Product Description

For adopted children, learning about their beginnings and how they understand what that means to them is a process. It doesn t happen at one point in time, but rather throughout the experiences of life. In this heartwarming children s book, Forever Fingerprints uses a common occurrence a relative s pregnancy as a springboard for discussions on birthparents, where adopted children are before they are born, and how that makes one little girl feel about it. Lucie is excited to feel a baby moving in her Aunt Grace s tummy but it makes her think of how she understands her adoption story in a different way. The tools offered in this book help her to create a unique connection to her birthparents, allow how she is feeling to surface and to be discussed, and give Lucie s parents the chance to reinforce their love for her, to empathize with her feelings and to honor her past. This book book resonates with 7 year olds and adults who have discovered that the feelings and emotions are shared by so many. While it looks like a simple children's book, this book helps parents and children create a family connection and strong foundation for discussing adoption questions. It's a veritable toolbox for adoptive families with a parent guide at the end of the book on how to open adoption discussion and a wonderful connection to birthparents for every adopted person, regardless of their age, with their fingerprints.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46157 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Library Binding
• 32 pages

Review
Forever Fingerprints deftly guides children to two essential concepts: sadness over missing birthparents is normal, and adoptive parents can be sensitive supporters for their children's grief. Thanks for writing this book, Sherrie. It is a fun, read-aloud with great illustrations. I will be using it with the children I see. Deborah Gray, therapist and author of Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents and Nurturing Adoptions: Creating Resilience after Neglect and Trauma. --From Deborah Gray, Therapist and Author

Forever Fingerprints is an exquisite book that will bring joy, significance, comfort, and encouragement to the heart of every adopted child. The tender story is expressed with creativity and originality. Every adoptee who reads this book will be forever impacted by the power of these words. I also enjoyed the charming humor that is woven throughout the story. It comes from the heart of adoptee Sherrie Eldridge, and combined with the engaging illustrations of Rob Williams, what a beautiful book! And I am sure it will be a timeless treasure. Carol Kent, Speaker and Author A New Kind of Normal --Carol Kent Speaker and Author A New Kind Of Normal

Sherrie Eldridge's books on adoption and her heartfelt advice have truly impacted the lives of our family! Forever Fingerprints is her best yet! Every family blessed by adoption, adoptees, and birth parents must have Sherrie's books in their libraries! Susan Wales, Author and Producer and Ken Wales, Executive Producer of the CBS series Christy and the movie, Amazing Grace --Susan and Ken Wales, Author and Exec Producer of the CBS Series Christy and the movie Amazing Grace

About the Author
Sherrie Eldridge's adoptive grandmother, the social worker on her case, placed her in the loving arms of her mom and dad at ten days of age. Never in her wildest dreams did Sherrie imagine carrying her own granddaughter by adoption, Megan Grace in her arms. Affectionately known as 'Mimi' to all her grandchildren, she is more convinced than ever that adoptees share a special bond, no matter the age span. Just as her highly acclaimed book Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wished Their Adoptive Parents Knew blends authenticity and tenderhearted compassion for parents and the children they have adopted, so does this book, written just for you.

Customer Reviews

Hands On for All the Children in the Family
Our adopted daughter was eager to read and "do" the Forever Fingerprints book she received as a gift. What I didn't expect was the eagerness of her brother to join in as the three of us used the accompanying pad to stamp and examine our fingerprints. The message was loud and clear--we're all unique and yet we share so much in common.

I also appreciated the natural weaving in of important truths about how babies grow and are born. Being adopted is a way of entering a family--but we're all born the same way.

The pictures are great--and the focus on hands instead of faces makes the book even more intriguing as well as inclusive. It's not a book about a particular kind of adoption--it's about a girl who is adopted and could be any girl.

This book will be wonderful to revisit and to share.

Professionally helpful
We recently used the book Forever Fingerprints when a young child was being placed with his new adoptive family. His birth mother and adoptive mother read him the book and then both he and his birth mother made their finger/hand prints on the paper that was provided. It was a very touching moment.

Sherrie, the author, was kind and personally inscribed two books, one for the child, and one for his birth mother. They both have copies of the fingerprints taken that day.

This book is a wonderful way to support children in respecting their biological roots. It is appropriate for use in entrustment ceremonies.

Thank you Sherrie for writing this beautiful book.

Forever Fingerprints stops too soon
Forever Fingerprints stops the story too soon, when it could go on and talk about everyone being unique and special. My 3-year-old likes it just because it is a book being read to her. Would have liked more for a good ending.