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Foundling Family Book Review – Issue 9

Enjoy the latest review for your family by Foundling friend, Celia McGee!

AGES 12 AND UP

The Darkest Path, by Jeff Hirsch. Scholastic Press

America is at war with itself in bestselling author Jeff Hirsch’s new book. Sometime in the near future, it is split into the Federalist states (mostly north). But for the war raging on its perimeters, is not unlike the country we live in now. The rest of the country is controlled by the Glorious Path, a rigid, fundamentalist, and violently oppressive sect that has spread insinuated itself into every aspect of its adherents lives. It is reminiscent of many fundamentalist religions encountered today, whether Christian or other, but taken to extremes in such matters, for instance, of conversion. Though this is kept from the general population—where women must wear long white dresses and veil their faces—if captured enemies refuse to make “The Choice,” they are slaughtered on site. Taken prisoner, 15-year-old Cal and his younger brother, James, have reluctantly opted for The Chjoice in the hopes of achieving full citizenship and then escaping, and carefully drone The Path’s war-feeding prayer: “I am a blade in the hand of God….” But the brothers ultimately find themselves in a civil war of their own. After a first, unsuccessful escape attempt, they are re-captured: Cal goes again for escape, but James, brainwashed by The Path, choses to stay. Cal is eventually aided in his terrifying attempts to reach home—in a nod to the Odyssey, his hometown is Ithaca—by a toughened, brave girl named Nat and her band of Federalist guerillas. The ending to Cal’s tale is complicated, especially because life in the Federalist states is also not perfect—rich people lead decadent, materialistic, empty lives, while the rest must struggle to enjoy a quieter fulfillment. Hirsch captures the ambiguity of well-meaning cults gone wrong and of opposition to them hardened in its own ways.

AGES 8-12

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, by Chris Grabstein, Random House

It’s a sad day and a commentary on our fast-paced Internet age when a town’s gorgeous old library has to shut down. What is to be done with an entrancing but empty pile of neo-Gothic beauty? In Chris Grabenstein’s Escape from Mr Lemoncello’s Library (Grabenstein has also been known to collaborate with James Patterson), a stranger comes to the town of Alexandriaville and, under strict secrecy, pours tens of millions of dollars into refurbishing the library inside and out. He’s not a stranger to Kyle Keeley though. He’s Mr. Lemoncello, the most famous designer of board games ever. With a star jock for an older brother and a big-brained younger one, Kyle has so far been unexceptional except for his love of old-fashioned board games. With the library completed, Mr. Lemoncello issues a challenge to the town’s youngsters, with the winner the recipient of a humongous prize. Twelve contestants are chosen through an essay contest, an assorted lot, including a snobbish rich boy who proves Kyle’s prime contender. The only problem is, the challenge is that everyone has to get locked into the library overnight and see who’ll be the first to figure the way out. Forget the library’s 20-ton front door. But, by following certain clues, valuing the right books, figuring out architectural secrets the building harbors, and, ultimately learning the skills of team-building, an escape route may be in the cards. Then a thirteenth player is revealed–Mr. Lemoncello himself, for the convoluted exit game turns out to be a birthday present from his associate, Dr. Zinchenko. He must decipher anagrams, holograms, and hidden passageways with the others. This book is all the more fun because its readers won’t be able to resist playing the game too. The clock is ticking….

AGES 5-8

How to Train a Train, by Jason Carter Eaton, illustrated by John Rocco. Candlewick Press

Here comes—chug-chug, toot-toot–the best pet you’ve never heard of. A train! According to this imaginative book, there are about as many different kinds of trains as there are types of kids who can bond with them. “Freight trains live in the countryside and travel in herds. Monorail trains live in the city and travel alone,” and that’s just for starters. But first you must catch the one your heart desires, and is most in sync with you. The miraculous method cannot be divulged here, just know that when a little girl who favors pink tutus and fairy wings lands her train, for instance, the first step is to name a train—and hers gets fairy wings (big ones), too. Taking care of a pet train is important as well, and somehow, like children, they also need warm, soapy baths. And good habits: they must always wipe their wheels before coming indoors. Children will appreciate that trains have their own doubts and fears, but a good pet owner can help overcome them. The cuddly illustrations in this book make it all the more appealing, and while it’s idea is a new one, the pictures convey a sweet tone of yesteryear. No wonder, thanks to their now thorough upbringing, the pet trains learn to make friends too—pet planes, pet trucks, pet submarines, anyone?

AGES 3-5

How Do Dinosaurs Say I’M MAD? By Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. Blue Sky Press/Scholastic.

