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Elliot
The critically acclaimed story of one child’s experience of foster care and his journey to a forever, forever home Elliot’s parents love him very much, but they don’t have all the skills they need to take care of a child. When he cries, they do not understand why. When he yells, they do not know what to do. When he misbehaves, they do not know how to react. One day a social worker named Thomas comes to visit, and Elliot’s world turns upside-down. Manon Gauthier’s soft collage illustrations feature approachable rabbit characters, while Julie Pearson’s soothing, repetitive text guides Elliot gently through the foster child system. The new families that care for the little boy are kind, but everything is strange and new, and the sudden changes make him want to cry and yell and misbehave. Then, when it becomes clear that Elliot’s parents will never be able to raise him, Thomas sets out to find Elliot one last home―a forever, forever home with a family that will love and care for him no matter what.
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
February 15, 2016
The librarian and the bookseller face shelving challenges the like of which you wouldn’t believe. You think all picture books should simply be shelved in the picture book section by the author’s last name and that’s the end of it? Think again. If picture books served a single, solitary purpose that might well be the case. But picture books carry heavy burdens, far above and beyond their usual literacy needs. People use picture books for all sorts of reasons. There are picture books for high school graduates, for people to read aloud during wedding ceremonies, for funerals, and as wry adult jokes. On the children’s side, picture books can help parents and children navigate difficult subjects and topics. From potty training to racism, complicated historical moments and new ways of seeing the world, the picture book has proved to be an infinitely flexible object. The one purpose that is too little discussed but is its most complicated and complex use is when it needs to explain the inexplicable. Cancer. Absentee parents. Down syndrome. Explaining just one of these issues at a time is hard. Explaining two at one time? I’d say it was almost impossible. Julie Pearson’s book Elliot takes on that burden, attempting to explain both the foster system and children with emotional developmental difficulties at the same time. It works in some ways, and it doesn’t work in others, but when it comes to the attempt itself it is, quite possibly, heroic.
Elliot has a loving mother and father, that much we know. However, for whatever reason, Elliot’s parents have difficulty with their young son. When he cries, or yells, or misbehaves they have no idea how to handle these situations. So the social worker Thomas is called in and right away he sets up Elliot in a foster home. There, people understand Elliot’s needs. He goes home with his parents, after they learn how to take care of him, but fairly soon the trouble starts up again. This time Thomas takes Elliot to a new foster care home, and again he’s well tended. So much so that even though he loves his parents, he worries about going home with them. However, in time Thomas assures Elliot that his parents will never take care of him again. And then Thomas finds Elliot a ‘forever” home full of people who love AND understand how to take care of him. One he never has to leave.
Let me say right here and now that this is the first picture book about the foster care system, in any form, that I have encountered. Middle grade fiction will occasionally touch on the issue, though rarely in any depth. Yet in spite of the fact that thousands and thousands of children go through the foster care system, books for them are nonexistent. Even “Elliot” is specific to only one kind of foster care situation (children with developmental issues). For children with parents who are out of the picture for other reasons, they may take some comfort in this book, but it’s pretty specific to its own situation. Pearson writes from a place of experience, and she’s writing for a very young audience, hence the comforting format of repetition (whether we’re seeing Elliot’s same problems over and over again, or the situation of entering one foster care home after another). Pearson tries to go for the Rule of Three, having Elliot stay with three different foster care families (the third being the family he ends up with). From a literary standpoint I understand why this was done, and I can see how it reflects an authentic experience, but it does seem strange to young readers. Because the families are never named, their only distinguishing characteristics appear to be the number of children in the families and the family pets. Otherwise they blur.
Pearson is attempting to make this accessible for young readers, so that means downplaying some of the story’s harsher aspects. We know that Elliot’s parents are incapable of learning how to take care of him. We are also assured that they love him, but we never know why they can’t shoulder their responsibilities. This makes the book appropriate for young readers, but to withdraw all blame on the parental side will add a layer of fear for those kids who encounter this book without some systematic prepping beforehand. It would be pretty easy for them to say, “Wait. I sometimes cry. I sometimes misbehave. Are my parents going to leave me with a strange family?”
