Children's Fiction Peter and Lotta's Christmas Elsa Beskow 2021 Peter and Lotta’s first Christmas with Aunt Green, Aunt Brown, Aunt Lavender, and Uncle Blue is full of magic — decorated trees, gingerbread, and gifts from the mysterious Christmas Goat. The children try to uncover the real source of the presents and prepare their own gifts for their adoptive family. On Christmas Eve, their thoughtfulness is unexpectedly rewarded. A warm, humorous tale by Elsa Beskow, it highlights Swedish festive traditions, neighbourliness, and the gentle adventures of two orphans finding family. Originally published 1929 this is part of a series of books about Peter and Lotta. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Death of an Avid Reader Frances Brody 2014 Book 6 in the Kate Shackleton mysteries. Kate Shackleton's sterling reputation for courageous sleuthing attracts the attention of the venerable Lady Coulton. Hidden in her past is a daughter, born out of wedlock and given up to a different family. Now, Lady Coulton is determined to find her and puts Kate on the case. External Website

Authors E Life After Care: From Lost Cause to MBE ➝ Detained: A boy's journal of survival and resilience ➝ Love Child ➝ Born To Survive: You Can't Break A Broken heart ➝ The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano ( ➝ Back to Top

Performing Arts singer, songwriter, record producer, composer Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He was born in Pennsylvania. After his parents divorced, he went to live with his maternal grandparents. While in high school he joined a band. He is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, which he founded in 1988 and of which he was the sole official member until 2016.He has contributed to the albums of artists such as Marilyn Manson, whom he mentored, and rapper Saul Williams. Alongside his wife Mariqueen Maandig and long-time Nine Inch Nails collaborators Atticus Ross and Rob Sheridan, he formed the post-industrial group How to Destroy Angels in 2009.Reznor and Ross scored David Fincher's films The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Gone Girl (2014), and Mank (2020). They won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The duo also scored the films Patriots Day (2016), mid90s, Bird Box (both 2018), Waves (2019) and Soul (2020), the documentaries Before the Flood (2016) and The Vietnam War (2017), and the TV series Watchmen (2019), winning a Primetime Emmy Award for the lattermost. In 1997, Reznor appeared on Time's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music". External Website

Sport Colin Kaepernick Colin Kaepernick African American Colin Kaepernick (b. 1987) was adopted into a white family when he was a baby. He moved with his family from Wisconsin to California at the age of 4 and began playing sport at the age of 8. In high school he played football, basketball and baseball and excelled in all codes. Wanting to play football, he accepted a scholarship from the University of Nevada in 2006 and he began playing professional football in 2011. He played with the San Francisco 49ers for 6 years. Colin Kaepernick is the recipient of many awards including a 2018 WEB Du Bois Medal from Harvard University. External Website

Films/Videos Orphans (1987) 1987 Orphans is a 1987 American drama film directed by Alan J. Pakula. Written by Lyle Kessler, based on his 1983 play of the same name, the film follows two orphaned brothers as they navigate life on their own. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience Run Ann Patchett 2008 Since their mother's death, Tip and Teddy Doyle have been raised by their loving possessive and ambitious father. As the former mayor of Boston, Bernard Doyle wants to see his adoptive sons in politics, a dream the boys have never shared. But when an argument in a blinding New England snowstorm inadvertently causes an accident that involves a stranger and her child, all Bernard Doyle cares about is his ability to keep his children--all his children--safe. External Website

Authors W The Boxcar Children Mysteries ➝ My Bright Shining Star ➝ Dustbin Baby ➝ My Mum Tracy Beaker ➝ Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things ➝ Home Girl ➝ Tales of the Weird, the Wild and the Wonderful ➝ Midnight ➝ Hetty Feather (novel) ➝ Uprising ➝ The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries ➝ The Illustrated Mum ➝ We Are The Beaker Girls ➝ Back to Top

Biography of Care Experienced People Belle: The Slave Daughter and The Lord Chief Justice Paula Byrne 2014 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. British writer Paula Byrne was commissioned to write a biography of Dido Elizabeth Belle and the book was published to coincide with the release of the film. Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804) was born into slavery. Her father, Captain John Lindsay of the British Royal Navy, took Dido with him when he returned to England in 1765 and left her to be raised by his uncle Willam and aunt Elizabeth. The Earl and Countess of Mansfield lived at Kenwood House in Hampstead. They were already raising another great-niece, Lady Eliabeth Murray. Dido Elizabeth Belle lived at Kenwood House for 31 years. Because so little is know about Dido’s life, for her book Paula Byrne included information about slavery and the position of women in the 18th century. External Website

