Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Let’s Not Forget Charles Dickens’s Other Christmas Ghost Stories! Literary Hub (Olivia Rutigliano) ) 2024 As Olivia Rutigliano says in this Literary Hub article, A Christmas Carol (1843) might be the best known of Charles Dickens’ Christmas stories but it’s not the only Christmas ghost one he wrote. There’s also: • “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” a story in The Pickwick Papers (1836) • “The Mother’s Eyes,” a story in Master Humphrey’s Clock (1840) • The Chimes (1844) • The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain: A Fancy for Christmas-Time (1848) • “The Haunted House” (1859) • The Signalman (1866) External Website

Children's Fiction A Walz Through the Hills G.M. Glaskin 1961 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

Artists Vincent Namatjira Aboriginal Australian artist, Vincent Namatjira (b. 1983), was born in Alice Springs, Australia and then lived in Hermannsburg, also in the Northern Territory, until 1991. After his mother died that year, Vincent (and his sister) were displaced from their Arrernte family and sent to live in foster homes in Perth, Western Australia. Vincent did not know that he is the great-grandson of the esteemed artist Albert Namatjira (1902-1959), not until he made his way back to Hermannsburg when he was 18. Vincent Namatjira starting painting in 2012 and his work has been regularly exhibited ever since. He has now established himself as a celebrated, subversive portraitist, noted for his humorous, satirical look at Australia. Vincent Namatjira won the prestigious Ramsay art prize in 2019 for his rendition of Captain Cook and the Archibald prize in 2020 for his portrait of AFL great Adam Goodes. On 8 June 2020, Vincent Namatjira was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) “in recognition of his service to Indigenous visual arts and community:” External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Lowitja O’Donoghue statue unveiling in Elder Park InDaily 2026 A life-sized bronze statue of prominent Aboriginal leader Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue (1932-2024) was unveiled in Adelaide this week, on June 2, 2026. Created by artist Robert Hannaford AM, it stands along the Tarntanya Wama / Elder Park walkway by the River Torrens. The statue is to be the 1st of 6 of Aboriginal Australian leaders which will be built in the Elder Park area. Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue was born to an Irish pastoralist and a Yunkunytjatjara woman in Indulkana, an Aboriginal community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjra (APY) Lands, about 1110 km northwest of Adelaide, South Australia. At the age of 2, Lowitja & 2 sisters were stolen from their mother. O’Donoghue was renamed by the missionaries at the Colebrook Children’s Home in Quorn, a small town in the Flinders Rangers, 337 km north of Adelaide. At the age of 16, she did what was expected of First Nations girls of her generation, she worked as a domestic for a family in Victor Habor, 84km south of Adelaide. During the 1950s, Lowitja campaigned with others for the right of Aboriginal women to become nurses & in 1954, she was the first Aboriginal person to train as a nurse at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. In 2010, the Lowitja Institute for heath research was named in her honour. https://www.indailysa.com.au/news/just-in/2026/06/02/lowitja-odonoghue-statue-unveiling-in-elder-park External Website

Writers Jean Rhys West Indian writer Jean Rhys (1890-1979)—born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams—was in kinship care from the age of 16. Jean Rhys was born in Roseau, Dominica to a Welsh father & a White Creole mother. When she was 16, she was sent to England to live with an aunt while she finished her education. Encouraged by novelist Ford Madox Ford, Rhys began publishing during the 1920s. Her early novels tended to portray the bleakness of Europe prior to WWII and the struggles of being an outsider. Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) brought Rhys international fame & a CBE in 1978. External Website

Radio & Podcast The Poet: Dr. Maya Angelou American Masters The venerable poet, writer, activist, dancer and singer Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) teaches that above all else, we are more alike than we are unalike. In this episode, she share insights into her life as a teacher, and what it takes to be courageous. External Website

Fiction by Care Experienced authors Emily of New Moon Lucy Maud Montgomery 1923 Emily of New Moon is the first in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about an orphan girl growing up on Prince Edward Island, Canada. First published in 1923, it is similar to the author's Anne of Green Gables series. External Website

Academic Articles Revealing the Profile of Foster Parents, Biological Parents, Foster Children and the Triadic Relationship amongst them Vasiliki Baltsioti & Ignatia Farmakopoulou 2024 Revealing the Profile of Foster Parents, Biological Parents, Foster Children and the Triadic Relationship amongst them (2024) by Vasiliki Baltsioti and Ignatia Farmakopoulou investigates foster care in Greece. In particular, the researchers are interested in the “triadic relationship among foster carers, biological parents, and foster children” “The study concludes that well-structured support, the empowerment of children through resilience building, and a stable legal framework are foundational to successful application of the institution of fostering.” The researchers also suggest that more research is needed to “understand the long-term effects of foster care on children…” External Website