Artist Manon Gauthier is the illustrator behind this book and here she employs a very young, accessible style. Bunnies are, for whatever reason, the perfect animal stand-in for human problems and relationships, and so this serious subject matter is made younger on sight. With this in mind, the illustrator’s style brings with it at least one problematic issue. I suspect that many people that come to this book will approach it in much the same way that I did. My method of reading picture books is to grab a big bunch of them and carry them to my lunch table. Then I go through them and try to figure out which ones are delightful, which ones are terrible, and which ones are merely meh (that would be the bulk). I picked up Elliot and had the reaction to it that I’m sure a lot of people will. “Aw. What a cute little bunny book” thought I. It was around the time Elliot was taken from his family for the second time that I began to catch on to what I was reading. A fellow children’s librarian read the book and speculated that it was the choice of artist that was the problem. With its adorable bunny on the cover there is little indication of the very serious content inside. I’ve pondered this at length and in the end I’ve decided that it’s not the style of the art that’s problematic here but the choice of which image to show on the book jacket. Considering the subject matter, the publisher might have done better to go the The Day Leo Said, ‘I Hate You’ route. Which is to say, show a cover where there is a problem. On the back of the book is a picture of Elliot looking interested but wary on the lap of a motherly rabbit. Even that might have been sufficiently interesting to make readers take a close read of the plot description on the bookflap. It certainly couldn’t have hurt.
Could this book irreparably harm a child if they encountered it unawares? Short Answer: No. Long Answer: Not even slightly. But could they be disturbed by it? Sure could. I don’t think it would take much stretch of the imagination to figure that the child that encounters this book unawares without any context could be potentially frightened by what the book is implying. I’ll confess something to you, though. As I put this book out for review, my 4-year-old daughter spotted it. And, since it’s a picture book, she asked if I could read it to her. I had a moment then of hesitation. How do I give this book enough context before a read? But at last I decided to explain beforehand as much as I could about children with developmental disabilities and the foster care system. In some ways this talk boiled down to me explaining to her that some parents are unfit parents, a concept that until this time had been mercifully unfamiliar to her. After we read the book, her only real question was why Elliot had to go through so many foster care families, so we got to talk about that for a while It was a pretty valuable conversation and not one I would have had with her without the prompting of the book itself. So outside of children that have an immediate need of this title, there is a value to the contents.
What’s that old Ranganathan rule? Ah, yes. “Every book its reader.” Trouble is, sometimes the readers exist but the books don’t. Books like Elliot are exceedingly rare sometimes. I’d be the first to admit that Pearson and Gauthier’s book may bite off a bit more than it can chew, but it’s hardly a book built on the shaky foundation of mere good intentions. Elliot confronts issues few other titles would dare, and if it looks like one thing and ends up being another, that’s okay. There will certainly be parents that find themselves unexpectedly reading this to their kids at night only to discover partway through that this doesn’t follow the usual format or rules. It’s funny, strange, and sad but ultimately hopeful at its core. Social workers, teachers, and parents will find it one way or another, you may rest assured. For many libraries it will end up in the "Parenting" section. Not for everybody (what book is?) but a godsend to a certain few.
For ages 4-7.
Elliot has a loving mother and father, that much we know. However, for whatever reason, Elliot’s parents have difficulty with their young son. When he cries, or yells, or misbehaves they have no idea how to handle these situations. So the social worker Thomas is called in and right away he sets up Elliot in a foster home. There, people understand Elliot’s needs. He goes home with his parents, after they learn how to take care of him, but fairly soon the trouble starts up again. This time Thomas takes Elliot to a new foster care home, and again he’s well tended. So much so that even though he loves his parents, he worries about going home with them. However, in time Thomas assures Elliot that his parents will never take care of him again. And then Thomas finds Elliot a ‘forever” home full of people who love AND understand how to take care of him. One he never has to leave.
Let me say right here and now that this is the first picture book about the foster care system, in any form, that I have encountered. Middle grade fiction will occasionally touch on the issue, though rarely in any depth. Yet in spite of the fact that thousands and thousands of children go through the foster care system, books for them are nonexistent. Even “Elliot” is specific to only one kind of foster care situation (children with developmental issues). For children with parents who are out of the picture for other reasons, they may take some comfort in this book, but it’s pretty specific to its own situation. Pearson writes from a place of experience, and she’s writing for a very young audience, hence the comforting format of repetition (whether we’re seeing Elliot’s same problems over and over again, or the situation of entering one foster care home after another). Pearson tries to go for the Rule of Three, having Elliot stay with three different foster care families (the third being the family he ends up with). From a literary standpoint I understand why this was done, and I can see how it reflects an authentic experience, but it does seem strange to young readers. Because the families are never named, their only distinguishing characteristics appear to be the number of children in the families and the family pets. Otherwise they blur.