The latest in a series of beloved and award-winning dino-books, this one deals humorously with how dinosaurs act out when they’re mad. Both parents and children will recognize certain situations they have had to work through themselves—after all, kids’ emotions can feel dinosaur scale to them, and moms and dads need to know how to put turmoil in the right perspective. As the book opens there are minor infractions caused by anger—a dinosaur sticking out its tongue usually just finds a young human doing it back to him. Due to his size, though, when he expresses himself vocally (that’s called roaring), acts out physically (will the door he just slammed even stay on its hinges, since it certainly scatters toys everywhere?), or dares to yell at Mom and Dad…. Wouldn’t you know that he can pout and grrrrr-umble with the best of them, and give his parents a very scaly cold shoulder. But tearing up his books with his giant claws, just because he’s told to take a nap, and acting even worse when it’s time for bed, that’s just going too far. And a well-brought-up dinosaur knows it, and has a technique for holding his temper as soon as he starts to feel it start to boil up. It’s an easy trick, and will prove valuable to children and their families as they page through this humorous and wise book.

September 27, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Guest Blogger

The Foundling, Then and Now

We are very lucky to have so many great stories here at The Foundling, from clients, children, alumni, Sisters, staff and volunteers alike. The conversation below is between Foundling Therapist, Heidi Lynch, and her grandmother, Connie Sullivan, who was a social worker for The Foundling in the 1940s. They are pictured in a recent shot above. Both are impressive woman who have used their careers to benefit others, enjoy!

Connie Heide Sullivan 1942

H: I am Heidi Lynch and I work for The Foundling currently as a therapist.

C: My name is Constance Heide Sullivan and I was born 1921, Heidi is my granddaughter. I grew up in New York City and now I live in Rumson, New Jersey. My family and I went to the shore in New Jersey when I was a child.

H: And your family?

C: I have 7 children, 16 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren and I grew up in a large family as well with 2 brothers and 5 sisters. Interestingly, one of my brothers became a Trappist monk (he’s now 90), one became a priest and later a monsignor and one sister became a nun. My parents had 32 grandchildren!

H: Tell us about your how you came to work at The Foundling.

C: Well I went to Manhattanville College and graduated in 1942

The New York Foundling Hospital was my first job after graduation, and I worked as a social worker in the foster home division. My first territory was mostly Queens , Middle Village and that area. I was responsible for 60 children and checked in on them by visiting them once a month. After each visit I would write up a report about what I saw there.

I had to get to know foster parents and most of them were very nice on the whole and they were wonderful to the kids, I can’t remember having any very bad situations to fix.

There were 10 to 12 other women also working there (in my area for The New York Foundling) and it was like a continuation of college, we had a wonderful time together.

The Sisters of Charity ran everything in those days, and occasionally they would ask us social workers to come hold the babies at the hospital who didn’t get enough attention, that was very sad to see.

H: How did you decide to go into social work?

C: I knew I didn’t want a desk job, and would hate being cooped up in a moldy office all day! As a social worker, I spent most time out in the field, doing my visits. I loved the freedom of being out and about all the time, and if you can believe it, the subway was 5 cents and the city buses were 10 cents, so it was easy to get around.

I decided on social work when I was just 10 or 12, because I hated seeing children in other neighborhoods who were unkempt and even then I just wanted to go clean them up and give them some love. My parents were supportive of this decision.

H: Were you in dangerous neighborhoods at all?

C: No, the places I worked primarily were not a bit scary; they were nice, middle class areas in Queens.

The only difficulty I had was in finding biological parents, tracking them down was sometimes hard. We tried to ensure that they had some interest in the child’s life, and organize visits for them.

Occasionally I had to work at night to find biological parents and that could be scary, as I would have only an address to go find, though it always turned out fine.

I remember one family had 5 children all in one foster home, they had a wonderful foster mother for a year or two who was willing to take all 5. I remember being very impressed with her.

H: It can be so hard now too, when you connect with a child to just go about your normal day. Did you feel like you had good support system at NYF?

C: Yes, we really did. Though we all had different territories (the women I worked with), we would meet for lunch or dinner maybe 3 times a week when we were in the office to write our reports, and had a great spirit of camaraderie.

H: I feel that it can be isolating when you’re in the field alone all the time, and it sounds like we have a similar day-to-day with most time spent in the field and only a small portion in the office. It’s very lucky to have such great co-workers.

H: Was there a time when you felt shocked by your work? Was it a hard adjustment? I know you had a very different background from those you worked with.

C: Yes, at first it was very traumatic, shocking and difficult to see how other people live and I had some emotional turmoil about the way I lived versus the way they lived.

There were lots of Irish children in foster care then, very different from the demographics today. Most foster families were lower to middle class parents, many with older children, and they felt it was lucrative to take in foster children.

H: Now the goal of foster care is to place children back in their biological homes as soon as possible, was this different? Were there more “institutions” or “orphanages”?

C: Yes, but most of these homes were outside of New York City even then.

H: 1942 you were working for The Foundling, correct?

