My Overthinking - Review

My OverThinking
February 22, 2012
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Children's Home Society & Family Services
February 29, 2012

Overthinking Children's Adoption Themed Books
by Kelly Raudenbush

I can part with onesies that are too small and sneakers that have ran one too many miles. But, children's books? They aren't going anywhere. I may be reading aloud to the kids until they go to prom. Like. It. Or. Not.

Since my list and reviews of my favorites for Chinese New Year keeps getting visitors, I decided I'd follow it up with some adoption themed books that live on our shelves. Maybe you'll find some you need on your shelf too.

Red in the Flower Bed is a hidden gem. Gotta get this one. A poppy seed falls from the flower upon dry ground where it cannot grow and so it travels from east to west by the wind until she lands in the perfect garden. "What a tiny seed. It's just what we need," chimed the garden flowers as they wondered what that tiny seed would become. With some rain and lots of sun, you watch the seed grow and become a beautiful red poppy, the red flower that the garden was missing to make it a beautiful rainbow. A beautiful, subtly communicated story of adoption and one that will allow you as the parent the freedom to talk about how he or she "landed in the perfect spot," what a joy it has been to watch him or her grow, and the blessing he or she is to your family in a totally unique way.

Love2EncourageYou review

Love2EncourageYou
October 28, 2011

eBook Review: Red in the Flower Bed
by Rebecca Harmon

The delightful story in today's review is titled: Red in the Flower Bed: An Illustrated Children's Story about Interracial Adoption by Andrea Nepa.

As a Preschool and Early Elementary teacher for many years, I find this book to be a definite must have for a teacher's library and for any family that includes an adopted child, is planning to adopt, or is friends with a family with an adopted child. As a teacher, we can have quite a vast range of student backgrounds in the classroom, and sharing a book during storytime that helps all the students feel accepted, loved, and welcomed will increase their ability to accept each other easily when a new child joins the class and feels alone or unwanted.

In Red in the Flower Bed, the variety of colorful illustrations, charming tale told through rhyme, and the story's adorable ending shares a breathe of hope to each and every child who wishes to be "accepted" and loved in their home. This story can help little ones look at each other without prejudice or judging each other for being a little different, but instead help them feel an important and special part of a family or group. A family with an adopted child may find the child and any siblings, relatives or friends can relate easily to the message of being accepted or accepting this new individual with great joy as they bring a new but very important "color" to the rainbow of love we call family.

I'd like to be thorough in sharing all the book's great benefits, as the author, Andrea Nepa, does a marvelous job sharing some science and nature (for all my homeschooling and education fans out there) through the process of showing how a seed grows into a flower. Andrea's book, Red in the Flower Bed, has so many nice qualities from a children's book standpoint right down to the clever paper art illustrations that so sweetly convey the message in the story. This book is sure to please any reader whether adoption is in your life or not. Simply adorable.

I invite you to learn more about the author's background as it helps to understand the vision and drive behind a story, and this book certainly speaks volumes about the great love Andrea Nepa has for her precious adopted child, Leah. I believe this story would be a great asset to any daycare, or elementary school's storytime collection.

Andrea Nepa Bio:
Andrea Nepa is the mother of an adopted Vietnamese daughter named Leah. In 2001, Adoptions from the Heart assisted with the international adoption. Andrea dedicated her book to her daughter: "For my dear Leah, whose journey in her young life has already taken her to far away and unexpected places." In 2006, Leah was diagnosed with cancer. She is currently in remission. Andrea lives with Leah and her husband, David, in Haddonfield, New Jersey. She is a registered dietitian for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. (courtesy of Andrea Nepa and Tribute Books)

Andrea Nepa has a true heart for children. Learn more about this author and her wonderful book by visiting her on Facebook.

Please consider supporting this family by visiting the Red in the Flower Bed website and then purchasing a copy of the book for the loved ones in your life. There are many across the world that can relate to this heart felt story about adoption and benefit from its tender message. A portion of the proceeds goes to a charity called "Pauls Kids". You can purchase this book in many different formats including eBook, Kindle, Nook, IPad, Google and Paperback form.

I'm always delighted to help with reviews for Tribute Books! The ebook shared above is another great example of the types of authors and books they promote. They have proven to carefully select authors and illustrators with superb talent and a passion for the message they share. Please check out @TributeBooks on Twitter or visit them on Facebook.

FreeSamplesReviews.com review

FreeSamplesReviews.com
October 22, 2011

[Review] Red in the Flower Bed
by Tiffany Crooker

The Red in the Flower Bed Book. The journey of adoption is beautifully depicted with the comforting imagery of a poppy flower who is welcomed into a garden family. It is a charming story of “seeds” being planted in the perfect place – exactly where they belong. Children and adults will enjoy this simple yet meaningful story and homespun illustrations. The book’s loving approach helps children to understand adoption. Andrea Nepa has captured the essence of adoption and family, and has illustrated it beautifully with images and poetry that even a small child can comprehend and enjoy.

