A children�s arts organisation and publishing house.
Recommended age: 8 – 12
This book uniquely captures the voices and experiences of young people living in foster care and shares powerful stories to inform others and raise awareness around how it feels and what it means to live in this very particular context.
In summer 2021, writer Mary Branley and artist Sharon Kelly worked with a group of children in care, playing, having fun and telling some of their stories.
“We met, we talked, we made things and threw them in the river, well everything except plastic. We drew our hands and other pictures. We made floats, and boats and rafts and watched them float and get stuck, turn over in the rapids and fall apart. Some of our creations made it under the bridge and were carried out to sea. We walked in the woods too , and soem of us hid in trees and caves and a little hut. We talked about our lives in foster care, and how we coped with the hard times. We shared our hopes and dreams for the future”.
“Working with children in care the last few years, I have recognised how children want to tell their story. Being “in care” has its own sets of challenges. One thing that always cropped up for me was the fact that the children felt that peers and other people didn’t understand what being in care was. Together with Kids’ Own and the children that wrote this book, I would like to help you, the reader, understand a little bit more about what being in care means”.
– Kate McGoldrick, Home Youth Liaison Service
– Dr. Liam White, Sligo, Leitrim & West Cavan
‘My Own Jungle’ is published by Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership in collaboration with Sligo Leitrim Home Youth Liaison Service and generously funded by The TULSA Children’s Participation Seed Fund.
A Kids’ Own Publication
1st Edition (2022)
Paperback: 31 pages, full colour
ISBN: 9781902432359
100% of proceeds support children’s participation in the arts