C: Yes, I worked for about 1.5 yrs. here and took courses at night to get my master’s degree in social work at Fordham’s School of Social Work. Then I decided to quit and go full time to get my master’s degree, the hardest part was to write my dissertation (it was on runaway children) while planning my

wedding! I used cases from my time at NYF to write this dissertation.

H: Was it unusual for women to get a Master’s degree at this time?

C: I suppose it was yes, none of my sisters or friends had one, but I always thought it would be good in case I needed to work later in life or needed a career.

H: That was probably an unusual way of thinking back then as well.

C: Well yes, girls were expected to graduate from college maybe and then get married, but I always wanted something to fall back on, it was just part of who I was.

H: You were very close to a few of your family’s employees growing up? You learned to connect with people at a young age.

C: Yes, we have several cooks, nurses and “fraulines” who were German, and I would love to spend time with them to have coffee, I even picked up lots of German from them. I had a most exceptional childhood and they were a part of it.

H: Where do you think you learned to give back, or where did your sense that you wanted to help people come from?

C: My grandfather I think. He started the Heide Candy Company, where my father and his brothers worked, they were very successful. My grandfather had a great deal of money, but he put it to good use, he was one of the original men who supported Catholic Charities and the American Indian Missions. We learned the importance of charity from him.

C: I’m thrilled that Heidi works at The Foundling, I think she loves the work, and it’s a chance for me to “pass the baton” as it were.

H: It is like that! We have shared experiences, similarities in our day-to-day, and it’s a wonderful connection, even with this many years separating our time here. I didn’t even know until after my first interview at The Foundling that grandma worked there too.

H: Things, maybe not color of eyes, but other, more important things can be passed down to new generations. In this case, it’s our work.

Do you have a Foundling story you think should be shared with our community? Tell us about it! On social media, or email kathleen.biemer@nyfoundling.org and you could be our next guest blogger.

September 17, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog

Foundling Family Book Review – Issue 8

Foundling friend Celia McGee does it again! Presenting the latest titles for you and your family’s enjoyment!

Ages 3-6

The First Drawing, by Mordicai Gersten. Little, Brown.

Found in a cave in France not that long ago, some of the oldest drawings ever date back 30,000 years. Even more intriguing, the footprint of an 8-year-old boy and a wolf were found nearby. Caldecott medalist Mordicai Gerstein takes this information and imagines what it must have been like to be that boy, and that he invented drawing. It took fancy and sensitivity on the boy’s part, for he believed he could see clouds shaped like animals, and sense appealing feelings even in the eyes of a hairy mammoth. The problem was that no one else did, and when he transferred his fantasies and impressions to the walls of the cave he shared with his clan, they thought he was practicing magic. Bad magic. But it pays to stand up for yourself. The young artist agreed that it was magic—and convinced his elders that it was the good kind. Moreover, how is that different, Gersten whimsically asks, from any drawing, painting, sculpture or other form of visual expression produced throughout the centuries to this very day? That’s the magic all around us.

Ages 4-7

Big Bear’s Big Boat, by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Clarion Books.

How nice—and important– it is to have a kind and generous older brother! But even older brothers sometimes have to watch out for well-meaning friends and trust their own better judgment. When Big Bear outgrows his first rowboat, he passes it on to Little Bear, and builds a new boat to fit his size. Just as he takes a quiet minute to enjoy its perfection, along comes Beaver to suggest a mast. Big Bear obliges. Other pals—Otter, Blue Heron—recommend a top deck, then a cabin. The whole thing turns into a big, ugly mess, and Big Bear fears that there’s nothing he can do about it. After all, you don’t want to insult your friends. Still, a dream is a dream, and Big Bear’s ideal was the simpler boat. By clearly and bravely explaining himself to his friends, he wins over his wrong-headed advisors. There’s one kind of happiness, which is sticking to your dream, but also another, which is knowing that friendship is a constant give-and-take.

Ages 7-11

The Lonely Lake Monster: The Imaginary Veterinary, Book 2, by Suzanne Selfors. Illustrations by Dan Santat. Little, Brown.

They’re back, already—Pearl Petal, Ben Silverstein and their wondrous involvement with once proud Buttonville’s empty old Buttonville Button Factory. Aha, but those of us who read this series first installment, The Sasquatch Escape, know that reality is not what it seems, and that beyond the Known World of humans, there’s an Imaginary one full of creatures out of legends, fairies, and fantastical landscapes. Under the alluring, brain-teasing Dr. Woo and her major domo Mr. Tabby, the factory—revealed only to Pearl and Benn– has been transformed into a hospital for the Imaginary World. But don’t worry if you’re starting with The Lonely Lake Monster, since Suzanne Selfors has clever ways of catching you up and plunging you full-tilt into the new, challenging situation facing Pearl—notorious for her Known World trouble-making—and Ben, the big-city visitor, who have been allowed to apprentice to Dr. Woo. By the way, the disdainful Mr. Tabby is taking on more and more cat-like qualities—was that a tail peeping out from below his elegant jacket? Assigned as their first task to cut the Sasquatch’s toenails—one of the more disgusting experiences ever, Pearl and Ben catch a glimpse of a gigantic green figure in the paddling in the water outside. It can only be—you’ve heard of Loch Ness, right?—a lake monster. But loneliness changes everything, and this ferocious-appearing tower of scales has a bad case. Ben and Pearl have to figure out how to cure these blues before the monster kidnaps them for good. Pearl emerges as the smart and resourceful one here, although she does get some help from a very cranky leprechaun. But boundaries have been crossed in the duties Dr. Woo had outlined. How much trouble awaits her young helpers? Yet authority is funny occasionally, and an unusual response can save the day.

