March is National Reading Month and also proclaimed by the Governor as Michigan Reading Month in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, which falls on March 2nd. Reading is crucial to development of essential language skills, as well as learning basic sounds and words. Studies show that reading helps with cognitive function, memory, empathy, and decreased levels of stress. Foster children struggle with these abilities and are often delayed with their development due to trauma caused by abuse and neglect before entering care. In addition to meeting their physical needs, encouraging reading every day can help build upon these skills which are essential for functioning. For those who are not able or may not enjoy reading on their own, consider getting together as a family and taking turns reading a fun story out loud. Maybe a quirky, goofy book from Dr. Seuss, a spooky tale from the Goosebumps collection, or reading one of those good old fashion bed time books like Goodnight Moon.

Children reading books together for National Reading Month

For a list of books categorized by age, check out The Children’s Book Review.

We have also compiled a reading list at Forever Families with books surrounding fostering and adoption, which we provide to our adoptive families during orientation, and can be found below.

  • “Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss” – Claudia Jewett Jarratt
  • “A Child’s Journey Through Placement” – Vera Fahlberg, M.D.
  • “Beyond Consequences, Logic and Control: A Love-based Approach to Helping Attachment-Challenged Children with Severe Behaviors” – Heather Forbes and Brian Post
  • “Nurturing Adoptions: Creating Resilience after Neglect and Trauma” – Deborah D. Gray
  • “The Explosive Child” – Ross W. Greene, Ph.D.
  • “Trauma and Recovery” – Judith Herman, M.D.
  • “The Sexualized Child In Foster Care” – Sally G. Hoyle, Ph.D.
  • “The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog” – Bruce Perry, M.D. and Maia Szalavitz
  • “The Connected Child” – Karyn Purvis and David Cross
  • “The A.D.D. Book” – William Sears, M.D. and Lynda Thompson, Ph.D.
  • “Too Scared Too Cry: Psychic Trauma in Childhood” – Lenore Terr, M.D.
  • “Me and My Feelings: A Kid’s Guide to Understanding and Expressing Themselves” – Vanessa Green Allen, M. Ed.
  • “The Great Behavior Breakdown” – B. Bryan Post
  • “From Fear To Love” – Bryan Post and Mark Trotter
Foster family reading together

Sources