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Fiction featuring Care Experience Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade Patrick Dennis 2010 Patrick Dennis' mother died in childbirth. When Patrick is 10, his father dies, having arranged first for Patrick to live with his paternal auntie Mame. External Website

Films/Videos Care Experienced Video on Vimeo 2020 SPEAK OUT is the very first video made of the diverse views of young people in care ever. It led to the National Assn Young People In Care policies that went before parliament and impacted heavily on the Children's Act 1989. External Website

Children's Fiction Pictures of Hollis Wood Patricia Reilly 2002 Pictures of Hollis Woods is a 2002 young adult novel by Patricia Reilly Giff. The novel received a Newbery Honor Award in 2003. It was adapted for television in 2007. Hollis Woods is the place where a baby was abandoned is the baby’s name is an artist is now a twelve-year-old girl who’s been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they’ll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won’t let anyone separate them. She’s escaped the system before; this time, she’s taking Josie with her. Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget. Patricia Reilly Giff captures the yearning for a place to belong in this warmhearted story, which stresses the importance of artistic vision, creativity, and above all, family. External Website

Radio & Podcast Why Bond and the Beatles ruled the sixties History Extra A fascinating conversation in this podcast about that day in 1962 when the 1st Beatles’ single was released and the 1st James Bond movie was shown. It was “a big bang moment for modern British culture”. Interestingly, these “cultural giants” include John Lennon who grew up in kinship care as did the fictional James Bond who was also in foster care (although it took until 1964 and 1966 for those backstories to appear in the Ian Fleming books). Not mentioned though! External Website

Writers Frank Norman 1969 Frank Norman was born in Bristol in 1930 and abandoned by his natural parents. After an unsuccessful adoption he was committed to a succession of children's homes in and around London—the story of which is recounted in his childhood autobiography, Banana Boy (1969). After the homes came a succession of petty crimes for which he was imprisoned, finally leading to a three-year stretc. He also spent time in a Dr Barnardo's home, Norman worked as a farm labourer and in a travelling fair as well as serving two short prison sentences (described in his successful autobiography Bang to Rights, 1958 and Stand on Me, 1961). He also worked, with Lionel Bart, on the successful musical Fings Aint Wot They Used T'be (1959). A Playwright and a novelist; Norman, a British writer wrote nineteen books and four plays. External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Indian orphans weave award-winning movie magic Sujoy Dhar 2008 When 10-year-old Sahiful Mondal from a children's shelter in eastern India won an international film award three years ago, many thought it was just a flash in the pan. Now he is 14 and with four accolades. External Website

Films/Videos Belle 2013 Belle (2013) is a British film inspired by the 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804) who was born to an enslaved woman and a captain of the British Royal Navy. In the film, Dido’s father (Matthew Goode) finds his daughter (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) living in poverty in Florida and takes her to England to be raised by her great-uncle, the Lord Chief Justice of England. William Murray (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson) were also raising another niece Elizabeth Murray (Sarah Gadon) at their house in Hampstead. Much of the film explores the racism Dido Elizabeth Belle would have experienced despite her being an heiress on the death of her father. The film also explores the beginning of the abolition movement as it tells the story of the Zong massacre, the mass killing of more than 130 enslaved Africans aboard the British slave ship Zong. In Belle, it is William Murray who hears an appeal and decides for the insurers and against the syndicate of slave-owners. External Website