Ages 12 and up (plus adults!)

The Cutting Season, by Attica Locke. Dennis Lehane Books/Harper Perennial

As our luck would have it, one of the best murder mysteries and historically resonant books of the past year is just out in paperback. Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season (she was indeed named for the famous prison uprising) was a bestseller and has the imprimatur of belonging to Dennis Lehane’s new line of books. It’s easy to see why. Set on the restored antebellum Louisiana plantation of La Belle Vie—slave cabins and all– it’s managed, with understandable ambivalence by Caren Gray, daughter of the plantation’s former cook and a law school dropout thanks to her father’s focus on his second, legitimate family. While the main part of La Belle Vie has become a party and wedding venue, a destination for tourists and school groups, and the background for a creaky historical enactment play that makes Gone Like the Wind seem progressive and unbigoted, 500 hundred of its acres have been leased to sugar cane harvesting company with dubious intentions. When one of the female cane workers shows up dead on the plantation side of the fence, it’s anyone’s guess how and why she got there. Caren, entangled in past and present romantic relationships and the mother of a young daughter who may know something about the crime, leaves the sheriff’s department in the dust as she seeks the answers. She knows that “below Belle Vie, its beauty was not to be trusted.” As the real villains emerge, she could not be more right. A stunning look at changing but anciently soul-mangling Southern race relations, it maintains its mystery to the end.

September 12, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Education, Guest Blogger

Foundling Family Book Review – Issue 7

Hope you’ve all been enjoying the book reviews! If you and your kids have been reading this summer, getting back into the school groove should be no problem. In case you need a few more books to get you through your Labor Day weekend, here are Foundling friend, Celia McGee’s latest picks!

Ages 12 and up

A Moment Comes, by Jennifer Bradbury. Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

Drawing new borders on a map is one thing. The human consequences are another. As in multiple distant places under European occupation, India’s imminent independence brought with it the Partition of 1947, declaring a homeland for Sikhs and Hindus in the western part, called India, and a new country for Muslims, Pakistan,.to the east. Formerly peaceful neighbors turned against each other, murderous riots along religious lines erupted. Amidst the turmoil, one of the British cartographers faced with the daunting task of border-making is a Oxford educated man named Darnsley, and into his household in Jalandhar–joining his social-climbing wife and sexually restless daughter–come two new servants, handsome Tariq, a Muslim with aspirations to Oxford, and Anupreet, a beautiful Sikh girl with a vivid, mysterious scar down her face. While Mrs. Darnsley schemes to meet Lady Mountbatten, wife to the Viceroy of India, byzantine tensions, crushes, difficult decisions, jealousies and resentments surface among Margaret, Anupreet, and Tariq, who is also under pressure to join a shady Muslim gang. Jennifer Bradbury draws a roiling yet exquisite picture of both populations and individuals under siege. When Margaret, Tariq and Anupreet finally band together in a daring plan, their bravery is remarkable, and a battle cry for a better, more understanding future.

Ages 10 – 14

The Neptune Project, by Polly Holyoke. Disney/Hyperion

“Some say the world will end in fire/Some say in ice,” wrote Robert Frost in one of his most famous poems. In Polly Holyoke’s tense, thrilling The Neptune Project, global warming has definitely wreaked havoc with the future, and the totalitarian government of the “Western Collective” patrols the shores and fishing villages of Pacific California using punitive Marine Guard. The teenage Nere and her friends have grown up by the ocean, but not until her already weak eyes and lungs threaten to give out does her mother, a scientist, reveal that a select number of children were genetically altered at birth to one day live underwater rather than on land, “the best way for humankind to survive.” Under her mother’s guidance, Nere, who already communicates telepathically with dolphins, goes through “the transformation” that enables her to make her home in the ocean—but soon has to watch as her beloved mother is slaughtered.. Holyoke pulls no punches where death, violence and the threat of betrayal are concerned. Nere finds a group of her own, new kind. While they cavort with the dolphins and “telepath” amongst themselves, lethal sea creatures can attack, the Guard is after them, and the “better world” Nere’s father and others are trying to build in a secret location is still many leagues and dangers away. Within Nere’ gang of mutated youngsters, the mix of tough and tender, boy and girl, innocent and corrupted creates a web of romantic attractions and loyalties. Holyoke cross pollinates science fiction with the familiar experiences of being young and in love, a leader or an outcast, a true soul or a lost one.

