I Love You Like Crazy Cakes

Reviewed by Me for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com

With I LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY CAKES, author Rose Lewis brings to lifer her true story of adopting a baby from China. What begins as a letter to Chinese officials ends with bringing home a baby girl, to the delight of her new mother and extended family.

Jane Dyer's illustrations are soft and dreamy, and perfectly compliment the story of Rose and her daughter, Alexandra Mae-Ming Lewis. From that first time of holding her new daughter, to the first night alone back in America, the feelings of love and devotion are evident on every page.

Although this is a book sure to appeal to parents who have adopted children from other countries, specifically China, it's a great story for any child, adopted or not. show more In fact, my daughter was especially enamored by the book, since it was her first introduction as to what adoption truly means.

Great as a bedtime or any time story, it's no wonder that I LOVE YOU LIKE CRAZY CAKES is well on its way to becoming a children's classic. show less

Mother-love is profound, however a baby comes into a woman's life. For Rose Lewis, the journey to motherhood begins with a letter to Chinese officials, asking if she can adopt from the "big room with lots of other babies." The infants in that room in China are each missing a mother, but Lewis is missing something, too--a baby. She travels to China to meet her new little girl and falls head over heels in love. Taking her baby home to America, Lewis introduces her to all her family and friends, and they begin their life together.

I thought this was a great story! The central message of the story is that adoption is great, and can help make families. I love this story because of its plot. A woman travels all the way to China to adopt a baby girl. The woman proclaims her love for the baby in a variety of ways. In addition, I love the illustrations. Each page has a light yellow background which causes the reader to draw his or her eyes to the main focus on each page. For instance, my eye went right to the baby girl when she in sitting on the bed. Another reason why I loved this story is because of the way the author wrote it. In this story, the author is the main character, the mother. She placed herself into the story, and it is almost like she is writing a letter show more to her daughter about how thankful she is to have been able to adopt her. The last reason I enjoyed this story is because it is written about a great topic. Readers can see that adoption is not a bad thing, and that the adopting parents genuinely care about their child. show less

I liked this book for two reasons. First, the illustrations enhance the story. The illustrations of the book look like paintings, but they are also realistic and feature the physical traits of the two different ethnicities of the book. An example of the realistic paintings can be seen on the cover of the book. Second, the story has a well-organized plot that is easy to follow. The book begins with the author stating that there's a baby in China and a woman in America. Then, the woman writes a letter to China's adoption agency, flys to China, brings home the baby, and the baby meets the whole family such as cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The big idea of this book is that there is always someone who loves you.

This book is a great story of adoption that many families can relate to. It has personal meaning for me as it was the first book added to my niece’s book collection when she was adopted from China. It takes me back to that first summer we were able to spend with her. I believe it was a character in Inkheart (Funke, 2003) that described books as memory keepers. The mind links books we read to time periods, places, or events in our lives. This couldn’t be truer in regards to this book! Despite developmental delays when first joining our family, Ty is now in first grade and is a shining example of the effect loving parents have on a young child. Many studies have been conducted on Chinese adoptees to Americans and how parents must help show more these children maintain their Asian identity as they mature. Some universities, such as the University of Maryland, will begin offering coursework in the “adoptee experience.” These courses will help students understand the cultural rules that force families to give up children or see America as a better alternative to life in the adoptee’s native land. While coursework is a good attempt at helping students find answers, no coursework in the world will compete with an open, loving relationship with parents, biological or adoptive.
Library Implications: The librarian will encounter adoptive students in the library, whether American-born or of diverse back grounds. This book is a great way to start a discussion of adoption with older children. The culture of China and other countries could be studied relating to adoption. Family dynamics could also be compared among countries, and the role extended families have in various cultures.
** The topic of adoption can be very personal for some students and the librarian should consider carefully the depth of the study and perhaps even notify parents before the topic is introduced. show less

This book tells the story of a woman who adopts a little girl from China and how much she loves this child. It touches on how the woman is sad that the baby's mother does not have the opportunity to love this baby, but is grateful to her for bringing the little girl into the world for her to love. I thought this was a really cute book, and it shows how adoption positively impacts families.

Ages: 3 and up
Source: Pierce College Library

i thought this book was OK. I enjoyed the realistic pictures, but I feel as if it lacked a climax and it failed to interest me throughout. The illustrations accurately depicted a single mom adopted a child from China and they included a lot of bright and interesting colors/color combinations. However, the book simply told about the process of the mother getting on a plan to pick up her child and then bringing her home to meet the family. It lacked realistic features like when she said she wrote a letter to the Chinese government asking for one of their babies and they simply replied as long as you promise to take good care" of the girl. I know there is a lot more that is included in the adoption process and I do believe it should have show more been included so that the reader is properly informed about adoption and so they don't think that anyone can just adopt a child by mailing the government a letter. I think adoption is a higher grade level subject, so the specifics on adoption should be included in this book. show less