Pearson is attempting to make this accessible for young readers, so that means downplaying some of the story’s harsher aspects. We know that Elliot’s parents are incapable of learning how to take care of him. We are also assured that they love him, but we never know why they can’t shoulder their responsibilities. This makes the book appropriate for young readers, but to withdraw all blame on the parental side will add a layer of fear for those kids who encounter this book without some systematic prepping beforehand. It would be pretty easy for them to say, “Wait. I sometimes cry. I sometimes misbehave. Are my parents going to leave me with a strange family?”
Artist Manon Gauthier is the illustrator behind this book and here she employs a very young, accessible style. Bunnies are, for whatever reason, the perfect animal stand-in for human problems and relationships, and so this serious subject matter is made younger on sight. With this in mind, the illustrator’s style brings with it at least one problematic issue. I suspect that many people that come to this book will approach it in much the same way that I did. My method of reading picture books is to grab a big bunch of them and carry them to my lunch table. Then I go through them and try to figure out which ones are delightful, which ones are terrible, and which ones are merely meh (that would be the bulk). I picked up Elliot and had the reaction to it that I’m sure a lot of people will. “Aw. What a cute little bunny book” thought I. It was around the time Elliot was taken from his family for the second time that I began to catch on to what I was reading. A fellow children’s librarian read the book and speculated that it was the choice of artist that was the problem. With its adorable bunny on the cover there is little indication of the very serious content inside. I’ve pondered this at length and in the end I’ve decided that it’s not the style of the art that’s problematic here but the choice of which image to show on the book jacket. Considering the subject matter, the publisher might have done better to go the The Day Leo Said, ‘I Hate You’ route. Which is to say, show a cover where there is a problem. On the back of the book is a picture of Elliot looking interested but wary on the lap of a motherly rabbit. Even that might have been sufficiently interesting to make readers take a close read of the plot description on the bookflap. It certainly couldn’t have hurt.
Could this book irreparably harm a child if they encountered it unawares? Short Answer: No. Long Answer: Not even slightly. But could they be disturbed by it? Sure could. I don’t think it would take much stretch of the imagination to figure that the child that encounters this book unawares without any context could be potentially frightened by what the book is implying. I’ll confess something to you, though. As I put this book out for review, my 4-year-old daughter spotted it. And, since it’s a picture book, she asked if I could read it to her. I had a moment then of hesitation. How do I give this book enough context before a read? But at last I decided to explain beforehand as much as I could about children with developmental disabilities and the foster care system. In some ways this talk boiled down to me explaining to her that some parents are unfit parents, a concept that until this time had been mercifully unfamiliar to her. After we read the book, her only real question was why Elliot had to go through so many foster care families, so we got to talk about that for a while It was a pretty valuable conversation and not one I would have had with her without the prompting of the book itself. So outside of children that have an immediate need of this title, there is a value to the contents.
What’s that old Ranganathan rule? Ah, yes. “Every book its reader.” Trouble is, sometimes the readers exist but the books don’t. Books like Elliot are exceedingly rare sometimes. I’d be the first to admit that Pearson and Gauthier’s book may bite off a bit more than it can chew, but it’s hardly a book built on the shaky foundation of mere good intentions. Elliot confronts issues few other titles would dare, and if it looks like one thing and ends up being another, that’s okay. There will certainly be parents that find themselves unexpectedly reading this to their kids at night only to discover partway through that this doesn’t follow the usual format or rules. It’s funny, strange, and sad but ultimately hopeful at its core. Social workers, teachers, and parents will find it one way or another, you may rest assured. For many libraries it will end up in the "Parenting" section. Not for everybody (what book is?) but a godsend to a certain few.
For ages 4-7.
September 13, 2016
This is literally the only picture book in my (large) library system about a child in foster care. We have a few books on the subject in easy nonfiction, but this is the only one that's a story for very young children.
It's not a perfect book. For example, one reviewer thought that Elliot is developmentally delayed. I think this interpretation is valid, but that's not how I read it. Elliot's parents "don't know how to take care of him" when he cries, yells, and misbehaves. I read that as a gentle way of saying they are neglecting him. I guess it depends on how old you think Elliot is. Crying, yelling, and misbehaving are normal behaviors for a child under the age of five or so. Maybe Elliot is older and his behaviors are due to developmental issues. It's ambiguous, I think.