Ages 7-10

Like Bug Juice on a Burger, by Julie Sternberg. Illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Amulet Books/Abrams

As summer draws to a close, lots of kids have camp to look back on—was it a trial or a triumph, or somewhere in between? When Brooklyn youngster Eleanor’s Grandma Sadie makes her a present of ten days away at CampWallumwahpuck, where Eleanor’s mother spent several blissful warm-weather seasons, Eleanor immediately tries to trade this opportunity for the puppy she longs for. No way. And no how do things get off to a good start. Everything bothers Eleanor, from the big silver bus she has to ride in with a bunch of strangers—luckily she makes one, lovably goofy friend—to the woodsy environment, food that grosses her out (she subsists on rolls and salad), the fact that the camp’s special fruit drink is nicknamed “bug juice,” her humiliation at being stuck in the “Guppy” swimming class, and weird night noises that have this city girl shivering in her uncomfortable bunk. Matthew Cordell’s loopy illustrations heighten the tragicomedy. But perspectives have a way of changing, even in such short a time. And it helps that there’s a sweet goat on hand that is almost as cute as a puppy. This is a book about how you live and learn—and that they’re most fun together.

Ages 4-6

Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great, by Bob Shea. Disney/Hyperion

There are those who say unicorns don’t exist, that they’re made-up mythical creatures found in ancient legends and fairy-tales. Not so the unicorn in Bob Shea’s giggle-producing book, in which the one-horn wonder is not just real but very, very stuck up. His case of hubris makes the goat he rides magical circles around feel pretty bad—what with making it rain cupcakes, flying through the air, and impressing the whole school with his miraculous tricks. But then he starts to notice things about the humble goat that he doesn’t have—cheese-making abilities, cool and useful cloven hoofs, and the perfect gear for head shots in soccer. Instead of staying jealous of each other, though, the two team up, foiling crimes, inventing righteous dance moves, and enjoying simple pleasures like going to the park. They’re both pretty great—especially together. Look closely at the book’s cover, and also run your hands over it—there’s some unicorn glitter sprinkled around. Or is it fairy dust?

Ages 2-4

Bella Loves Bunny. By David McPhail. Abrams Appleseed.

What do you do when a bunny bounces on your bed? Well, if you’re a little girl named Bella, and Bunny is your favorite stuffed animal, you catch her, of course. The deservedly popular and revered David Mc Phail—Pigs Ahoy, The Great Race, The Puddle, Edward in the Jungle, and many more—in this board book turns his gentle, loving, sweetly old-fashioned gaze on a believable make-believe world. There, when Bella eats lunch, “Bunny has carrot cake for dessert,” and when Bella plays piano, “Bunny hops.” Turning to nourishing nature, Bunny smells flowers and then, with a bunny-sized shovel, helps Bella plant a seed. Parents paying close attention will notice that all these activities are spanning a day that must end in bed-time, often a point of resistance from their little ones. But with Bunny the one picking out Bella’s nightgown when it’s time to go to sleep, and the two drifting off in their side-by-side beds holding hands, their parents and caregivers can be certain that their children will want to Bella and Bunny in the land of sweet dreams and the feeling of being loved.

August 29, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Guest Blogger, Video Blog, Video Gallery

“I know Camp Felix is a big part of who we are.”

Tiffany, a veteran presence at Camp Felix, discusses how Camp Felix has shaped her life and taught her to be a leader. A former camper and current counselor, Tiffany is about to start her second year at SUNY Albany, and is an excellent role model for the campers she works with. In her video blog, she emphasizes how the family that is created each summer at Camp Felix can be a hugely positive influence on a child’s life: “I need these girls to leave here feeling beautiful, feeling intelligent, and that what they have to say is important.”

Click here to learn more about Camp Felix!

August 26, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Education, Guest Blogger

Foundling Family Book Review – Issue 6

This book review was given childrensbookstore.com’s “Book Review of the Month Award. Big thank you to the blog writer, Celia McGee, who contributes all of The Foundling book reviews.

Ages 2-5

Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier (Houghton Mifflin/Clarion Books)

A little green duck has lost his new blue socks, and he is very sad. Eve Bunting recounts his quest in lilting rhyme. He looks everywhere at home, but then remembers that friends are the ones to call on in trouble. He enlists such animal buddies as Mr. Fox (we notice, he’s a reader), Mr.Ox (a painter), and the Peacocks, a family of color-conscious birds if there ever was one. Each has their own ideas, but this book teaches that only if you really look and also put two and two together about your own habits and personality traits that you will you find the right answer. Sometimes what’s lost is hiding in plain sight, other times not quite so much. Small children will get a kick out of this goofy tale and may soon be reciting or reading it on their own.

