Customer Reviews

Billy Had to Move: A Foster Care Story (Growing with Love)

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In the book Billy Had To Move, Billy has been sent to live with his grandmother for his own safety by a social worker. Sadly, Billy grandmother passes away and Billy is left with no other family to care for him and is placed in a foster home. This book shows grief, fear, anxiety and finally acceptance and love.

I think that Theresa Ann Fraser did a wonderful job fulfilling her purpose with this story. Many children are put through "the system", by no fault of their own. Theresa shows the perspective of the child.

I really think the point of this book is to help other children who are in a similar predicament. It shows that the feelings they possess are normal. It also teaches them that it's okay to open up to others who are trying to help them.

It's my opinion that Billy Had To Move would be a great book for any child going through foster care and their caregivers. Also, I believe this is an excellent book to share with children who have been adopted. As well as siblings and/or children living within the foster home who are now having the share their parents.

Personally, this story holds my heartstrings. My niece was fostered a couple of times, before she ended up in our home, where ultimately we were able to adopt her. As her caregiver, while I think I understand what she's going through, I'm aware that I will never fully understand. I think this story helped all of us understand a little better.

I have a lot of respect for Ms. Fraser for tackling such a sensitive subject and doing so with such a genuine understanding.

When you were a child, did you ever move from one place to another and thus have to cope with a new home, new school, new teacher, and new friends? What about a new family? Billy is a seven-year-old first grader. Earlier in the year a social worker had already come to his school because his mother couldn't take care of him and took him to live with his grandmother. After that his mother seemed to disappear. Then one day his grandmother dies. Mr. Lee, the principal, comes and gets him out of class again, and there is another social worker, Mr. Murphy, who takes him to a foster home where he is going to live with Amy, her husband Tim, and their baby daughter Colly.
After Nana's funeral, Billy begins to experience some problems with headaches, tummy aches, and bad dreams. He overhears Amy tell Tim that she thinks that Billy is suffering from anxiety. Toward the end of grade two, Mr. Murphy returns with another social worker, Mrs. Woods, who is a Child and Play Therapist. Billy will start going to her office to talk with her about his feelings while he plays. Will Billy be able to get the help that he needs? All of us experience various kinds of trauma and loss in life, but these things can be particularly difficult for children, especially when the loss involves a close relative. Youth workers, foster parents, therapists, and anyone helping a young person cope with separation trauma will find this book extremely useful.

Billy Had to Move is more than about a little boy who has to move to a new home. As many of us know, every month children are put into Child Protection Services for many reasons, from parents' not being able to care for their children to abuse. However, sometimes children end up in the system because of death. This happens to be the situation for young Billy.



As the story unfolds, we learn that Billy has been living with his grandmother for some time. Billy's father and mother are not around to take care of him, so his grandmother has taken on the role of Billy's caregiver. Billy loves living with his grandmother and his pet cat, and he even enjoys taking piano lessons. However, one day Billy's grandmother becomes ill and passes away. Billy hopes the people who have come to help will be able to locate his mother; unfortunately, no one knows where she is. This places Billy in a situation most of us hope never to see our children in: no one to care for our children.

What makes this book so important is that we learn sometimes children are put into Child Protection because there are no loved ones left to care for a child. These children are in situations where they have to live with strangers who are willing to help a child who has lost everyone they have ever cared about. Sometimes it is because a parent can't care for them or because of abuse, but what about those children who have no loved one in the world to help them?

I feel this book is great not only for children who are going through the loss of a loved one and having only strangers to turn to but also for children who have loving homes so they can better understand other children they may know who do live in foster care.