I can see someone asking for this book to use as either a mirror or a window for a kid. Maybe it would be right for a child who is going to get a sibling from foster care. Or for children who are going through the foster care system themselves. It is a super gentle version of what can be an ugly experience. It paints the birth parents in a forgiving light. Elliot's emotions are intense (he's scared, he cries, he worries). But the book has a happy conclusion.
It's not a perfect book. For example, one reviewer thought that Elliot is developmentally delayed. I think this interpretation is valid, but that's not how I read it. Elliot's parents "don't know how to take care of him" when he cries, yells, and misbehaves. I read that as a gentle way of saying they are neglecting him. I guess it depends on how old you think Elliot is. Crying, yelling, and misbehaving are normal behaviors for a child under the age of five or so. Maybe Elliot is older and his behaviors are due to developmental issues. It's ambiguous, I think.
I can see someone asking for this book to use as either a mirror or a window for a kid. Maybe it would be right for a child who is going to get a sibling from foster care. Or for children who are going through the foster care system themselves. It is a super gentle version of what can be an ugly experience. It paints the birth parents in a forgiving light. Elliot's emotions are intense (he's scared, he cries, he worries). But the book has a happy conclusion.
May 13, 2016
The idea of this book is good and perhaps even needed...especially with a difficult subject such as foster care. However, some young readers could look at this and think "it's my fault I can't be with my parents." Because the child cried...so he got taken away. Because the child got angry...he got taken away. Adults that read this will know the child cried he was hungry and that isn't the child's fault. Or that when the child yells he was upset about something and that isn't the child's fault. But a child might look at this and think that if he or she does certain things (like crying or yelling or misbehaving) then it is their fault they were taken away from their family. And that is the part I don't like so much.
And then there is the end. When Elliot gets to be with his forever family...his parents still come around. I don't know of any families that when a child is removed from a harmful situation permanently the biological parents are still actively involved in the child's life. Usually it is just the adoptive family that is around. But...perhaps there are some situations and I just don't know of any of them...
And then there is the end. When Elliot gets to be with his forever family...his parents still come around. I don't know of any families that when a child is removed from a harmful situation permanently the biological parents are still actively involved in the child's life. Usually it is just the adoptive family that is around. But...perhaps there are some situations and I just don't know of any of them...
December 17, 2015
In this touching picture book about families and adoption, Elliot knows his parents love him, but they don't always understand him or know how to meet his needs. After he is moved into the foster care system, he still misses his original family, but appreciates his new caregivers' efforts of take care of him. After a few twists and turns, he ends up being placed in a forever home. The book tenderly and carefully approaches a difficult topic without placing blame on Elliot or his family. Using soft illustrations fashioned into collages and relying on rabbit characters, the book could provide an ideal introduction to families and foster care. Not every family can meet the needs of its offspring, after all, and becoming a family has more to do with it than just being born into a family.
April 15, 2016
Elliot was a little boy whose parents loved him very much. But there was a problem, when Elliot cried his parents did not understand why and when he yelled they did not know what to do. So one day a social worked named Thomas came and Elliot was taken to a new family with a new mother and father. It was different there and Elliot’s new family understood when he was hungry, when he was upset and when he needed attention. Elliot still got to see his parents sometimes too and they had a lot of fun together. His parents did try to care for him once again, but they still did not understand what he needed so he got moved to another family who could respond to his needs. Finally, Elliot came to a family where they wanted him to stay forever. They understood his needs even more deeply than any other family had and said things like “I love you forever, forever.”
This book is so very important. It is a book about the foster care system and one that is so intensely honest that it can be hard to read at times. Pearson manages to not make Elliot’s parents bad at all, keeping their neglect of Elliot vague enough to fit the experiences of many children. That also keeps the book appropriate for the youngest listeners. At the same time, Pearson shows the way children are moved from home to home, the way that they can go back to their parents, and the ability to finally find a permanent home where they are loved and cared for. The moment where parents finally use the word “love” with Elliot is so powerful because readers until that moment will not have realized that he had not been told it before. It’s a moment of realization that stings the heart.
Gauthier’s illustrations are done in cut paper collage. The colors are muted and quiet, creams and tans with lines on them. The background colors change slightly with the various families that Elliot lives with, but they are always muted. I appreciated this subtlety in the colors that supports the quiet and undramatic feel of the entire book.