Radio & Podcast Each and Every Child Each and Every Child 2023 Each and Every Child aims to tell a new story about care experience in Scotland - to shift public attitudes and improve life chances #KeepThePromise. Working with Frameworks Institute to create an evidence-based training toolkit for organisations to support reframing communications. A key part of Each and Every Child’s work is to raise awareness of reframing and it’s potential to change the lives of people who have experience of care across Scotland. To do this, we have developed a suite of free reframing training sessions that will support organisations and individuals to understand and embed the reframing toolkit recommendations into their work. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Long Yarn Short Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts 2024 Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman, was appointed in February 2024 as the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) inaugural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner. In October 2024, Vanessa Turnbull-Robert’s memoir, “Long Yarn Short” was published. Vanessa Turnbull-Robers was removed from her family and taken into the foster care system when she was 10 years old. She went through a number of ‘placements’ before she was settled until the one home where she stayed until she was 18. In her memoir, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts questions why the money that is spent on what she calls the “family policing” system doesn’t go to supporting those families and communities that are struggling. External Website

Authors K Jackie Kay (Poet) ➝ John Keats ➝ Back to Top

Authors J John Fashanu ➝ The way David Bowie overcame family abuse has much to teach us, says psychologist ➝ Marguerita Moorcroft obituary ➝ Back to Top

Films/Videos The Magdalene Sisters 2002 This is the story of 3 teenage girls who were sent to Magdalene Laundries in 1964. The Magdalene Laundries were also known as Magdalene Asylums, were maintained by Roman Catholic religious orders, and were 'homes' to which girls and women were sent if their families considered them "fallen". External Website

Children's Fiction The Finding Nina 1987 Each year Alex celebrates his finding day rather than his birthday as he was found abandoned, at the age of 5 months next to Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment. On his eleventh finding day, Alex meets Mrs Angel, whose daughter disappeared 11 years ago and looked a bit like Alex. When Mrs Angel dies she leaves her fortune to Alex convinced that he is her grandson. Once the local papers get hold of the story Alex's family is pestered by reporters and Alex feeling it's all his fault, runs away. In this exciting story Alex is just as much a member of the family as the biological children of his parents although his gran struggles to accept this. Her actions cause unnecessary emotional harm which the family have to resolve. External Website

Children's Non-fiction Marilyn Monroe Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara 2021 Little Norma Jeane grew up between foster homes, an orphanage, and a family friend’s house – where she was forbidden from watching movies. Through her difficult childhood and teen years, she dreamed of becoming an actress. One day a photographer spotted her and gave her a modelling contract, and from this day she was ‘Marilyn Monroe’. She was much-admired but suffered from pre-performance anxiety, which was a challenge for her in her career. Her films grossed over $200 million but she was known to have said: ‘I don't want to make money. I just want to be wonderful.’ This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the star’s life. External Website

Films/Videos The Quiet Girl 2022 Adapted from a short story by Claire Keegan, Foster (2010), The Quiet Girl follows nine year old Cait as she spends a summer with a middled aged couple, Eibhlin and Sean Cinnsealach. This is a gentle, tender film about the contrast Cait experiences. She goes from being neglected to being gently cared for and incorporated into the small family. External Website

Authors H Robert Harris ➝ Back to Top

Authors A Louise Allen (artist) ➝ Al's Art ➝ Maria Amidu ➝ Frank Auerbach - artist ➝ Marina Abramović ➝ Back to Top

Writers Thomas Merton 1915-1968 Thomas Merton (1915 – 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and scholar of comparative religion. Thomas Merton's American mother, Ruth, died when he was six years old. Thomas and his younger brother, John Paul (1918-1943), went to live with their maternal grandparents while their mother was dying and continued to live there for several months after her death. Thomas’ New Zealand born father, Owen Merton, then collected Thomas (but not John Paul who continued to live with his grandparents until their death), and took the child to Bermuda. Owen Merton was an aspiring artist and often left young Thomas with friends while he went off to different areas of Bermuda to paint landscapes, and even to return to the United States for an exhibition in New York. After the exhibition was over, Thomas was returned to his grandparents in America while Owen traveled to France. In 1925, Owen collected his son and the two (again, minus John Paul) traveled to France. 18 months later, Thomas was deposited in a boarding schoolwhile his father traveled and painted.Three years later, Owen took his son to England, and Aunt Maud took on the responsibility for finding appropriate schools and housing Thomas during holidays.Owen died in England in 1931 of a brain tumor and guardianship of Thomas transferred to a long term medical friend of Owen’s based in London.By then Thomas was 16. He finished school in England and completed one year at Cambridge. He hated Cambridge and finished his university education back in America at Columbia. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir A Search For Belonging: A story about race, identity, belonging and displacement Michael (Mike) Fuller 2020 Michael Fuller had an idyllic childhood growing up in care in Surrey, looked after by Margaret who gave him the love and comfort his biological mother never did. He loved to ride his bike and collect coins and stamps and grew up celebrating the freedom of 1960s Britain. But when he was nine, a local paper described him as the 'coloured boy' in his school production. It was the first time Michael felt judged based on the colour of his skin.Thirty-six years later, Michael became Britain's first ever black Chief Constable.That moment taught Michael he would always be searching for a place to belong. Hoping to tackle injustice and create change from within, he joined the police force, but experienced racism and inequality. From colleagues shouting racist insults into his office, to the Brixton Riots where 'Kill the black one first!' was yelled from the crowds. Determined, despite everything, not to turn and walk away, he rose through the ranks and made his way to the very top. External Website