The Star: A Story to Help Young Children Understand Foster Care

Rating:
Summary: The Star
Review: My husband and I are foster parents. Inspiration from this book prompted me to decorate the bed room, where our foster child sleeps, with stars. It turned out really cute. It is very easy for these children to "give up hope", but if we continue to remind them of their inner strength, and that there IS hope for their future, remarkable things can happen. Sometimes all they need is for someone to believe in them.

Rating:
Summary: The Star
Review: My husband and I are foster parents. Inspiration from this book prompted me to decorate the bed room, where our foster child sleeps, with stars. It turned out really cute. It is very easy for these children to "give up hope", but if we continue to remind them of their inner strength, and that there IS hope for their future, remarkable things can happen. Sometimes all they need is for someone to believe in them.

Rating:
Summary: The Star: Sensitive and Encouraging
Review: The Star: A Story to Help Young Children Understand Foster Care, by Cynthia Miller Lovell, is a refreshingly sensitive book that affirms and encourages children who have been taken from their homes and placed in foster care. The author addresses feelings and questions that children typically have and supportively lets them know that they are not alone. Examples of some issues that are broached include the following: "What does being a foster child mean?", "Am I a foster child because I did something bad?", "Can I eat an apple from the table?" These simple questions are emotionally charged and are of utmost importance to children who ask them.This easy to read book with beautiful watercolor illustrations of children from various cultures and socio-economic groups, is a non-threatening medium to address this sensitive topic with foster children. It indirectly inspires hope, comforts,and affirms each child's uniqueness. The handbook that can be purchased in addition to the book, is a must for adults who wish to indirectly ease children's transition into foster care. This user friendly book provides questions about the main character of The Star and fun activities for the children who read this book. By engaging in these short activities, caregivers can help nurture the bond between themselves and the children whom they help. Because they can also gain insight into the foster child's psyche, they have more tools to effectively help each unique child. In addition to helping foster children and foster parents, The Star can be useful in building sensitivity of this issue and eroding at the stigma of foster care,for peers,educators, social workers,nurses, churches, communities and occupational therapists. As a professional advocate of children in urban and rural areas, this is the only children's book that I have seen available for foster children. It is a must for school and private libraries.

Rating:
Summary: A comforting story for foster children
Review: We received this book yesterday and I read it to my two foster sons (aged 7 and 8) at bedtime. The asked me to read eat over again until I got too tired! It follows a girl named Kit from when the social workers arrive at her mother's house to pick her up, to feeling more settled in her foster home. My sons felt less alone in their experience when the story explained that there are other children feeling the same things (sometimes happy, angry, confused, sad). It ends on a positive and personal note that they will be okay. I did think it odd that a star speaks to and comforts the child, but one of my sons said he especially liked hearing about the star. One caution: they were not familiar with the name "Kit" and thought she was being called "Kid." I recommend this book.