Honest and vital, this picture book fills a huge gap in children’s books with its depiction of the foster system for small children. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
This book is so very important. It is a book about the foster care system and one that is so intensely honest that it can be hard to read at times. Pearson manages to not make Elliot’s parents bad at all, keeping their neglect of Elliot vague enough to fit the experiences of many children. That also keeps the book appropriate for the youngest listeners. At the same time, Pearson shows the way children are moved from home to home, the way that they can go back to their parents, and the ability to finally find a permanent home where they are loved and cared for. The moment where parents finally use the word “love” with Elliot is so powerful because readers until that moment will not have realized that he had not been told it before. It’s a moment of realization that stings the heart.
Gauthier’s illustrations are done in cut paper collage. The colors are muted and quiet, creams and tans with lines on them. The background colors change slightly with the various families that Elliot lives with, but they are always muted. I appreciated this subtlety in the colors that supports the quiet and undramatic feel of the entire book.
Honest and vital, this picture book fills a huge gap in children’s books with its depiction of the foster system for small children. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
May 11, 2016
What a tough, but needed book. Elliot is a young bunny who has a family that doesn't really understand how to care for him. They love him, but they don't understand what to do if he cries, or misbehaves or is hungry. Thomas, a social worker comes along to take him to a temporary family who do understand him, while his own family learns how to take care of him. He then moves home, but things aren't really better, so Thomas takes him to a second family, and then comes back a final time to take him to a forever family who understands and loves him. His original family occasionally visits, but finally things are settled when he is adopted and a party is thrown to celebrate.
There aren't picture books that address foster care, so this is needed, and for that i'm happy. Is it a little confusing? Maybe? I think that this one needs to be a conversation between adult and child for sure - otherwise it could raise fears about being taken away for crying or being angry. However, in careful hands it could be used to reassure a child going through the confusion of foster care, a family becoming foster family, or a family that wants to introduce their child to the concept of foster care as a means of understanding other families.
Kudos to Julie Pearson and Manon Gauthier for taking this on. I hope others will do the same.
There aren't picture books that address foster care, so this is needed, and for that i'm happy. Is it a little confusing? Maybe? I think that this one needs to be a conversation between adult and child for sure - otherwise it could raise fears about being taken away for crying or being angry. However, in careful hands it could be used to reassure a child going through the confusion of foster care, a family becoming foster family, or a family that wants to introduce their child to the concept of foster care as a means of understanding other families.
Kudos to Julie Pearson and Manon Gauthier for taking this on. I hope others will do the same.
September 11, 2016
ELLIOT
Written by Julie Pearson
Illustrated by Manon Gauthier
2016; 32 Pages
Pajama Press
Genre: children's, picture book, families, adoption
3 1/2
Elliot's parents love him but do not know how to take care of him. He soon finds himself in another family. While they understand him he wants to go home. He is sent home after his parents learn how to take care of him. Unfortunately, his parents still don't understand him. He goes to another family that understand him but it is still the same. Will Elliot ever find a forever forever family? I liked this book about foster and adoptive families. It explains things in a simple way that children can understand. A great book! (Ages 4-6)
Written by Julie Pearson
Illustrated by Manon Gauthier
2016; 32 Pages
Pajama Press
Genre: children's, picture book, families, adoption
3 1/2
Elliot's parents love him but do not know how to take care of him. He soon finds himself in another family. While they understand him he wants to go home. He is sent home after his parents learn how to take care of him. Unfortunately, his parents still don't understand him. He goes to another family that understand him but it is still the same. Will Elliot ever find a forever forever family? I liked this book about foster and adoptive families. It explains things in a simple way that children can understand. A great book! (Ages 4-6)
January 25, 2016
Here is a touching story of Elliot whose parents cannot look after him and he needs to find a new forever family. Soft collage illustrations help readers gently connect with this lovable rabbit that is misunderstood. A sensitive story foster parents could share with children ages five to eight.
June 3, 2016
The tough subject of a young child whose birth parents cannot properly care for him and is put in foster care and later adopted is beautifully handled with grace and sensitivity.
June 15, 2016
Emotional and important story about fostering and adoption.
September 18, 2019
I adopted my children at ages 3.5 and 5. This book takes on a very difficult subject with gentleness, courage, and grace. Elliot’s parents love him very much, but do not know how to parent properly.
