Children's Non-fiction Oprah: The Little Speaker Carole Boston Weatherford 2010 At age three, Oprah began performing in churches, becoming known to adoring crowds as the Little Speaker. When she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she answered, "I want to be paid to talk."Here is the story of Oprah Winfrey's childhood, a story about a little girl on a Mississippi pig farm with her grandfather who grew up to become one of the most famous women in the world. External Website

Films/Videos Finding Neverland (film) 2004 Finding Neverland is a biographical drama exploring the relationship between playwright JM Barrie (1860-1937) with the family of Sylvia and Arthur Davies who inspired him to create Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Never Grew Up. Barrie was a guardian for the Davies' boys when their mother died. External Website

Television Shows Lord of the Flies (TV Series) 2026 Lord of the Flies (1954) is the debut novel of British writer William Golding. In the midst of war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britian is shot down over a deserted tropical island. A central character in the novel is Piggy who is an orphan & living in kinship care with his aunt before the crash. Piggy has asthma & wears thick glasses; he is often mocked by the other boys. Yet Piggy is the most intellectual of the boys. Piggy (David McKenna) is the subject of the first part of the 4-part series developed by Jack Thorne & released on 8 February 2026. As in the novel, Piggy was living with his aunt before the plan crash, & per the novel, he is often mocked by the other boys. The mini-series is directed by film-maker Marc Munden. External Website

Authors P Neil Morrissey's rags to riches tale of growing up in Stoke-on-Trent care home ➝ Benjamin Perks: Blogsite ➝ Point Puer ➝ Lorraine Pascale's Story: From Foster Child To Food Network Favorite Read More: https://www.mashed.com/1910240/food-network-host-lorraine-pascale-transformation/ ➝ I wasn't told why I was taken into care. For years I thought it was my fault ➝ Children in care are not just numbers: we must challenge the stigma ➝ Neil Morrissey revisits his children's home roots ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir Would It Surprise You To Know…? Ronnie Archer-Morgan 2023 For decades, Ronnie Archer-Morgan has brought to life the fascinating, often surprising backstories behind our most cherished heirlooms and household objects on the Antiques Roadshow. Now, he tells his own unlikely story. Born in the fifties to a Sierra Leonean mother battling mental health problems, Ronnie spent his childhood in and out of care. After difficult beginnings, marked by abuse, racism and brushes with both criminals and the police, he got into music, managing to get DJ gigs and, later, worked as a celebrity hairdresser for Vidal Sassoon and Smile in the height of seventies London. A flair for spotting antiques led him to start his own Knightsbridge gallery, ultimately becoming one of the most respected figures in the industry, culminating in a regular spot as an expert on the nation's Sunday favourite, Antiques Roadshow. Told with rich warmth, this is an extraordinary journey from deprivation and abuse to adventure and success against the odds - with stories of the incredible objects which shaped the way. External Website

Authors Y You Are My Home ➝ You be the Judge ➝ Back to Top

Biography of Care Experienced People Muhammad Maxime Rodinson 2021 Maxime Rodinson, a distinguished professor at the Sorbonne, first published his biography of Muhammad in 1960. The book, which is a classic, has been widely read ever since. Rodinson, though deeply versed in scholarly studies of the Prophet, does not seek to add to it here but to introduce Muhammad, first of all, as “a man of flesh and blood” who led a life of extraordinary drama and shaped history as few others have. External Website

Authors Q Vivaldi's Virgins ➝ Back to Top

Fiction featuring Care Experience The joyful condemned Kylie Tennant 1953 The Joyful Condemned is Kylie Tennant's first attempt at writing about the NSW child protection system. A longer version of the story was published as Tell Morning This in 1967. External Website