Ages 5-8

Toys in Space, by Mini Grey (Alfred A. Knopf)

What could be scarier for a group of beloved toys than to be left outside overnight? At least they have each other—which is more than be said for the careless little boy who forgot them there. Each with their own personality and distinctive voice, they express their fears. Yet in that same place, the Wonder Doll, the stuffed rabbit, the play robot, the cuddly wool rabbit, the toy dinosaur, and the tiny cowboy and his horse see something they’ve never seen before: the dark night sky with its fireworks display of stars and planets. And Wonder Doll tells them a story to get them through the night. It involves an alien spacecraft that swoops down to earth and beams them up into the lonely, anxious life of a creature they name the Hoctopize. He’s lonely even though he has a room where keeps all the lost toys collected from gardens on earth. The merry band of visiting toys soon takes care of that (parachutes help). But this still does the Hocotopize no good because he’s lost his own very special toy, his Cuddles. The toys try to console him, but must return to earth before Dawn. Where is Cuddles? “It will be in the last place” the Hoctopize “looks. Things always are.” Can you guess?

Ages 7-11

The Sasquatch Escape, The Imaginary Veterinary: Book I, by Suzanne Selfors (Little, Brown)

Condemned to spend the summer with his grandfather in the boring burg of Buttonville while his parents “work things out” back in glamorous L.A., Ben Silverstein isn’t just unhappy, he’s mad. Making things worse is the strange local girl Pearl Petal, who works at the 99 Cent store of this once thriving center of button-making and has a reputation as “a bit of a troublemaker.” But they bond over a strange shape they see fly by one night—a bird, a plane, Superman? A dragon. But what is an imaginary creature doing in their all-too-real world, let alone Buttonville? These questions lead them to the abandoned Buttonville Factory, which is no longer as empty as it seems. Secretly taken over by a Dr. Woo, they discover she’s a veterinarian to every sick or wounded imaginary creature ever…imagined, briefly allowing the suffering ones into the Real World for her medical ministrations. But then a Sasquatch escapes and gets up to some very furry mischief. Can Ben and Pearl re-capture him? After all, it was Ben’s fault the giant big foot is on the lam. It turns out there is more than one way to catch a Sasquatch, and many ways to transform a dull summer into a blast. And if you end up the apprentice to a magician, what’s not to like? Summer is only three months long, but a lot of growth can happen.

Ages 9-11

Dorko the Magnificent, by Andrea Beaty (Amulet Books)

A lot of kids dread school talent shows, and make fun of them. Not fifth-grader Donny Darko, unfortunately dubbed Dorko by the cooler, stronger kids in school. He wants to show off the magic skills he has practiced since he was a little kid, and maybe win the attention of a girl he’s developing a crush on. Despite many setbacks, Donny has a great sense of humor and a sharp wit that will have his readers cracking up, even as his life is falling apart. His father’s new job has him constantly away from home, his mother is over-worked, his younger brother is a practiced pest. But what truly spells disaster is when their obnoxious and dour Grandma Melvyn—actually some kind of crotchety distant relative– moves into the already crowded, strained household to await an operation. Will Donny prevail, learn his lessons, and survive the humiliation of flopping on TV quiz show in front of the entire town? The least likely person in his constellation proves his guide. But up on stage he’s all alone. Or is he?

Ages 12 and up, and adults

Far, Far Away, by Tom McNeal (Alfred A. Knopf)

High-schoolers and their parents may at first scoff at the thought of a book suffused with the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Watch out. Award-winning Tom McNeal’s Far, Far Away will soon weave its enchantments around readers almost as strongly as frightening mysteries, tragic disappearances, ancient puzzles, and magical book-learning impose themselves on the citizens of the village of Never Better. Fans of A.S. Byatt will appreciate the almost invisible scholarly touch that applies the history of the famous fairy tales—violent and scary, psychologically prescient and almost unbearably gory—to the lonely life of young Jeremy Jeremy Johnson. Then along comes Ginger, the brave, smart girl he initially fears but comes to love. As sadly often happens in our own world, Jeremy’s mother has left his father and sent him into a housebound depression. Young children keep disappearing. Kindly individuals may not be who they seem. Yet there’s also a pivotal ghost whose identity is key to the plot—and indeed tells the story. Keep guessing. Ultimately a tale of love, self-discovery and liberation, this novel sparkles with the remarkable made real.

August 13, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Guest Blogger, Video Blog, Video Gallery

What Camp Felix Means to Me

Destiny, a Camp Felix camper of 7 years, discusses what the camp experience means to her. She is now assuming a leadership role for the younger campers as a counselor-in-training (C.I.T.) and has plans to come back as a counselor in the future.

Look for more on Destiny after her performance at the Camp Felix Open House August 15th!