Let me say right off the bat that my four stars is connected to a publishing decision not to offer a preface or note saying this text makes sense to people involved in this process but might be confusing or in fact concerning to children or families not involved in a similar journey. For example, families not involved in this hard space might be bewildered by the characterization of Elliot’s bio parents as “not knowing what to do,” and children could worry that simple confusion by their parents can lead to a child being taken away.
I Pearson chose this language because the counseling and research community advises that it’s important not to make young children in this situation believe their parents are bad people - that if told that, children will internalize a belief that they are bad too. To explain to children that right now their bio parents aren’t equipped to properly parent is the most beneficial approach, at least this is what I’ve understood from the social workers involved in our case. our counseling community. Later, with an adult brain, children can better process all facts.
This PB follows Elliot’s journey with a social worker, to, ultimately, a forever home. Told with soft, approachable bunny characters, ELLIOT can be a reassuring text for adoptive families and the extraordinarily brave children who must take this journey. Julie Pearson’s writing is lyrical, rocking, repetitive, soothing. Manon Gauthier’s wonderful soft pencil illustrations and largely neutral palettes create a sense of calm.
In my ideal world, there would have been one last reference to the push and pull children in this situation often feel - a longing for the connection with family of origin, even while happy to be in a stable home. But there are clearly thoughtful editorial decisions in ELLIOT, and Pearson wants to stay focused on Elliot’s anxiety and the emotional calm he gains when he finds a stable home; plus she is careful to show Elliot is still in touch with his bio parents, and there are many reasons to think this is the wisest approach narrative approach. Again, bravo to excellent tackling of tough material. I hope other similar books and future publications will remember that the world of adoption is often counter intuitive and provide some more context for people not involved in the process.
Let me say right off the bat that my four stars is connected to a publishing decision not to offer a preface or note saying this text makes sense to people involved in this process but might be confusing or in fact concerning to children or families not involved in a similar journey. For example, families not involved in this hard space might be bewildered by the characterization of Elliot’s bio parents as “not knowing what to do,” and children could worry that simple confusion by their parents can lead to a child being taken away.
I Pearson chose this language because the counseling and research community advises that it’s important not to make young children in this situation believe their parents are bad people - that if told that, children will internalize a belief that they are bad too. To explain to children that right now their bio parents aren’t equipped to properly parent is the most beneficial approach, at least this is what I’ve understood from the social workers involved in our case. our counseling community. Later, with an adult brain, children can better process all facts.
This PB follows Elliot’s journey with a social worker, to, ultimately, a forever home. Told with soft, approachable bunny characters, ELLIOT can be a reassuring text for adoptive families and the extraordinarily brave children who must take this journey. Julie Pearson’s writing is lyrical, rocking, repetitive, soothing. Manon Gauthier’s wonderful soft pencil illustrations and largely neutral palettes create a sense of calm.
In my ideal world, there would have been one last reference to the push and pull children in this situation often feel - a longing for the connection with family of origin, even while happy to be in a stable home. But there are clearly thoughtful editorial decisions in ELLIOT, and Pearson wants to stay focused on Elliot’s anxiety and the emotional calm he gains when he finds a stable home; plus she is careful to show Elliot is still in touch with his bio parents, and there are many reasons to think this is the wisest approach narrative approach. Again, bravo to excellent tackling of tough material. I hope other similar books and future publications will remember that the world of adoption is often counter intuitive and provide some more context for people not involved in the process.
September 30, 2023
Translated Children's Books Month! Book 45/50 (French (Canadian))
This review was difficult for me. I absolutely see how this book could mean the world to the right child, and maybe it could help little ones understand what their friends could be going through if they know anyone in the foster care system.
However, I'm in a position where I have never dealt with the foster care system, and because of that, I didn't really understand this book. I can absolutely see it serving a purpose for many, many children, but I think it would confuse those who will never take part in fostering.
I found the depiction of his birth parents to be the most troubling. The book needs to be child-appropriate, but that means the parents are simply unable to understand what to do when Elliot gets upset. Well, I'm at a loss of what to do for Violet all the time! It made the book confusing, and perhaps troublesome to a child who thinks being upset or throwing a fit will mean being taken away from their family. Perhaps if they'd forgotten to cook for him or something like that, it would be easier for kiddos (and myself lol) to wrap their brains around it.
The illustrations were unique and quirky, while also having an innate sadness, so they worked perfectly with the subject matter.
