The importance of representing foster families in children’s books

Author-illustrator Jen Carney explains why all children benefit from stories about foster families. 

In the UK alone, there are currently almost 54,000 fostering households, and approximately 70,000 foster children living with them. Research suggests that these children are at risk of falling short of achieving their educational potential, and that they might struggle with their mental health.  

As teachers, librarians, parents and carers, one way we can try to make a difference is to ensure they have access to uplifting stories in which they can see themselves. 

Why? 

The power of positive representation 

I recently delivered a Key Stage 2 workshop in an urban primary school.  

After the session, a teacher contacted me. She said her most reluctant reader had immediately taken a copy of a book I’d talked about and, over a few days, read it from cover to cover.  

What had changed for the pupil? She’d seen a version of herself in a funny, uplifting story. 

The book was The Day My Dog Got Famous, a comedy narrated by 10-year-old Ferris, the birth-child of his two mums who also foster children.  

The teacher explained that the pupil had lived with a blended foster family until recently, when she’d been adopted by her two mums.  

She said the pupil had been amazed that someone was writing funny stories starring people like her, families like hers, situations she could relate to. She divulged that the book had made her ‘feel normal’. 

That’s one example of the power of positive representation.  

Different types of foster care 

Just as there are many reasons children end up in foster care, there are also different types of foster placements. Some examples are: living with a foster family; kinship foster care; special guardianship; and living in a residential children's home.

So it’s certainly not one size fits all when it comes to representing children in foster care, and knowing your children’s circumstances will definitely help when you are looking for books that represent them. Similarly, there’s massive value in finding stories where a loving foster care arrangement is the setting for a story as opposed to the main focus of the plot.   

Developing empathy 

Of course, books that represent foster families don’t exist only to serve as mirrors for children whose lives they reflect. Indeed, they’re also brilliant windows, giving children with little or no experience of the foster care system a glimpse of what different families can look like. Broadening understanding through a story with universal appeal can help develop empathy – a learnable skill that improves cooperation, strengthens relationships and decreases judgment between peers. 

Diversify your bookshelves