What is a lifebook?

A lifebook is a way of creating a history for your child when you have very little info. There are many variations but it usually contains memories of your paperchase, referral, Gotcha day, photos from China, info on China at the time your little one was adopted to try and help explain abandonment, his or her birth country, adoption day and just like a baby book all important firsts, throughout your little ones childhood. Hope that helps:)

A lifebook is like a scrapbook but the important difference is it tells your child's story. So there will be more words or journaling since you won't have pictures. Also there are some great sites (just google "lifebook") and books. The lifebook is for your child about them and their life. We are working on one for our three year old that is very simple and then I am working on one for when she is a little older. We look at it and tell her story in words we are comfortable with so that she has always known her story. Sort of like I talk about who took care of her before she joined our family in the younger one and in the older one I will talk about the political and cultural reasons for abandonment in China. Diana

You've already gotten some great answers - so I will just add that we have a lifebook section right here at adoption.com link is in my siggy - we would love to have you check it out! Diane

Jumping in from the Russia board... The key differerence between a lifebook and a scrapbook is the perspective. For that reason, I am going to disagree slightly with Kimmie11... A scrapbook does indeed tell YOUR perspective of the adoption.. the paperchase, I-171H, homestudy, travel itinteraries, your thoughts, etc. The lifebook is from the CHILD'S perspective. It tends to be wordy, and asks the child to tell you about his/her feelings and identity.. It will focus on the child in his/her country of birth (i.e. you were born on X day, or you were abandoned on X day, or some snippet about the birthmom and how hard it must have been for her to give you up, etc). The adoptive parents will be mentioned only as it relates to a step in the child's history -- i.e. you became our special angel on X day, and we were so thrilled to see your face, hold you tight, gve you lots of kisses, etc. Our son (now 4) has a scrapbook and a lifebook. His scrapbook will probably always remain the same. But his lifebook will change as he changes and grows. The theory behind the lifebook is that it allows adopted children to have some identity with the unknown or more painful periods of their lives.

I purchased the book, Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure For The Adopted Child, because I want to create a lifebook for my little one. It seems that a lifebook is created from the perspective of the child, not the adult. If you click here at about's site [URL="http://adoption.about.com/b/a/222008.htm?terms=Lifebooks%3A+Creating%20a%20Treasure%20For%20The%20Adopted%20Child"]Book of the Week: Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child[/URL] you can read a review of this book. That's what lead me to buy it. I am also keeping a journal, which is from my perspective documenting every step of the process, which she can read when she is older. I think both will fill in the gaps and help her understand who she is and how she came to join our family.

Diane, I am a beginner of scrapbooking. I would like to start my daughter's lifebook. So far I can find 12x12 or 8x8 scrapbooks. But is there such thing as 8 1/2x11 scrapbook? The size is perfect because I can insert some placement documents in this book. Where can you find it? Is this a three-ring binder? Can you insert or pull out pages? June

the do make 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbooks. My daughters is actually currently in a 3 ring binder, that the girls decorated. The page protectors for that are available right at office supply stores.

As mentioned above, the lifebook is for your child about your child. You might explain what life is like in China for a child, China's one child policy, the cultural and economic importance of boys, what an orphanage is, etc. I've found that it is an evolving book and changes as my daughter ages.

Hi, There are some great resources on how to create a lifebook. In fact there are a few that specifically focus on children who are adopted from China. I really like the guide written by Kay Graap--it gives you step by step instructions on how to organize your photos, what topics to include per page, writing examples for different ages etc. The great thing about a lifebook is that it gives us parents a way to introduce, and hopefully open discussions on some of the tougher topics like reason for abandonment. There is also a great yahoo group that focuses on the writing of the pages. You learn so much from reading other people's ideas. I highly recommend it. Also, you can definately find books in the 8.5 by 11 format. A lof of people who digital scrapbooking (like myself) print at that size. Pioneer makes many albums in this size and you can find them at most craft stores like JoAnn's or Michaels. Take care, Melissa

Hi, Since I am a beginner, it is probably more realistic to start with the digital scrapbooking. Can somebody recommend the type of software for digital scrapbooking? June

June, Here's a link about digital scrapbooking [URL="http://forums.adoption.com/creating-adoption-lifebooks-scrapbooks/259405-digital-scrapping-i-have-caught-bug.html"]http://forums.adoption.com/creating-adoption-lifebooks-scrapbooks/259405-digital-scrapping-i-have-caught-bug.html[/URL] . You may want to check out the Lifebook/Scrapbooking forum ([URL="http://forums.adoption.com/creating-adoption-lifebooks-scrapbooks/"]http://forums.adoption.com/creating-adoption-lifebooks-scrapbooks/[/URL]) I want to try this too, but haven't found the time.

Hi June, I actually started in digital scrapbooking because I needed to do my daughter's lifebook. I love the look of paperscrapping --and the social aspect of it all. However, I am simply paperscrapbooking challenged. I did a little research online and found there are tons and tons of resources. The place that I like the most for getting started is digitalscrapbookplace.com. You have to register (email and password). At the top of the page, there is a link that says "New to Digital?". There you will see a brief overview of different programs, where to start etc. You will find many people use Adobe Photoshop Elements. It's the most sophisticated program--and truthfully, the hardest to learn. When I started scrapping, I realized a photo editing software I was using (simply for cropping & reducing red eye) was fine for digital scrapping. I use a Microsoft program called Digital Image Pro 10 (newest version is called Digital Image Suite). By any chance does your digital camera come with a program--or your computer--or do you use any photo editing software? There are also free trials (usually 30-60 days) of software. If you'd like a link to the Microsoft program--pm me. Or if you have a current program, let me know and I can help find some tutorials for them. Lastly, there is an awesome Yahoo Group for people who have adopted from China and digital scrapbook (there must be a yahoo group for everything). We have over 150 members and we work on lifebooks as well as other scrapping projects. It's awesome because people share ideas, links to free backgrounds & elements, all the asian kits we can find etc. If you want the link to join also let me know. Take care, Melissa

Hi, Thanks for the information. They are all very valuable resources. I just join the yahoo digital scrapbooking group. Hopefully, I will be able to catch up with the techniques. I have never done paper scrapbooking before. Honestly, I am overwhelmed by it. Luckily, I am comfortable with computers. I have a program on my computer called "Photo Impression", which I normally use for cropping and reduction of red eyes. Besides photo editing, I assume that I need a software to put background, elements and photos together. It is also a big decision to choose the size of book. I would like to incooperate some adoption papers in the book. That means that are 8 1/2 x11 size. Can the scrapbooking software print out 8 1/2 x11 page? June

Hi June, I'm glad you joined the yahoo group. I look forward to seeing you there. You absolutely scrap at 8.5 x 11. A lot of people choose that size because the opt to print at home. Not to overwhelm you, but you can scrap at any size. Many people stay with the more traditional size 12 x 12, 8 x 8, 6 x 6. Other's scrap at more of the photo printing size of 8 x 10, 5 x 7, 4 x 6. With the exception of my daughter's lifebook, I've scrapped most things at 4 x 6 for printing options. Take care, Melissa