Calvin is in foster care, and he wants to trust someone, anyone, but is afraid to open his heart. He has lived in a lot of houses, but he still hasn’t found his home. When he moves in with Maggie, she shows him respect, offers him kindness, and makes him see things in himself that he’s never noticed before. Maybe this isn’t just another house, maybe this is a place Calvin can call home, for a while.

Coalition Staff Member Review

This is a great book that walks us through real inner fears that children in foster care sometimes struggle with and the internal dialogues they have to protect them from getting hurt. We see testing behaviors by Calvin and each time, rather than a punishment, he is met with kindness and compassion from his foster mother, Maggie.

At the beginning of the book, we are met with a child who is seemingly distrusting and fearful. By the end of the book, he has grown in confidence and has learned to develop trust in his foster parent through her consistent and caring responses that focus on him as a person and not his behaviors.

Foster parents who are caring for children who may be struggling to adapt or make connections would benefit from this book. It could make a great tool to start a conversation to help the child normalize their thoughts and feelings. The book can also help to remind adults of the importance of staying calm during chaos and how consistency, kindness, and compassion towards children can impact how a child sees the world around them.

Author: Lauren H. Kerstein
Additional Author: Natalia Moore (Illustrator)
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3187-4
Count: 1