This book is so touching. Teaches you and children and the sibling you adopted. Helps you deal and cope and what to expect and helps dealing with those empty spaces you get when you adopt. Its a great way to tell your children how to deal with a adopted child. My parents tried and tried to adopt after my brother died when I was 3 years old. We went through so many obstacles trying to get a child to adopt. Nothing we tried to seem to work. So my parents would bring in my cousins to live with us. Its sorta kinda like adopting someone. You love them and you live with them for times being. Andrea Nepa is the mother of an adopted Vietnamese daughter named Leah. In 2001, Adoptions from the Heart assisted with the international adoption. Andrea dedicated her book to her daughter: “For my dear Leah, whose journey in her young life has already taken her to far away and unexpected places.” In 2006, Leah was diagnosed with cancer. She is currently in remission. Andrea lives with Leah and her husband, David, in Haddonfield, New Jersey. She is a registered dietitian for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. We all wonder things why we look different from one another and wonder why and what could have been differently. Why I was taken from home to home, why no one loved me or why my hair, eyes, skin, race are all different from my mommy and daddy. This will help you and not only the child but everyone around you!!

Mama's Got Flair review

Mama's Got Flair
October 15, 2011

Adoption: Red in the Flower Bed Book Review
by Amy

Adoption is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. It has touched the lives of many families, including my own.

We were blessed through adoption with my handsome nephew in 2005, so when I was given the opportunity to read Andrea Nepa’s book, Red in the Flower Bed, I was beyond thrilled.

This book is great for children and parents alike. It’s warm and touching, and actually brought tears to my eyes. It’s nothing shy of a wonderful read and a great way to introduce your children to the joys of adoption.

Red in the Flower Bed takes the reader on the journey of a little seed that fell from a poppy flower, except the soil that it lands in is too dry for the little seed to grow. The poppy flower lovingly wishes its tiny seed farewell and allows the wind to whisk it away to another land where it can flourish and grow.

The poppy seed finds itself in a distant place, welcomed and loved by many other flowers. The tiny seed then blooms into a beautiful poppy flower!

Andrea Nepa is the adoptive mother to Leah. It was through the assistance of Adoptions from the Heart that in 2001 she was blessed with this little miracle.

Andrea dedicated her book to her daughter:

“For my dear Leah, whose journey in her young life has already taken her to far away and unexpected places.”

In 2006, Leah was diagnosed with cancer, and is currently in remission. Andrea now lives with her husband, David, and Leah in Haddonfield, New Jersey. She works for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as a registered dietitian. If you would like to get to know more about the brilliant author, Andrea Nepa, you can follow her on her Facebook page.

I fell in love with Red in the Flower Bed and highly recommend it to anyone who has been touched by adoption or is looking for a way to help their children understand the beauties of the adoption process on a level that they can comprehend.

To purchase your own copy of Red in the Flower Bed, click here.

This book is one of many great books featured by Tribute Books. If you are interested in finding more titles in the Tribute Books library, you can visit their site. If you would like to follow them you can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

La Vida Buena review

La Vida Buena
October 12, 2011

Red in the Flower Bed Blog Tour
by Melissa

Red in the Flower Bed, written by Andrea Nepa is one of the most beautiful, well written children's stories I have ever read. MY daughter and I had the privilege of reading this one evening together, and when we were done, we sat in a silence, just thinking about the book.

Every child grows up wondering why they look different, why their hair is different than others in their family, why their skin color might not be a perfect match. Most time, we can explain this by simply saying "you are a mix of mommy and daddy"
The author of this book Andrea Nepa is the mother of an adopted Vietnamese daughter named Leah. Anyone who has gone through adoption knows the journey a child must take, not only to enter a new family(in the story's case a seed journeys to a new flower bed) but when that child has settled, they might not look like the all the other members of their family. The book goes on to show that even if you are different, you still complete your families rainbow, and are just what the family needed.

This is such a well written, simple story with so much meaning to it. I would recommend this to be on every child's bookshelf.
If you are interested in buying this story, please visit Tribute Books

To read more about Andrea and her family, you can visit her facebook page.

Adventures of Frugal Mom review

Adventures of Frugal Mom
October 7, 2011

Red in the Flower Bed Book Tour Stop
by Melissa Vera

I am so excited to be the next stop on the blog tour for this awesome book about adoption. Red in the Flower Bed is a story written by Andrea Nepa, who is a mom of an adopted daughter. The book is dedicated to her. This book is cute explanation for children who wonder why they may look different from their adopted families. The story is about a poppy seed that is sent away from its mother so that it can have a better life. The wind picks it up and sends it down to a flower bed so it can grow. When it sprouts the other flowers welcome it and they become a rainbow.

This book is awesome for those who looking for an unique way to make children understand about adoption. I loved how the author used a poppy seed - red being the most vibrant color- to show that we all maybe different but in the end we all are the same. This book is a must have for children to read.

Not only was I impressed with the way the story was written but the illustrations were amazing. Those alone would draw my attention to the book.

If you are interested in purchasing this book you can find it at Tribute Books.

I promise it will be well worth the money spent.

Tara Talks Back review

Tara Talks Back
October 6, 2011

Review of Red in the Flower Bed
by Tara

I am fortunate to be chosen to review this children's book that tells of a flower seed being adopted into a different flower bed. It is simply stated, and easy for a child to understand. The pages and illustrations are beautiful and vibrantly colored. If you, or someone you know, is thinking about adoption and need an easy way to explain it to a young child.

You can learn more about Red In The Flower Bed Here

You can buy Red In The Flower Bed Here