Tag Archives: foster home

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales) by Dagmara Sitek (Book Review)

It takes courage to stand up for others. It takes even more to stand up for yourself.

When Loris is placed in a new foster home (again), his foster siblings just can’t make sense of him. He doesn’t play, joke, or laugh, and he certainly has no interest in the town’s charity race. But when things get tough, Loris amazes his newfound family with his hidden courage and resilience!

Join Loris and his newfound family on this journey of self-discovery and acceptance with this relatable children’s book perfect for home or the classroom.

“Loris Opens Up His Heart” by Dagmara Sitek is a testament to the power of empathy and compassion. It models positive interactions and helps kids put themselves in someone else’s shoes. More importantly, it encourages them to help one another through their grief and fears.

Children will learn that even though fears might be scary, facing them can lead to feelings of safety and love.

Amazon Purchase Link

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery.  I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

According to Let it Be Us (website), there are approximately 400,000 children in foster care in the United States. Fifteen percent live in institutions or group homes—also, 26,000 “age out” of the system each year. Most kids in foster care move from home to home, never knowing stability. Due to childhood trauma that led them to be in the foster care system, it’s common for them to have mental problems and trust issues. In addition to that, when a kid enters the system, they don’t remain in one home but get bounced around from place to place. This causes more trust issues and takes a toll on them mentally, even more so if their foster parents are unkind.  

Loris didn’t have the best home life before living with Cam, Inaya, and their foster mom. Because of this, he closed himself off from everyone. Loris couldn’t accept their kindness. He mentally and physically shut the door on them. Loris displayed behavior that is typical of a lot of kids in his situation. Thankfully, his new family didn’t give up on him. Cam and Inaya tried to include Loris in the charity run, offered to tutor him in math and thanked him when he helped them out of a sticky situation. 

Foster kids are like every other child in the world. They need security, to feel loved, to know they belong, and their family has their back 100%. Loris shared with his siblings about his anger issues: how it can be like hot lava. In time, Loris realized he had found everything he wanted: people who cared about him and would literally and figuratively give him the shirt off their back. 

The book’s synopsis states, “It beautifully illustrates that true bravery and strength can come from the simple act of opening up their hearts.” I absolutely agree with their assessment. Loris’s story is touching and depicts a child’s emotional journey in the system. I recommend sharing Loris’s journey with your foster family and not just telling them but showing your new family member that they are in a safe place and are wanted and loved. 

Amazon’s recommended reading is 5-10 years. 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score:  ❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

Meet the Author

Dagmara Sitek is a Montreal-based mother of two, passionate about teaching children valuable social and emotional life lessons through her beautifully illustrated, and relatable books about children in foster care.

Amazon Author Page Link

Reedsy Author Link

 

 

 

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Grace Among Thieves (A Grace Michelle Mystery) by Kari Bovee (Book Review)

GRACE AMONG THIEVES (A Grace Michelle Mystery) by Kari Bovee

 
A priceless heirloom worth its weight in lives. Can she crack the case before she becomes a killer’s trophy?

Hollywood, 1924. Grace Michelle’s professional star has risen. Now a successful costumier for a major studio, the ambitious woman has just about everything she wants. But when the father she thought was dead reaches out to reconnect, the talented designer doesn’t know what to think… especially after his new wife is kidnapped.

Discovering her dad is mixed up with a stolen Russian artifact, Grace puts her sleuthing skills to work to rescue the abducted lady. But with a famous actress murdered in connection with the missing valuable and a man she put away stalking her for revenge, the frazzled amateur detective fears getting to the bottom of this crime will leave her six feet under.

Can she hunt down the treasure before it bankrupts the lives of everyone she loves?

Grace Among Thieves is the nail-biting third book in the Grace Michelle Mystery historical series. If you like bright-but-beset heroines, breathtaking twists and turns, and the glamor of a lost age, then you’ll adore Kari Bovée’s riveting tale. 

 
BUY THE BOOK:
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I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
 

In Grace Among Thieves (A Grace Michelle Mystery) by Kari Bovee, the bodies keep piling up. Grace agrees to put on her imaginary detective hat and solve multiple cases, but maybe she shouldn’t have. With danger lurking close to home, she should reconsider sticking with her day job. I don’t think Grace ever will, though. Luckily, she has friends and family who lend a helping hand and watch her back. Heck, Grace even has the undead assisting her. Not zombies —just spirits. 🙂


When she’s not solving crimes or designing costumes, she runs a foster home with Chet. When you open your home to foster children, you must prepare for turbulence. There was plenty of drama between two foster boys — Daniel and Stevie. Stevie is the latest child to join the ranch, and he has baggage, as most foster kids do. The scenes featuring foster life added depth to the story. 


The drama that unfolded on and off the ranch did reach a happy resolution, which might not be a shocking revelation. Speaking of shocking revelations, Kari Bovee delivered quite the humdinger! This surprise development raised the score a bit. Why? Cause who doesn’t love the unexpected (when it comes to mystery novels)!

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:

Author Kari Bovee

When she’s not on a horse riding along the beautiful cottonwood-laden acequias of Corrales, New Mexico; or basking on white sand beaches under the Big Island Hawaiian sun, Kari Bovée is escaping into the past—scheming murder and mayhem for her characters both real and imagined in her historical mystery novels.

Kari Bovée writes the award-winning Annie Oakley mystery series and the Grace Michelle mystery series. In 2020 she was honored with First Place in category for the Chanticleer International Clue Awards for her book Folly at the Fair. In 2019 she was awarded the NM/AZ Book Awards Hillerman Award for her novel Girl with a Gun. The novel also received First Place in the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards in the Mystery/Crime category, and won First in Category in the International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards. It was also a finalist in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Awards. Her novel Grace in the Wings won First in Category for the 2019 International Chanticleer Chatelaine Awards. Peccadillo at the Palace won Grand Prize in the 2019 Goethe Awards, and was a finalist in the 2019 Best Book Awards Historical Fiction category.

Kari Bovée has worked as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 Company, has written non-fiction for magazines and newsletters, and has worked in the education field as a teacher and educational consultant.

 
Connect with the author:  
Website ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram Pinterest
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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