August 8, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Education

Help Foundling children with their school supply lists!

We have wishlists registered at Target and Walmart! If you’d like to contribute you can mail or deliver items to 590 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10011

August 2, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Guest Blogger

Foundling Family Book Review – Issue 5

Many thanks to Foundling friend Celia McGee for her expert reviews!

Ages 5-7

What Floats in a Moat, by Lynne Berry, illustrated by Matthew Cordell (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

The wily intention of this hilarious book is to convey the how’s and why’s of Archimedes’ law–the apparent loss in weight of an object immersed in a fluid being equal to the weight of the displaced fluid—but that will be just one takeaway for young readers. The misapprehensions and mishaps of Archie the Goat (in a knight’s helmet) and Skinny the Hen as they attempt to cross a moat–to a most impressive-looking castle–using an increasingly adaptable barrel contraption are both highly entertaining and an education. The dipsy-doodle illustrations concocted by Matthew Cordell give the book a lot of its loopy charm. The apt twist provided by the impatient Queen awaiting her buttermilk delivery on the other side will sneak in some practicality amidst readers’ cheers.

Ages 7-9

The Quirks: Welcome to Normal, by Erin Soderberg, illustrated by Kelly Light. (Bloomsbury)

Every kid wants to have magic powers, right? Don’t be so sure. The Quirk family—sweet-tempered, hard-working Mom, a single mother and waitress, specializes in mind control, her father, Gramps, can move around time, fourth grader Penelope has a wild, transformative imagination, and little, impish Finn is invisible to everyone but Molly, Penelope’s twin. She’s the only one who doesn’t have magic skills—or so she thinks. The Quirks’ magic keeps getting them in trouble, and pegs them as different, as outsiders. As this eccentric bunch move from town to town, never quite fitting in, and so on to the next, Molly tries to clean up their messes and make them seem normal. But when they land in the actual town of Normal, hopes and chances pile up that they may be able to stay. For even Normal has its whacky side, and the Quirks help bring that out even as the town is charmed into accepting them. Much revolves around an unusual yearly competition ironically called Normal Night. The book ends abruptly and on a comical note of suspense—promising a sequel.

Ages 9-12

Hero on a Bicycle, by Shirley Hughes. (Candlewick Press)

Heroism takes many forms, a significant number of which are called on in this story of Nazi-occupied Florence toward the end of World War II. Riding hither and yon on his beloved bicycle is the young teenager Paolo, scrounging food for his family, who live in the countryside, keeping an eye on developments in the city, and wondering, as do his mother and sister, when his father, who has joined the guerilla Partisans fighting the Germans will ever come home. Sister Constanza illustrates how difficult it is, especially under these circumstances, to come of age as a pretty, romantic young woman, while mother Rosemary must walk the tightrope of an Englishwoman married into Florentine society. Hughes shows the reality of Nazi-sympathizers and supporters of the resistance living side by side, and the ruthlessness of the Gestapo in some ways matched by the Partisans’. Paolo must command quick thinking and physical endurance—and keep a deadly discretion about a secret hidden in his home. Can his bravery—and his bike—save the day? The answer comes along with the Allied troops triumphantly closing in on Florence.

Ages 12 and up

A Midsummer Night’s Scream, by R.L. Stine. (Feiwel and Friends)

Call this R.L. Stine’s “Beverly Hills 90210”—with a healthy number of the characters more sympathetic, and, of course, remarkable amounts of horror and gore thrown in. Claire Woodlawn’s parents, partners in a movie studio with another couple—inconveniently, Claire is in love with their son–have decided to shoot a remake of “Mayhem Manor,” a 1960s horror movie so haunted by real-life, gruesome deaths that production was shut down. Stine cleverly weaves the mounting terror that starts to haunt the new production with the glamorous, sometimes superficial lives of a group of privileged teenagersin southern California who–crushes, lip-gloss, Hollywood aspirations and all–also get cast in the movie. Can Stine make the events surrounding the new production even scarier than the first? Will the leading lady, a former child star, keep it together? Let’s just say that you’ll never look at a microwave oven in quite the same way again. Bounding mysteriously through the set of the film’s murder-prone mansion is an evil figure named Puckerman—Stine’s Shakespeare references are another gotcha element—a dangerous ally to anyone who trusts him. Stine is skillful at sketching in characters quickly and following through on their personalities with their actions, including the teen romance element as well as our realization that Claire’s parents may not be as perfect as they seem. Hollywood takes its toll, not the least on morality, and on young celebrities who have peaked too soon to sustain happiness into the future.