Films/Videos White Oleander (film) 2021 White Oleander is a 2002 American drama film directed by Peter Kosminsky. Fifteen-year-old Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman) is living in Los Angeles with her mother, the free-spirited artist Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer). Since her father left before she was old enough to remember him, Astrid depends heavily upon her passionate but largely self-centered mother's care. Ingrid's current relationship with a writer named Barry (Billy Connolly) ends when she discovers he is cheating on her with younger women. After she murders him with a poison made from white oleander, Ingrid is arrested and sentenced to life in prison, leaving Astrid under the care of the state of California. Astrid is sent to live with foster mother Starr Thomas (Robin Wright), a former stripper who is a recovering alcoholic and born-again Christian. External Website

Films/Videos A Walz Through the Hills (Film) 1988 Two children are orphaned while living in a country pub in the West Australian bush where their mother has been working. They set out to work over 130miles to Perth so they can sail to England and live with their grandparents. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles On Killing Charles Dickens Zadie Smith 2023 Here’s another article about the pervasive and ongoing influence of Charles Dickens. Finally deciding on the historical novel she wanted to write, Zadie Smith tried to avoid including Charles Dickens. However, she found he was everywhere: “I’d read a book about American slavery and discover him in the footnotes!” Eventually Dickens became a character in the story Zadie Smith was telling about Arthur Orton, who claimed to be Sir Roger Tichborne, a long missing heir. “I let him pervade the pages, in the same way he stalks through nineteenth-century London. He’s there in the air and the comedy and the tragedy and the politics and the literature” External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Square of Sevens Laura Shepherd-Robinson 2024 An orphaned fortune teller in 18th-century England searches for answers about her long-dead mother and uncovers shocking secrets in this immersive and atmospheric saga perfect for fans of Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry. Cornwall, 1730: A young girl known only as Red travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient Cornish method of the Square of Sevens. Shortly before he dies, her father entrusts Red’s care to a gentleman scholar, along with a document containing the secret of the Square of Sevens technique. Raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendor of Bath, Red’s fortune-telling delights in high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him? The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red’s quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads to grave danger. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Sugarcane London: ‘This is all comfort food’ – restaurant review Tarell Mcintosh 2022 Tarell Mcintosh calls himself Chef Tee. This is the story of how he opened a restaurant during the pandemic and within a few weeks he had enough money to employ four care leavers. Chef Tee grew up in care and wanted to do something for other care leavers. External Website

Authors K Doris Kartinyeri ➝ Doreen Kartinyeri ➝ Roger Dean Kiser ➝ Rudyard Kipling ➝ Jackie Kay (writer) ➝ Back to Top

Television Shows The Law According to Lidia Poet 2023 Lydia Poet (1855-1949) was the first modern Italian woman to qualify as a lawyer. However, she was disbarred from practicing law in Turin (where the story is based) The Netflex series The Law According to Lidia Poet is an Italian crime series about Lidia Poet. Despite her suspension, Lidia Poet (Matilda De Angelis) works on cases with her brother, Enrico (Pier Luigi Pasino). One of the cases (Episode 4) sees Lidia and Enrico represent a woman, Margherita Sangiacomo, who is accused of poisoning a professor. The professor experimented on sex workers and was responsible for the death of Margherita’s mother. After the death of her mother, Margherita grew up in a convent and became an academic. External Website

Children's Fiction My Forever Family: from fostering to adoption Nicky Brookes 2019 Suitable for children from 4 to 10 years old, this story follows Oliver as goes through the process of being in foster care and then being adopted. The book is written by a foster carer who thought this was a gap for the young foster children in her care. External Website

Authors L Comedian, writer, director ➝ Singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist ➝ Radio & TV personality ➝ Back to Top

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles How Being Privately Fostered In White Families Impacted These People's Lives And Identities Ade Onibada 2019 A report on the American practice of fostering black children - privately - to white families. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Predators' Paradise. A Journey of Survival and Resilience Glen Fisher 2019 Predators' Paradise: A Journey of Survival and Resilence is the story of Glen Fisher's childhood in and of boys homes and foster care in Sydney where he was physically and sexually abused. Glen Fisher has overcome a heroin addiction, assisted police in abusers being brought to justice, given evidence at key inquiries, and now provides support for Forgotten Australians and survivors of child sexual abuse. External Website