Fiction by Care Experienced authors State Ward Alan Duff 1994 State Ward (1994) is Alan Duff’s fictionalized account of being incarcerated as a child. Charlie Wilson is a boy sent to Riverton Boys' Home as a state ward until such time he is seen fit to return to society. Writes Duff: 'I'm thirteen and I'm in a cell. A cell. It's got real bars, up there protecting that high window. I can jump up and touch them. I'm in a cell. That door is for real; it's made of solid steel, and it's got a peephole. So they can spy on me. But I ain't gonna bust. I damn well ain't.' There’s also the name “George” scrawled on the walls of Charlie’s cell, along with ‘kehua’ which means ghost. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Book of Guilt Catherine Chidgey 2025 The Book of Guilt (2025) is the 9th novel by New Zealand writer Caterine Chidgey. The Book of Guilt is speculative historical fiction set in 1979 in an alternative England, one in which WWII ended in 1943 and in which a collaboration across Europe has progressed biological & medical science informed by research that includes experiments in Nazi extermination camps. Identical triplets Vincent, William & Lawrence are the last 3 occupants of a New Forest children’s home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Part of the boys’ daily routine is to take pills etc to protect themselves from a mysterious illness. The 13-year-old boys are promised that if they do beat “the Bug”, they could end up at the Big House in Margate, a place where all the healthy kids go. As the governments starts to shut down the Sycamore Scheme, the triplets begin to question everything they have been told. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Poum and Alexandre: A Paris Memoir Catherine de Saint Phalle 2016 Shortlisted for the 2017 Stella Prize, this is a memoir of living with deeply flawed parents. The mother of English born Australian writer, Catherine de Saint Phalle (b. 1956) was in kinship care for half her childhood. Catherine was in foster care for some months. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience When Hoopoes Go To Heaven Gaile Parkin 2012 Ten-year-old Benedict is feeling happy. His family's new home in Swaziland has the most beautiful garden in the whole entire world, teeming with insects, frogs and his favourite cinnamon-coloured birds. Here, crouched in the cool shade of the lucky-bean tree, it's easy to forget the loneliness that comes from his siblings playing without him, easy to stop himself fretting about how to fix his Mama's failing cake-baking business. This is the tale of family life in Swaziland seen from the point of view of sensitive 10 year old Benedict. He and his cousins are all being brought up by their grandparents, their own parents all being deceased or "late." Money is tight, requiring Baba to take on consultancy work which forces him to travel; and meaning Mama needs to get her cake business up and running in their temporary new home in Swaziland. Benedict observes - and sometimes misunderstands - the adult complexities of the world around him. But everything comes pretty good in the end. External Website

Actors Marilyn Monroe (actor) Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), was an American actress, model, and singer who was famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters. She grew up in foster care, orphanages and kinship care. By the time she was 7, she'd been moved 7 times. Between the ages of 8 & 12, she had been moved 6 times. Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortensen and went into care initially as a baby because Gladys, her mother, had postpartum depression (nothing is known of the father). At the age of 8 she returned to live with her mother for a while. Gladys’ friend, Grace McKee, took an interest in Norma Jeane’s welfare. When Gladys was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, Grace became her legal guardian. Both women worked in the movie industry but it was Grace who was particularly keen on the charismatic young Norma Jeane becoming a movie star, thinking she could be the next Jean Harlow. Norma Jeane did her best to fit in, to be a ‘good girl’ in her foster homes because she knew the alternative was an orphanage. But being a ‘good girl’ didn’t protect her. She was raped at the age of 8 by her foster father, sexually assaulted by Grace’s new husband when she was 11 and her 14 year old cousin attempted to rape her when she was 12. Grace eventually placed Norma in the Los Angeles Orphans Home. The orphanage was "a model institution" and was described in positive terms by her peers, but Monroe felt abandoned. Monroe was a top-billed actress for only a decade, but her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2019) by the time of her death. More than half a century later, she continues to be a major popular culture icon. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her home in Los Angeles. Her death was ruled a probable suicide, although several conspiracy theories have been proposed in the decades following her death. External Website

Children's Fiction The Star Outside My Window (8-11 years) Onjali Q. Rauf 2019 I've always wanted to be a Star Hunter. But I don't want to be the kind that looks for old stars that have already been burning for millions of years. I want to find the brand new ones - the ones that have only just been born and are searching for the people they've left behind...' Following the disappearance of her mum, 10-year-old Aniyah suddenly finds herself living in foster care. With her life in disarray, she knows just one thing for sure: her mum isn't gone for ever. Because people with the brightest hearts never truly leave. They become stars. So when a new star is spotted acting strangely in the sky, Aniyah is sure it's her mum, and she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to make sure everyone else knows too -- an adventure that involves breaking into the Royal Observatory of London, a mischievous scurry of squirrels and the biggest star in Hollywood... Told through the innocent voice of a child, this is a story that explores the subtle faces and endless impacts of domestic violence, and celebrates the power of hope and resilience, from Onjali Rauf, the award-winning author of The Boy at the Back of the Class. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Mr Potter Jamaica Kincaid 2002 Mr Potter (2002) by Jamaica Kincaid is the story of a man who grew up in foster care on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. The story is told by one of Mr Potter's many unacknowledged girl children, Elaine Cynthia Potter, in a strange, repetitive, incantatory, and compelling manner. Roderick Potter (1922-1992) dies quite well off financially, having long been a chauffeur before he saved enough money to set himself up in business. According to his daughter, he couldn't read or write. It was Roderick's mother who put him into foster care with the Shepherds - before she drowned herself - and Mr Shepherd who taught Roderick how to drive. External Website

