Billy Had to Move: A Foster Care Story
Illustrator
Alex Walton
Publisher
Loving Healing Press
Publication Year
2011
ISBN
9781615991181
Pages
32 pages
Genre
realism
Format
picture book
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Child Protection Services have been involved with Billy and his mother for some time now. He has been happily settled in a kinship placement with his grandmother and enjoys his pet cat, interacting with neighbors and even taking piano lessons. As the story unfolds, Billy's grandmother has unexpectedly passed away and so the story of Billy Had To Move begins. Unfortunately, Billy's mother cannot be located. Mr. Murphy, Billy's social worker, places him in the foster home of Amy, Tim, and their baby "Colly." Billy experiences great loss resulting not only from his grandmother's death, but also the loss of the life he knew. Billy's inner journey therefore has also begun and with the help of Ms. Woods, a Play Therapist, there is hope.
Grade Level
3-5, 6-8
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Disability and Health; Foster care; Family member death; Kinship care; Mental Illness; foster family; foster home; foster child; death of a grandmother; grandmother raising grandson; anxiety; child suffering from anxiety; therapy
Main Character
male child
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
foster mother and father
Keywords
new experiences; new home; coping with death; coping mechanisms; social services; child protective services; baby
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Fraser, Theresa Ann, "Billy Had to Move: A Foster Care Story" (2011). Diverse Families. 64.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/64