New Children and Teen Books

Books for Younger Children

Gossamer by Lois Lowry (Check Catalog)
While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.

Kids need to be safe: a book for young children in foster care / by Nelson,
Julie. (Check Catalog)
Explains that all children are important and need safe places to live and play, and describes what foster parents do and how foster children may feel when placed in a foster home.

Let's talk about foster homes / by Weitzman, Elizabeth.
(Check Catalog)
Explains why one goes to a foster home, who foster parents are, what to do if things don't work out, and other matters regarding foster care.

Welcome Comfort by Polacco, Patricia. (Check Catalog)
Welcome Comfort, a lonely foster child, is assured by his friend the school custodian that there is a Santa Claus, but he does not discover the truth until one wondrous and surprising Christmas Eve.

Zachary's new home : a story for foster and adopted children
(Check Catalog)
Zachary still remembers his "real" parents and finds that adjusting to life as Marie and Tom's adopted son is sometimes a painful reality.

Middle Childhood Books

A family apart / by Nixon, Joan Lowery. (Check Catalog)
In 1860, when their widowed mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent on the orphan train by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri.

A new day at Tanglewood / by Smith, Annette Gail, 1959- (Check Catalog)
Coming home to RubyPrarie series.

The boy from the basement / by Shaw, Susan. (Check Catalog)
A twelve-year-old boy is confined to his basement without food or clothing.

Cliff hanger / by Skurzynski, Gloria. (Check Catalog)
Twelve-year-old Jack and his younger sister visit Mesa Verde National Park, where they delve into the park's history while gradually uncovering the mysterious past of their family's teenage foster child Lucky.

For Your Own Good .... a child's book about foster care (Check Catalog)
Jerome and his younger brother stay in a foster home while their mother tries to recover from her substance abuse.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Patterson
(Check Catalog) (Check Catalog) (Cassette )
An eleven-year-old foster child tries to cope with her longings and fears as she schemes against everyone who tries to be friendly.

Ghost Horses by Gloria Skurzynski (Check Catalog)
Visiting Zion National Park with his family, twelve-year-old Jack encounters two mysteries, the strange behavior of a band of wild mustangs and the possibly sinister actions of his new foster brother, a Shoshone boy.

Grover G. Graham and me by Mary Quattlebaum
(Check Catalog)
In his eighth foster home since the death of his great-grandmother, eleven-year-old Ben becomes very attached to a baby living with the same family and worries when the baby's biological mother takes him away.

I'll sing you one-o / by Gregory, Nan. (Check Catalog)
Reunited with her long-lost twin brother, twelve-year-old Gemma constantly tests the boundaries of acceptable behavior while relying on angels to help her connect with her new family.

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle (Check Catalog)
Young widow and mother of two Sarah Laden becomes the foster mother to Jordan, a neighborhood boy who has survived a terrible tragedy, but when the delicate balance that holds her family together begins to crumble, the Ladens will all face truths about themselves and one another.

Locomotion / by Woodson, Jacqueline. (Check Catalog)
In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.

The mailbox / by Shafer, Audrey. (Check Catalog)
When twelve-year-old Gabe tries to hide his uncle's death from the local authorities, he is not prepared for what happens when this secret is discovered.

The Orphan of Ellis Island : a time travel adventure / by Woodruff, Elvira. (Check Catalog)
During a school trip to Ellis Island, Dominick Avaro, a ten-year-old foster child, travels back in time to 1908 Italy and accompanies two young emigrants to America.

Pictures of Hollis Woods / by Giff, Patricia Reilly.
(Check Catalog)
A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan, staying with an elderly artist who needs her, remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

The road to Paris / by Grimes, Nikki. (Check Catalog)
Inconsolable at being separated from her older brother, eight-year-old Paris is apprehensive about her new foster family but just as she learns to trust them, she faces a life-changing decision.

The story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson
(Check Catalog)
Ten-year-old Tracy, who lives in a children's home because her mother was forced to give her up, dreams of getting a good foster family where she can be happy until her mother comes back for her.

Where I'd Like to be by Francis O'Roark Dowell
(Check Catalog)
Searching for a place to call home, twelve-year-old Maddie, while living at the East Tennessee Children's Home, learns the true meaning of friendship and family when she decides to share her innermost longings with Murphy, the glamorous new girl. Jr Lib Guild.

