Maybe Days is a wonderful book for kids in foster care. It is written for kids age 4-10. You can find it at the Adoption.com Shop in hardcover or softcover.



The book has language that children can understand, and more importantly, validates children’s feelings. Here is an excerpt:

Some kids call their foster parents mom or dad. Some kids don’t.

Sometimes kids and foster parents get along with each other easily. Sometimes kids and foster parents have troubles they have to work out.

It helps kids to understand that other kids experience the same things they do, and they are not alone in their feelings.

It also talks about the roles of foster parents, social workers, therapists, lawyers and judges. It explains that what they are doing is to keep the child safe.

The section on visits is handled well. It explains that sometimes kids can have visits and sometimes they can’t and acknowledges that visits can be fun, hard or both.

This book brings attention to the fact that much of the time, our kids live in limbo, and we answer their very important questions with “Maybe.” Will they see their parents again? Will they see their siblings again? A big, definite, MAYBE.

Lastly is a 3 page discussion guide for adults. It gives ideas to discuss the different feelings that the kids have. Happy, sad, shame, guilt, confusion, etc.

Other topics include cultural issues, changes in placement and where to find help.

I was pleasantly surprised to read about the authors.

Jennifer Wilgocki has a history in attachment and Marcia Kahn Wright is a clinical psychologist. They both live in the Madison, WI area. I will certainly be getting in touch with them.

The illustrations are multi-cultural, which is great for our kids. It gives them a picture they can relate to. They also cover the issue of trans-racial placement, another key issue.

In following some links about the authors, I stumbled across the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, which I will blog about soon.