Being in foster care is not easy. Children are torn between wanting their moms and dads and needing safety. Small children have no understanding of what is happening or even why. That’s why it’s important for foster moms to have books for children in foster care on-hand to help them to understand their situation.
They only know what is normal for themselves and they miss their own normal.
Older children struggle with a life that is indescribable. Any child that has been in foster care for long may begin to harden their hearts because of the repeated hurts that are thrust upon them. Whether it be from natural families, foster families, or, the system. Moving from one home to the next only exacerbates the problem.
The reality is every child wants their own normal, they want to feel and be safe, and they want to fit in. But, in foster care that is very hard to do.
Having been a foster mom to 10 children I saw fear turn to joy, turn to sorrow, turn to hope cycled through over and over again.
One night a boy just over the age of 2 was brought into my home in the middle of the night, he was sound asleep. Imagine, being put down in a bed you’d never seen only to wake up in a home with complete strangers. The fear in that boys eyes haunts my mind. He was in a situation that was entirely beyond his control. He had no knowledge or understanding of what was happening, or why. He simply was scared.
These kinds of situations happen often in foster care. Children are torn from their homes, their families and sent to live with strangers through no fault of their own and due to circumstances they don’t understand.
Helping these children isn’t easy. The hurts they face are unfair, cruel, and often criminal. Their hearts are filled with sorrow and torment that no person, let alone a child, should ever face.
It isn’t the fault of foster parents. Most every foster parent I’ve ever met has hearts of grace seeking to offer love, support and safety to the children placed in their care. Yet, it falls to them to help these children. It becomes their burden to teach them the realities of the life they are now living. It becomes their torture to see, love, and care for children whose souls are tormented by what they can’t control.
Sometimes teaching a child that there are others like them helps them to have an understanding of their own reality. That’s why I’m offering 10 books for children in foster care, so foster moms can find ways to help their children understand what’s happening in their new life.
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Early Elementary Books for Children in Foster Care
Families Change
by Julie Nelson
ages 4-10
Finding the Right Spot
by Janice Levy
ages 6 and up
Kids Need to be Safe
by Julie Nelson
ages 4-10
Maybe Days
by Jennifer Wilgocki
ages 4 and up
Upper Elementary through Middle School Books for Children in Foster Care
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Ages 8-12
The Boy from the Basement
by Susan Shaw
ages 12 and up
Books for Teens in Foster Care
In Between: A Katie Parker Production (Act I)
by Jenny B. Jones
ages 12 and up
Three Little Words
by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
ages 14 and up
The Guardian
by Joyce Sweeney
ages 14 and up
What books would you recommend for children in foster care?
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Acknowledgement:
This post is part of the iHN Massive Guide to Homeschool Reading Lists.