Grownups and Ages 16 and up

Shocked: My Mother, Schiaparelli and Me (Alfred A. Knopf)

Readers ate up Patricia Volk’s family memoir Stuffed, about the history and progress of the well-known Garment District restaurant clan she grew up in in New York. With Shocked she returns with a rich sliver of that—her relationship with Audrey, her beautiful, perfectionist, temperamental clotheshorse of a mother, and how, when Patricia was ten, a book gave her a perspective on that bond. It was the autobiography of the celebrated designer and surrealist daredevil Elsa Schiaparelli, which revealed to the curious, intellectual and properly brought up Volk daughter that there was another way to be in the world. Slowly but surely liberated to become an artist—Volk is an acclaimed and prize-winning author of fiction and nonfiction—she always stayed close to her mother, and draws a sensitive portrait of her over the years. Bursting with the elegance, fun and limitations of Jewish upper-middle-class life in New York from the 50s onwards, this book fits its subject like one of Audrey’s hand-stitched gloves.

July 31, 2013/by Elefant Design

Blog, Guest Blogger

When learning to throw a frisbee means more than just that

Bill Furman grew up in Orange County, NY and graduated with the class of 1974 from Warwick High School. After school, he got a job as a direct care worker at the Pius XII Youth Services with the teen boys who were mostly Office of Children and Family Services involved kids. Bill found his calling in this work and so began his career in social services. Bill is now at The Foundling working with the developmentally disabled adults as the Recreation Director. Many thanks to him for this blog.

For the past six summers I’ve taken a break from my work with developmentally disabled adults and worked with the kids at Camp Felix for 3-4 weeks as their Athletic Director. It’s really great to have the opportunity to work with young people again through Camp Felix, because I spent so much of my earlier career doing that. It brings me back to “the good old days” when I’m up there. I just love working with these kids.They call me “Coach Bill.”

I went to Boy Scout Camp when I was young, and it was great, but for these kids, it is such a new and different experience than it is for suburban kids. They really feel safe at Camp Felix, which, unfortunately, for many of these kids might be a rare feeling. The staff is excellent at making them feel at home and gives them tons of attention and helps them deal with emotions. They know this population is sensitive and needs individual and personal care.

Camp experiences teach kids the value of friendship, positive relationship building, trust, teamwork and skills that are not to be taken for granted (like swimming!). Kids who grow up outside the city, or in the city with greater privilege, learn to swim, know what poison ivy is, understand how to be safe around a camp fire, play games on real grass instead of turf/cement, understand what wild animals to be frightened of and which won’t bother you – these kids wouldn’t have these experiences or knowledge without Camp Felix.

One of the skills I’m really proud that we teach the kids is how to accept losing graciously. It’s very easy to win at something, but life isn’t always about winning. We help them learn to look back at the kickball game they may have just lost and realize that it was fun anyway. It’s an important life lesson that sports can really help these kids learn. It also helps them develop a system of coping with these types of things in day to day life, and be ready to handle loss.

Every part of camp is great, but my one of my favorite parts is when the children first arrive at camp. The arrival time is one of the most exciting parts of camp because all the staff gathers under the trees to wait for the buses to drop off the kids. We can hear them coming and everyone gets excited. The Camp Director announces the campers’ names and their assigned cabin as they get off the buses one by one and we all welcome and cheer for them. The kids expressions are priceless, especially those who are new to camp. They are apprehensive because they really don’t know what to expect from this experience, it’s unlike anything they’ve done before. It’s really fun to see them react to everything and the returners are great too because they know all about this and how fun it is. They have a totally different look on their face, no fear at all, just total excitement. The kids look out for each other and take the new kids “under their wing” and that is really nice to see, they remember their first time at camp and how that felt but assure the new kids that it is going to be the time of their lives.

After six years of camp, I have dozens of stories but one sticks out for me and always has. Matthew was an 11 year old boy, not very athletic and a little heavy when he came to camp. He was always friendly but you could tell he had very low self-esteem, he never wanted to participate in any of the sports and I got the feeling he had been picked on a little in life. I never force a kid to do anything they don’t want to, but usually when a kid sees the other kids playing the game, they quickly want to join in. Not Mathew, he always wanted to watch and not wanting to make him unhappy, I let him. Day after day he sat on the sidelines and I was racking my brain to think of something he might like. Finally, I threw a Frisbee toward him, and it fell to the ground. I told him to try to catch it and tried again – he caught it! In the next few days I made it a point to play Frisbee with him one on one and help him learn. He caught on quickly, got quite good and you could tell he loved it. Matthew felt good when he played and it did wonders for his self-confidence. He came up to me at the end of camp, gave me a bug hug and said “Thanks Coach Bill, for teaching me to throw a Frisbee.” It was one of the most meaningful things to me because it was such a small thing, but made a big difference for this boy and sort of wraps up my whole philosophy about recreation in one story.

I can honestly say that in my 34 years of doing what I do, working with kids and developmentally disabled adults, hands down, Camp Felix is the best experience for me and the kids who participate in it. It is an amazing, wonderful place for all.

July 29, 2013/by Elefant Design

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