Teen Books

Dancing with Elvis / by Stephenson, Lynda, 1941-
(Check Catalog)
In Clover, Texas, in the late 1950s, high-schooler Frankilee deals with a devious and manipulative, not to mention prettier and more talented, foster sister, a boyfriend she does not want, and a community divided over school integration.

Everything you need to know about living in a foster home / by Joe Falke (Check Catalog)
Gives examples of teenagers who have been sent to live with foster families, detailing some of the reasons for needing foster care, what to expect, and how to adjust

The handle and the key / by Neufeld, John. (Check Catalog)
When Dan, a foster child who has lived in many homes in his short life, is adopted, he has a hard time believing that his new family is really permanent.

Isabel's daughter : a novel / by Hendricks, Judith Ryan
(Check Catalog)
During her search for clues into the past of her late mother, Avery James finds herself and her true talents in a Southwestern sanctuary as she becomes involved with her mother's work, friends, foes, and lovers, ultimately discovering a surprising love in the process. By the author of Bread Alone.

The last chance Texaco / by Hartinger, Brent. (Check Catalog)
Troubled teen Lucy Pitt struggles to fit in as a new tenant at a last-chance foster home.

The Life all arund me by Ellen Foster Kaye Gibbons, 1960 - (Check Catalog)
This sequel to Gibbon's beloved classic Ellen Foster stands on its own as an unforgettable portrait of a redoubtable adolescent making herself up out of whole cloth. Now fifteen, Ellen is settled into a permanent home with a new mother. Strengthened by adversity and blessed with enough intelligence to design a salvation for herself, she still feels ill at ease in the world. Her sole surviving ritual - a visit to the county fair - takes on totemic importance. While she holds fast to the shreds of her childhood-humoring her best friend, Stuart, who is determined to marry her; and protecting her old neighbor, slow-witted Starletta - she negotiates her way into a larger world by selling her poetry to pay her way to a camp for gifted students. With a singular mix of perspicacity, and compassion, Ellen draws us into her life and makes us fall in love with her all over again. Anyone considering making an underage change in life, such as who you're going to live with, should know there's no way to avoid the government getting in on the decision, so try to be kind to the lady they'll send with a stack of tests. Try to stay calm and do your best on them.

Love, Sarah by Mary Beth Lundgren (Check Catalog)
In a series of emails and journal entries Sara, a high school junior with a history of sexual abuse and foster home care, reveals her feelings about herself and two friends who are headed for destruction.

The maze / by Hobbs, Will. (Check Catalog)
Rick, a fourteen-year-old foster child, escapes from a juvenile detention facility near Las Vegas and travels to Canyonlands National Park in Utah where he meets a bird biologist working on a project to reintroduce condors to the wild.

One true friend by Joyce Hansen (Check Catalog)
Fourteen-year-old orphan Amir, living in Syracuse, exchanges letters with his friend Doris, still living in their old Bronx neighborhood, in which they share their lives and give each other advice on friendship, family, foster care, and making decisions.

Over the edge / by Skurzynski, Gloria. (Check Catalog)
While she studies condors in the Grand Canyon a scientist's life is threatened, and the strange, hostile, teenage computer whiz in her family's foster care might be involved.

Out of nowhere: a novel by Ouida Sebestyen (Check Catalog)
When he no longer fits into his vagabond mother's life, thirteen-year-old Harley adopts an abandoned dog and falls in with an outspoken old woman, a cantankerous junk collector, and an energetic and loving teenage girl.

Plenty good room / by Edwards, Cheri Paris. (Check Catalog)
When Tamara Britton agrees to temporarily take in fourteen-year-old foster child Sienna Larson, she at first finds the girl more than she can handle, until she learns to open her heart as well as her home.

Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz, 1955- (Check Catalog)
Sent to live in a foster home in a remote Yorkshire village, Matt, a troubled fourteen-year-old English boy, uncovers an evil plot involving witchcraft and the site of an ancient stone circle.

Returnable girl / by Lowell, Pamela. (Check Catalog)
Friendship with an outcast classmate and memories of her mother's desertion interfere with the relationship thirteen-year-old Ronnie tries to establish with her new foster mother.

Song of the seals by Christy Yorke (Check Catalog)
Eighteen years after losing her son, Kate acts as foster mother to seventeen-year-old Wayne and moves with her widowed father to a small Northern California village called Seal Bay, where they encounter an almost primitive life.