triumphed over painful memories and real-life horrors to ultimately find her own voice. "Sunshine, you're my baby and I'm your only mother. You must mind the one taking care of you, but she's not your mama." Ashley Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in fourteen different foster homes, living by those words. As her mother spirals out of control, Ashley is left clinging to an unpredictable, dissolving relationship, all the while getting pulled deeper and deeper into the foster care system. Painful memories of being taken away from her home quickly become consumed by real-life horrors, where Ashley is juggled between caseworkers, shuffled from school to school, and forced to endure manipulative, humiliating treatment from a very abusive foster family. In this inspiring, unforgettable memoir, Ashley finds the courage to succeed - and in doing so, discovers the power of her own voice.

Amanda Moss is a young hairstylist with ambitions to become a musician and play in a band. She was adopted at age three after her parents were killed in a car crash. At least that's what her adoptive mother Shelley has always told her. Shelley is also a hairdresser. But beyond that, mother and daughter don't see eye to eye on much. Then one day Amanda's life changes dramatically when a stranger shows up and tells her a very different story about her parents. Her real mother has just died of cancer while serving a life sentence for the murder of Amanda's father. Suddenly Amanda feels her whole life has been a lie. Was her mother really guilty? When she also discovers that her father was in a successful rock-and-roll band when he was killed, she goes looking for former band members to try to find out what really happened so many years before. In the process she learns some unpleasant truths about her family. She also learns that you can love and hate someone at the same time.

Found as a baby outside a school in China, Kelly Stroud is adopted and raised by North American parents. One day, her dad leaves the house to buy milk, and doesn't come back. Struggling anew with what it means to be loved and then left behind, Kelly embarks with her mother on a journey back to China in search of her cultural roots. The Finding Place is an adventure story which moves from urban North America to the magical landscape of Yangshuo, China. It is also the tale of a young girl's coming--of--age, written in the voice of an international adoptee whose unique perspective throws fresh light on the meaning of family: the people who raise us, and the parents who bring us into the world.

3 starred reviews • A Kirkus Best Book of 2017 • A New York Public Library Top Ten Books for Kids pick • An ALA Notable Book • 2018 NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor Book From rising star Caela Carter, author of My Life with the Liars, comes a captivating and heartfelt story about siblings who learn that love can never be divided, only multiplied. Flora and her brother, Julian, don’t believe they were born. They’ve lived in so many foster homes, they can’t remember where they came from. And even now that they’ve been adopted, Flora still struggles to believe that they’ve found their forever home. So along with their new mother, Flora and Julian begin a journey to go back and discover their past—for only then can they really begin to build their future. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me, Kathryn Erskine’s Mockingbird, and Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish

Cynthia Hand is the master of pulling at your heartstrings. The How & the Why tells both sides of an adoption story with love, compassion, and care. --Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to the Lost A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand. Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for; they've given Cass a life she wouldn't trade for the world. She has everything she needs--but she has questions, too. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can't answer, no matter how much they love her. But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for. Alternating between Cass's search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who placed her for adoption, this emotionally resonant narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.--Booklist (starred review)

A mesmerizing, poetic exploration of family, friendship, love and loss" from the acclaimed author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe . ( New York Times Book Review ) Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it's senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal's not who he thought he was, who is he? This humor-infused, warmly humane look at universal questions of belonging is a triumph. "

At long last here is the story of how Martha and Helen met, as told by Martha in her own words. Her puppy days included some dark times as a doggy criminal after she was adopted by a sneaky thief and her accomplice. After a series of criminal mishaps and general mayhem, Martha finds herself in police custody and, luckily, back at the shelter, where she is readopted by Helen. The rest is Martha Speaks history! Includes an introduction to the cast of characters, a glossary, and two entertaining word-challenge activities.

A young orphaned girl in modern-day China discovers the meaning of family in this inspiring story told in verse, in the tradition of Inside Out and Back Again and Sold. Kara never met her birth mother. Abandoned as an infant, she was taken in by an American woman living in China. Now eleven, Kara spends most of her time in their apartment, wondering why she and Mama cannot leave the city of Tianjin and go live with Daddy in Montana. Mama tells Kara to be content with what she has…but what if Kara secretly wants more? Told in lyrical, moving verse, Red Butterfly is the story of a girl learning to trust her own voice, discovering that love and family are limitless, and finding the wings she needs to reach new heights.

Martha knows she is adopted, but she's well-loved and popular, at least until her mother gets pregnant and she feels her parents' attention start to shift. Upset and confused, Martha lashes out at—and loses—her friends. She also makes no secret about her annoyance at being forced to do a school project about sturgeon with Chance, a difficult boy whose foster parents are family friends. To add insult to injury, Martha's birth mother announces that she is getting married and moving away. Now Martha isn't number one in anybody's life. When her mom goes into labor prematurely, Martha realizes that she needs to figure out a way to be a better friend and daughter, and a great sister.

National Film Board of Canada Collection A masterfully illustrated exploration of the beauty and complexity of parental love. In Torill Kove's delicate and moving story, a woman joins her peers to grasp for threads dangling from the sky, each representing an unknown opportunity. Our protagonist snags a particularly special looking thread and is whisked away on an adventure. She flies across the city and the countryside and comes down gently to meet her fate. Holding the other end of the thread is an infant girl. A mother-daughter connection is born. As love and trust grow, the thread shared between mother and daughter is pulled and stretched across new experiences, until finally, it must be broken so that the daughter can go out on her own. However, both mother and daughter keep a part of the thread that brought them together. The love in their hearts will never truly let them be separated. Adapted from the National Film Board animation of the same name, Kove's beautiful and touching portrayal of the loving bond shared by a mother and daughter was named one of the 10 best films at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Threads is a perfect keepsake for any mother-daughter relationship, and a perfect gift for Mother's Day. In the tradition of the NFB's creative and innovative storytelling on film comes the National Film Board of Canada Collection: a series of celebrated animated films, documentary films and media projects adapted for the printed page. Whether discovering a much-loved classic for the first time or interacting with a favorite film in a new and exciting way, readers will be delighted with the thought-provoking stories and inventive presentations of the National Film Board of Canada Collection.