"Making sense of their adoptions takes many years for most children. This book is a unique twist on the usual adoption story. It enhances the feelings of belonging for children who were adopted, while focusing on the enduring love between mother and child - a love which transcends race, distance, and biology."
Dianne Campbell
Kuchlak,
Psychotherapist, MSS, LCSW
Attachment
Therapy and Family Counseling
An
Interesting Twist
The Mommy Orphanage presents a unique twist
on the international adoption story. While many
children’s adoption stories are told from the point of
view of parents as they portray the story of their
journey to bring their new baby home, The Mommy Orphanage
unfolds from a child’s perspective.
In the story, 6-year-old Emily expresses her feelings
toward her adoptive mother through the exploration of the
concept of
“what if”.
What if there was a Mommy Orphanage where moms lived
until a child visited to pick them out and take them home
to be their mom? In the story, Emily presents this
possibility. And then Mom asks, “If you could go there
and pick out any mom you wanted, would you still pick
me”?
When faced with this choice, Emily explains that she
already has the best mom; the mom who knows and loves her
best – HER mom. Even if she could choose from a multitude
of great moms; some who offer presents or even look like
her, the mom she wants, is the mom she has.
The target audiences of the book are children ages 5-8,
adopted internationally from China or other countries.
Children at this age typically understand their basic
adoption story, and strive to understand their beginnings
while strengthening bonds and attachment to their
parents. The Mommy Orphanage presents an
opportunity to discuss these feelings.
The
Mommy Orphanage
The Mommy Orphanage is a book about adoption
and family - a book about the love between a daughter and
her mother. At times silly, and at times touching,
The Mommy Orphanage is sure to delight children
and parents alike.
A Team
of Two Authors
The Mommy Orphanage was created by the mother
and daughter team of Cheryl and Emily Krass. When Emily
was five years old, she imagined the concept of a Mommy
Orphanage and Cheryl expanded it into a book. Cheryl
loved the unusual twist of the story and just knew it
needed to be shared.
Emily was born in 2001 in the Guangdong Province of China
in a city called Gaozhou. She spent the first 9 months of
her life living in an orphanage called the Gaozhou Social
Welfare Institute. In June of 2002, her parents Cheryl
and Louis Krass, along with big brother Alex (who was 10
at the time), traveled to China to adopt Emily and bring
her home to her new family.
After they decided to write the book, Cheryl researched a
number of traditional publishing options. She decided
that she really wanted control over the look of the book,
and it was important to her that it be published a lot
sooner than traditional paths would have allowed. The
decision was obvious - the creation of Alexemi Publishing.
A
Talented Artist
While searching for an illustrator, Cheryl discovered
the website of the amazingly talented Lauren Francis. She was impressed
by Lauren’s diverse style of illustration and the
depth of her characters, and asked her if she would be
interested in the project. Lauren had wanted to work
on an adoption-related book so she agreed to take it
on. Cheryl sent Lauren a couple of photos of Emily and
her, and Lauren based the characters in the book on
real “characters”; right down to the cat.