This review was difficult for me. I absolutely see how this book could mean the world to the right child, and maybe it could help little ones understand what their friends could be going through if they know anyone in the foster care system.
However, I'm in a position where I have never dealt with the foster care system, and because of that, I didn't really understand this book. I can absolutely see it serving a purpose for many, many children, but I think it would confuse those who will never take part in fostering.
I found the depiction of his birth parents to be the most troubling. The book needs to be child-appropriate, but that means the parents are simply unable to understand what to do when Elliot gets upset. Well, I'm at a loss of what to do for Violet all the time! It made the book confusing, and perhaps troublesome to a child who thinks being upset or throwing a fit will mean being taken away from their family. Perhaps if they'd forgotten to cook for him or something like that, it would be easier for kiddos (and myself lol) to wrap their brains around it.
The illustrations were unique and quirky, while also having an innate sadness, so they worked perfectly with the subject matter.
May 7, 2017
I like that there is a book that covers the topic of foster care and adoption, from the perspective of the child, but I will admit that I was a little confused by the presentation. They say that Elliot's parents didn't understand what to do when he cried or yelled, or misbehaved. I think that could be 90% of parents at times. It just seemed over -simplified and from the first few pages didn't see why that would equate to a need to be taken from a home and put into foster care. Like I said though, it is good there I'd a boom that deals with this topic and I did like the concept (after the initial few pages).
October 1, 2019
Thoughts from my years as a foster parent:
Important, needed addition to the very few books that can be read and discussed with a child in foster care
Oversimplified because real details don't belong in a picture book, but can be added, as appropriate, in discussion with a caring adult
Oversimplified text would be frightening to children in families not involved in foster care. It sounds very "easy" to be moved to foster care. I would not share this with children who are not in foster care or a family doing foster care. I think it would get to more of the right people if available in non-fiction.
Important, needed addition to the very few books that can be read and discussed with a child in foster care
Oversimplified because real details don't belong in a picture book, but can be added, as appropriate, in discussion with a caring adult
Oversimplified text would be frightening to children in families not involved in foster care. It sounds very "easy" to be moved to foster care. I would not share this with children who are not in foster care or a family doing foster care. I think it would get to more of the right people if available in non-fiction.
June 4, 2022
This is an important book for so many reasons. Elliot has been removed from his birth parents because they were incapable of good parenting. Although Elliot is saddened at the change, and skeptical of his various foster families, the visits with his parents don't end well. Elliot's parents have tried counseling to learn anger management and parenting skills, but unsuccessfully so. Eventually, Elliot must say goodbye to his original birth parents and come to live permanently in a stable home. Finally, a book that skillfully shares the process of removal, adjustment, and acceptance of this difficult action in a realistic but not too daunting manner.
December 10, 2021
This is a book about a little bunny boy and his family. His parents can no longer take care of him and he tries out multiple families. They know why he is crying, yelling, and misbehaving. He just wants food, attention, and comfort.
This would be a good book to read to introduce a hard topic. The author does a good job at not using words that could make a parent or guardian uneasy. I think this is one special book that should be treasured because there are not many like it that can do it so effortlessly.
This would be a good book to read to introduce a hard topic. The author does a good job at not using words that could make a parent or guardian uneasy. I think this is one special book that should be treasured because there are not many like it that can do it so effortlessly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2023
I think it's really great that this book exists, because picture books on foster care are rare. That being said, I could not figure out exactly why Elliot's parents couldn't take care of him. Is he very loved but for some reason being neglected? They clearly aren't feeding him...but why not? Does he have a developmental delay? Do *they* have developmental delays? They knew enough to ask for help but not enough to feed their kid, which is super weird to me. I think for the sake of not freaking little kids out, there needed to be a little more clarity about this.
December 6, 2017
Being a child in foster care is hard! Especially so when your parents love and try to take care of you best they can, without it being quite enough. I think this book would be great for kids going through that process as well as those that know others in it, wondering why their friend keeps switching houses and families. Its a shame that there aren't a lot of books that have foster-care characters, seeing as it is a prevalent part of our society.
December 27, 2018
A kind and gentle book that provides a child's eye view of the foster care process. Other reviewers have raised some valid concerns, but I appreciate the fact that this book assumes that everyone (including the biological parents) wanted to do the best for this child, even if those efforts fell short.
April 4, 2019
Un album très touchant (bon, d'accord, j'ai un peu pleuré).
