Josh Shipp

This book made me cry. The topic of foster care is one that I have not seen in picture books. At least ones that I can recall.

I feel this book encapsulates the feelings of a child in foster care--from struggling with placement, to self sabotage, to finding a home. Due to the author's personal experience with foster care (as well as his final home), I think it speaks to the authenticity of the entire tale.

Normally, I hate animals being used as the characters to depict a point. After all, show more children like to see themselves represented. Children aren't squirrels. ;) However, that does make this book more approachable to younger audiences which is a benefit.

I cannot wait to see this book in my library collection. I also want to recommend it to my local foster care organization I know!

**Thanks to Edelweiss and the book's publisher for an ARC of this book!** show less

This story is very powerful and I could personally see myself using this book with any age group but I would really recommend using it for primary-age readers. This story is about a squirrel who moves around to different families of animals until he is placed with a family of elephants. The young squirrel, named Josh, causes lots of problems for the elephants but they still love him regardless and create a home that is accepting and he feels loved in. This book is a great way to explain show more foster care to kids in a way that is sensitive to everyone in your classroom and doesn't directly talk about it. It is a great resource for kids to be able to see themselves in literature and would be really beneficial as a read-aloud. show less

This is a very inspiring story that talks about the foster parent system in a way that is easy for young students to understand. The story has a strong message about family and belonging and is informative while being fun to read. This also teaches about how families look different and there are chosen families too, and I like how this talked about these types of families in a positive way. I would say that the book is a good read-aloud for primary, although the concept may not be as easy show more for them to understand. It would be good for intermediate students to read independently or as a read-aloud because of the information that is talked about. show less

This is a cute story about a squirrel, and who finds his perfect family. This book does a great job representing a foster child and foster families through animals without making it very obvious or pointing out a specific student. I would love to have this book in my classroom. It would be best for primary students.