Tag Archives: Foster children

Feb20

Strong and Tough – Rico Hinson-King/Nick Sharratt

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Bloomsbury

November 2022

ISBN9781526648624
ImprintBloomsbury Children’s Books
RRP: $24.99

This is a super story which I’ve now shared with several classes between Year 1 and 3, and all the kiddos have really enjoyed it, even though it deals with some tough issues. What is even more amazing is that it is written by an eleven year old.

Rico Hinson-King was taken into care at a very young age, along with his two sisters, when his natural parents were unable to care for them. The siblings weren’t all fostered together and at times, Rico found life very tough, even though he was being looked after. Like many boys he was mad about football but his big dream was to have a proper ‘forever’ family. Despite the times he wanted to scream and cry (and the times he did) he was always resilient and always loved his footy, and when finally he found a set of remarkable parents who not only wanted to be his forever family, but to also parent his sisters, Rico was able to relax into being loved and embraced.

He wrote his story firstly in homework club at Manchester City FC (where he is a Junior Premier League Academy student) , but quickly it became more than just a homework assignment. Rico could see this was a way to share with other kids in similar circumstances, to let them know there is hope for all, and that there are people who understand exactly what it feels like to be in foster care or in ‘limbo’ without the security of a forever family. For such a young writer, it is a remarkable achievement, and is both moving and powerful.

The children with whom I shared it, invariably had much to say and demonstrated great empathy which was wonderful to see. Nick Sharrat’s illustrative style will be familiar to many from his work on the Tracy Beaker stories and other Jacqueline Wilson books, and is exactly right for this, being quirky but en pointe for the emotions and changing situations. While it is told in a narrative style, it is non-fiction and I think the rich discussions to come out of this will be of great value to your readers.

Naturally, you would need to be mindful of any potential triggers should you have children who might be in similar situations or have had similar experiences. I just love that the book was published the week before National Adoption Week (UK) to highlight the need for more children like Rico and his sisters to find their place in a loving family.

Highly recommended for young readers from around 5 years upwards. Watch Rico read his story after winning the Junior Premier League Young Writer of the Year Award. What a remarkable boy!

Mar14

How To Make Friends with the Dark – Kathleen Glasgow

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y648 (4)

Harper Collins Australia

April 2020

ISBN: 9781460751060

ISBN 10: 146075106X

Imprint: HarperCollins – AU

List Price: 19.99 AUD

 

Here is what happens when your mother dies.

My timing for reading this could have been better really. It was the 5th anniversary of losing my girl this past week, a scant fortnight before  Miss K’s 10th birthday. So at times it completely undid me reading Tiger’s story but trust me despite the heart-breaking poignancy there is also light and hope in this narrative.

Tiger and her mother have always been a team – just the two of them – in a little house with not much money but lots of love. There are often times when Tiger is completely fed up however: no money, no new clothes (her mother eclectically selects throw-outs from other people for her daughter) and above all her mother’s almost obsessive over-protectiveness.

Like most teenagers, Tiger is ready to rebel and does so spectacularly with a massive show-down with her mum about her plans to attend the upcoming big dance with one of her best friends, Kai – the boy she’s always really liked. As the mother-daughter conflict escalates during a day of constant texts and missed calls with Tiger refusing to countenance either her mother’s attitude or the hideous dress she’s found in a conciliatory gesture, the unimaginable happens. Tiger’s mother suffers a fatal aneurism and is dead within seconds – alone and as Tiger well knows, with her daughter’s last horrible words as the last exchange between them.

With no family to take her on, Tiger is immediately thrown into the maw of children’s services and foster homes and her ‘Grief Life’ consumes her and comes close to completely overwhelming the little resilience she might muster. And then, the most unexpected development turns everything on its head. Tiger has a half-sister and indeed, a father (who happens to be in jail)  – something for which Tiger has never been prepared, given her mother’s refusal to even discuss the past.  But the trauma isn’t over for Tiger. The journey of her adjustment to her new life, new family, new emptiness, new dark is at times harrowing and heartbreaking but ultimately some hope surfaces and perhaps – just maybe- Grief Life will ease, at least partly.

This is beautifully written and Tiger’s voice is compelling throughout. Make no mistake, it’s not an easy read emotionally but very much worth it. Our individual ability to process and then live with grief is unique to each – I know this only too well – but for anyone who has been in this aching abyss of blackness this could well be a book that will prove both cathartic and affirming.

I recommend it most wholeheartedly… but for mature readers from around 14 years upwards – there is some profanity and certainly some confronting situations/incidents as well. For your school library it’s definitely for your Middle to Upper secondary students.

Find teaching notes here.

Jul8

The Pinballs – Betsy Byars

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pinballs

Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780062881786

ISBN 10: 0062881787

Imprint: HarperCollins – US

July 2019

List Price: 16.99 AUD

 

Now in her 90s award-winning American author Betsy Byars first published The Pinballs in 1977. As I re-read this new edition I wondered if she thought that perhaps the fate of some children might improve over time. It seems that the plight of so many is far worse than the children in her novel, a sad and terrible indictment of our human society.

Three foster children are placed with a warm and loving couple, the Masons, who have successfully changed the lives of 17 other children.

Carlie is the first to arrive, having been removed from the reach of a violent stepfather by children’s services. She is brash and sarcastic but hides an unbearable longing to be with her mother and siblings.

Next is Harvey who is confined to a wheelchair after his father ‘accidentally’ running him over and breaking both his legs. Since Harvey’s mother left when he was small, he has had to basically fend for himself and his greatest desire is to find his mother on the commune/farm she calls her new home.

Thomas J was a mere toddler when he wandered up the driveway of the aged Benson twins’ farm, apparently abandoned. The spinster sisters took him in and always meant to contact the authorities but somehow never did. With both of them in the hospital after bad falls there is no one else to care for the small boy who doesn’t even know his real name or birthday.

At first it seems the disparate personalities of the three kids will cause friction but as time goes by and circumstances change for all of them, their friendship deepens.  They cease to be ‘pinballs’ bouncing around from bad situation to worse and start to become a bonded family. The patience and kindness of the Masons has much to do with this and they gradually build the self-esteem of each child.

It’s not a long book, more a novella really, but it is packed with emotions: poignancy, grief, humour, self-awareness and more.

Despite its age and references to 70s contemporary pop culture such as TV shows or toys, this is a book that truly stands the test of time and is just as, if not more, relevant in these times.

If you are looking for a different read-aloud for your middle school kiddos this would be a wonderful choice and an introduction to the other great works by Byars. I know that my year 5s once upon a time also loved The Great Gilly Hopkins but there are many others from which to choose. You will also find plenty of teaching notes etc for this book which is often used in US schools.

Highly recommended for readers from around ten years upwards.