Films/Videos Christmas Oranges 2012 A girl is suddenly forced to leave her happy orphanage home and move to a harsh institution, where the headmaster takes an instant dislike to her. She keeps her spirits up looking forward to a traditional Christmas treat, & when the holiday arrives, something unexpected happens. External Website

Writers Bill Clinton Born Bill Blyth in 1946 but changing his name to his step-father's as a boy, former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, was in kinship care as a small child. His mother left her son with her parents in Hope, Arkansas while she went to New Orleans to train as a nurse. Clinton was elected to the position of Attorney General of Arkansas and was in office for two years between 1977 and 1979. He then served as Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 until he resigned in December 1992. Bill Clinton served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 until 2001. Clinton was a published author before he became president and during his time in office, he produced Hope and History (1996). After leaving office he has published 5 books, including his memoir (for which he received an advance of $10m) and 2 thrillers he has co-written with James Patterson. External Website

Performing Arts British Pianist Brad Kella Brad Kella, the winner of the second series of The Piano, was inspired to audition for the Channel 4 show after impressing shoppers at Liverpool One with his performances. Kella, who entered foster care at the age of seven, was able to learn piano thanks to a government grant that provided him with an electric keyboard. Reflecting on his childhood, he said, “We didn’t have any routine growing up. I never went to school and spent my days roaming the streets until late at night, causing trouble. When I was seven, my twin brother and I were placed in foster care." He credits his foster parents for transforming his life, adding, “They gave us everything—making sure we had structure, went to school, and followed a routine. They gave us more than I could have ever asked for." Now 23 and originally from Bootle, Merseyside, Kella has dedicated his debut single, Eve and Frank, to his foster parents. Despite leaving school without completing his GCSEs and being unable to read sheet music, his talent earned him a scholarship to the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Speaking about his experience on The Piano, Kella recalled: “I applied to the show with no expectations. I showed up to the Manchester audition in a tracksuit—not exactly the image of a typical piano player—but they were amazed. I played one of my own songs, even though people advised me against it because other contestants were performing classical pieces. It was a risk, but the judges, Lang Lang and Mika, loved it." External Website

News - broadcast, print, internet, magazine articles Baby stolen during Argentina's military rule found after 48 years BBC 2025 The Grandmothers of Plaza De Mayo is a human rights organisation founded in 1977 to locate children who were stolen during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship in Argentina. In this BBC article, Vanessa Buschschluter talks about the 140th baby the Grandmothers of Plaza De Mayo have located. The man, whose name has not been given but instead who is referred to as “Grandchild 140”, was born while his mother, a political activist, was being held in detention. Graciela Romero and the man’s father, Raul Metz – also a political activist - were apparently both tortured while in detention before they were ‘disappeared’. The couple’s daughter, Adriana, who was 1, was raised in kinship care. Both the Romero & Metz families looked for Graciela & Raul and their son for decades. A recent DNA test confirmed Grandchild 140 as Adriana’s brother. External Website

Radio & Podcast The Bed Under the Stairs Lemn Sissay 2016 Lemn Sissay talking about his experience in foster care and comparing his life to that of fictional character Harry Potter. External Website

Academic theses What’s the story? Sociological explorations of the life course narratives of adults with care experience Catriona Hugman 2018 This thesis extends understandings of people who experienced care by making use of sociological approaches and concepts. This approach highlights how previous research and cultural representations of young people in care produce individualised understandings and psychological explanations of difference. This is compounded by a lack of research on care leavers over the age of 25 and the omission of the voices of people with care experience within what little research there is. These absences may contribute to the depiction of the deficit, ascribed identity of being a child in care. External Website