Fiction by Care Experienced authors Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens et al. 1840 13 year old Nell Trent, an orphan, is in kinship care with her grandfather; the two live together in the Old Cuiosity Shop in London. Little Nell quickly became one of Dickens' most celebrated characters, who so captured the imagination of his readers that while the novel was being serialised, many of them wrote to him about her fate. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory: A Memoir Corey White 2019 Corey White was a golden child. He knew this because his father would hit his mother and his sisters but not him. And his mother adored him so much she let him drop out of primary school. After losing his father to jail and his mother to heroin, he became a target for cruelty and dysfunction in foster homes. A scholarship to a prestigious boarding school lifted him out of foster care and awakened a love of learning and reading for him, but this was soon overwhelmed by a crushing depression and drug addiction.The Prettiest Horse in the Glue Factory is a memoir of trauma and survival that will break your heart and then show you how to rebuild it. It is a powerful, lyrical and darkly funny debut from one of Australia's brightest young comedians. External Website

Authors H Robert House ➝ Lonnie Holley ➝ Back to Top

Autobiography/Memoir The Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley Henry Morton Stanley Stanley et al. 2010 This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. It tells the story of John Rowlands who was in kinship care, foster care and the workhouse in Wales before he made his way to America as a cabin boy. External Website

Television Shows Bordertown 2016 In this Finnish crime drama, one of the featured characters, Katia, founds out as a teenager that she was adopted. Her mother says she 'saved' her as a baby while, as a police officer, involved in a drug raid. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Northern Territory Stolen Generations survivor William Tilmouth wins top honour at 2025 Human Rights Awards ABC News 2025 Stolen Generations legendary figure, William Tilmouth, has been honoured with the 2025 Human Rights Medal for his lifelong work in advocating for First Nations Australians. Write ABC journalists Tilda Colling & Grace Atta: “Mr Tilmouth's win means he's joined the ranks of some of Australia's most influential figures, including ophthalmologist Fred Hollows and land rights trailblazer Eddie Mabo, who was awarded the medal posthumously.” External Website

Autobiography/Memoir A Ghost Comes Calling Rebecca Titchner 2024 A Ghost Comes Calling (2024) is a memoir by American adoptee Rebecca Titchner. Rebecca Titchner was given her sister’s journals after Dana’s death. Rebecca never met Dana but through reading her journals she came to understand the decisions Dana had made, including abandoning her family. Titchner also begins to comprehend the impact adoption has had on her own life. From the publisher: “A Ghost Comes Calling is a memoir that explores the complexities of family, relationships, loss and mental health.” External Website

Films/Videos Eighty Twenty: Mark Opitz Remembers 2022 Eighty Twenty: Mark Opitz was directed by Adele Chenowyth and explores the connection between Mark’s experiences in the Home for Boys and his later career. Mark Opitz (1952) is an Australian record producer who spent some of his childhood in a Home for Boys in Queensland. In this documentary, Mark makes connection between that (often) violent experience and his later award-winning career. External Website

Films/Videos The Song of Names 2019 Song of Names (2019) is a Canadian film and an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Norman Lebrect. The film stars Tim Roth and Clive Owen as childhood friends whose lives are changed by WWII. Clive Owen plays Dovidl Rapoport who, as a 9-year-old, is taken to England and adopted by the Simmonds family. Martin Simmonds (Tim Roth) bonds with Dovidl who is a violin prodigy. Dovidl mysteriously disappears when he is 21 and scheduled to appear at his first concert in London. Martin at 56 learns about a violinist who plays in a way like Dovidl. He sets off, first to Poland and then to New York to find his brother. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Borderline: A Memoir Marie Stella McClure 2017 Self-published. The author suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder from the age of twelve but it went undiagnosed for many years. This resulted in severe behavioural changes which saw her sent to live in social services care homes and then later becoming a drug addict.She pulled herself out of the prison of addiction and managed to turn her life around. She was later diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and got herself into various forms of therapy. She went on to become a competing kickboxer and fights regularly in Spain. External Website

Radio & Podcast The IMO Podcast: open and honest conversations with care leavers IMO IMO is a voice for teenagers in care and for care leavers, a platform for them to share stories, experiences and achievements, and get and give advice. External Website