“Although I was young when my foster care ordeal began, I remember how it felt to be passed off and over-looked. Like nobody knew me or wanted to know me. Like my talents didn’t count, and my voice didn’t matter.” — Simone Biles, CNN
Champion gymnast, Simone Biles, is an advocate for children in the foster care system. She realizes that her phenomenal success is wildly different from many of the children who live or have lived in foster homes. May is National Foster Care Month, and Biles’ CNN feature showcases her determination in educating the public about the need for more support as well as financial, and educational opportunities for foster families and children. A Proclamation on National Foster Care Month, 2021” issued by President Joe Biden encourages “all Americans to observe this month by reaching out in their neighborhoods and communities to the children and youth in foster care and their families, those at risk of entering foster care…kin families and other caregivers.” In, Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir, award-winning author, Nikki Grimes discusses her life in foster care and how writing helped her deal with the pain. The fiction and nonfiction books listed range from picture books to young adult novels.
Flying High: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles
Michelle Meadows | Ebony Glenn | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) | December 29, 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Just Like a Mama
Alice Faye Duncan | Charnelle Pinkney Barlow | Denene Millner/S&S BYR | PB | January 21, 2020 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Our Gracie Aunt
Jacqueline Woodson | Jon J Muth | Jump At The Sun | April 2, 2002 | Amazon | IndieBound
Hockey Night in Kenya
Danson Mutinda | Eric Walters |Claudia Dávila | Orca Book Publishers | October 13, 2020 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Trouble Next Door: The Carver Chronicles (Bk. 4)
Karen English | Laura Freeman | Clarion Books | December 6, 2016 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Ballerina Dreams: From Orphan to Dancer (Step Into Reading, Step 4)
Michaela DePrince | Elaine Deprince | Frank Morrison | Random House BYR | October 14, 2014 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Kinda Like Brothers
Coe Booth | Scholastic Press | August 26, 2014 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Locomotion
Jacqueline Woodson | Puffin Books | January 7, 2010 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
The Road to Paris
Nikki Grimes | G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR | October 5, 2006 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Concrete Kids (Pocket Change Collective)
Amyra León | Ashley Lukashevsky | Penguin Workshop | October 13, 2020 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Home Girl
Alex Wheatle | Black Sheep | September 3, 2019 | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Peas and Carrots
Tanita S. Davis | Knopf BYR | February 9, 2016 | Amazon | IndieBound
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