Extending a heart.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, celebrated by presidential proclamation and activities throughout the country. In his proclamation last year, President George W. Bush said, "By deciding to share their hearts and homes with a child, adoptive parents demonstrate great compassion and receive many blessings in return." According to the National Adoption Clearinghouse, about 129,000 children in foster care are awaiting adoption. Black Issues Book Review offers the following titles to help adoptive parents, their children and those considering adoption.

A Is for Adopted by Eileen Tucker Cosby Illustrated by Norma S. Strange SWAK Pak LLC, November 2000 $14.95 ISBN 0-967-6385-0

This is the first in the series featuring a loveable group of characters known as Our KidsPak. "In this alphabet book" the author says, "Our KidsPak expresses the joys of adoption by sharing concepts and emotions from A to Z." Each letter is accompanied by a rhyming verse and colorful illustrations.

From A to Z, Cosby's loving portrait will help children know how special they are to their parents.

Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World by Marguerite Wright Jossey-Bass, May 2000 $15.95, ISBN 0-787-95234-6

Wright's book offers both suggestions and strategies from her work with families and children on dealing with race, and raising healthy and happy kids.

Black Baby, White Hands: A View From the Crib by Dr. Jaiya John Soul Water Rising, May 2005 $17, ISBN 0-971-33081-6

The author is a young African American who was adopted by a white family in New Mexico in the 1970s. Dr. John recalls the wide range of emotions he felt as he was trying to understand how best to deal with them.

Heaven by Angela Johnson Illustrated by John Jude Palencar Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September 1998 $16.95, ISBN 0-689-82229-4 Ages 11-14

What forms an identity? Fourteen-year-old Marley must confront this question when she discovers that the people who raised her are not her biological parents.

I Bet She Called Me Sugar Plum by Joanne V. Gabbin Illustrated by Margot Bergman Foreword by Lucille Clifton Franklin Street Gallery Productions, September 2004 $14.95, ISBN 0-976-07160-6 Ages 4-7

Gabbin portrays an honest, caring relationship between mother and daughter that allows readers to see the mutually beneficial aspects of adoption when love is front and center.

Online Aid

For more books, see: http:// adoptionshop.com and for ideas on how to get involved in Nation Adoption Month, log on to http://national-adoption-month.adoption.com.

Other resources include:

Adoptions From the Heart, http://www.adoptions fromtheheart.org/05_news_events.html.

Adopt Us Kids, http://www.adoptuskids.org, which offers a photo listing of children awaiting adoption.

African American Adoptions Online, which assists black and biracial birth parents and adopting families, http://www.africanamericanadoptionsonline.com.

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, http://naic.acf.hhs.gov. The National Council for Adoption, http://www.ncfa-usa.org, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.