Un petit lapin qui va en famille d'accueil, qui retourne chez ses parents, qui va en famille, qui retourne chez ses parents et qui finalement après que ses parents soient déclarés incapables de s'occuper de lui; retourne chez une dernière famille d'accueil qui l'adopteront...
Un petit lapin qui va en famille d'accueil, qui retourne chez ses parents, qui va en famille, qui retourne chez ses parents et qui finalement après que ses parents soient déclarés incapables de s'occuper de lui; retourne chez une dernière famille d'accueil qui l'adopteront...
May 3, 2019
This book acts as a really good window into the life of a foster child, or really any child who doesn't have a 'traditional' family situation. I also really liked the illustrations - it looks like everything was individually drawn and cut out, and the result is unique and interesting. This could be used to spark conversations with kids about their home lives, or relationships.
June 2, 2022
Un livre nécessaire pour valider la tornade émotionnelle qui envahit les enfants qui font face aux placements et à l'abandon parental. Très simple mais tellement réaliste et pile poil adéquat. Zéro jugement, juste de la bienveillance, sans aliénation. Bravo d'avoir osé aborder le sujet et briser le tabou.
December 7, 2017
It is so important to have supportive resources available for families going through adoption and fostering, and I am not sure that this book is one of them. I fear that this book may actually confuse children more, despite its good intentions.
March 21, 2019
This is a great book to teach children about the foster care system and that the bunnys parents do love him, but can't take care of him. A lot of kids have gone through foster care and this would be a great book for children to relate to it.
June 11, 2019
I enjoyed this book. I think that having books about children in the foster system because as a teacher I could someday have students in my class that come from broken homes, or in the foster care system.
Read
November 11, 2019Perhaps be weary of reading this book to young children without further explaining that there is nothing wrong with Elliot, the way the book is written it could be misconstrued by children that Elliot is the cause of his parents not being able to care for him.
April 4, 2020
A child's eye view of foster care. Children love their parents even when they aren't good parents. The text focuses on what a young child might need to know and understand about being in foster care.
I read this as an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine.
I read this as an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine.
February 10, 2021
Un magnifique album pour parler avec douceur des enfants qui doivent être placés en famille(s) d'accueil car leurs parents ne s'en occupent pas comme il faut. Un sujet sensible traité avec une grande simplicité et une émotion forte. Eliott finit par être adopté définitivement dans cette histoire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2017
All about Elliot as he goes through the foster care system and gets placed with a new, loving family who can provide for him.
August 8, 2018
Thank you to my local bookseller @epicbookshamilton for ordering Elliot for me. It is really tough to find books about foster care which is a topic close to my heart. Having read many non-fiction books about adoption and foster care, I was looking for something better to share with my foster son. I found this book accidentally during a Google search and was able to order it through my local bookseller. I was not disappointed.
It is a great story and approach to what happens to a child who is placed into care. The system is not always easy to navigate but here the author shows us what it is like to be in care from the point of view of Elliot a little rabbit whose parents have been struggling to take care of him. He meets different families as he moves from one family to another and sometimes back to his birth-parents. He navigates the system with his worker Thomas. Further, the book has some beautiful illustrations by Manon Gauthier who uses collage illustrations in the story.
At the end of the story Elliot is finally placed with his forever, forever home. This story has really resonated with my family because this is our personal situation. We are hopeful to be our foster son's forever, forever family but the system can be very unpredictable. This is a necessary book. Children in care get forgotten and their experiences are so vastly different from other children. This book gives them some hope, some understanding and something to look forward to as they try to work out all their feelings. I highly recommend this book and it should be in all social workers' tool boxes.
It is a great story and approach to what happens to a child who is placed into care. The system is not always easy to navigate but here the author shows us what it is like to be in care from the point of view of Elliot a little rabbit whose parents have been struggling to take care of him. He meets different families as he moves from one family to another and sometimes back to his birth-parents. He navigates the system with his worker Thomas. Further, the book has some beautiful illustrations by Manon Gauthier who uses collage illustrations in the story.
At the end of the story Elliot is finally placed with his forever, forever home. This story has really resonated with my family because this is our personal situation. We are hopeful to be our foster son's forever, forever family but the system can be very unpredictable. This is a necessary book. Children in care get forgotten and their experiences are so vastly different from other children. This book gives them some hope, some understanding and something to look forward to as they try to work out all their feelings. I highly recommend this book and it should be in all social workers' tool boxes.
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