A Child Called `It`

One Child`s Courage to Survive
 
A Child Called "It" is the unforgettable story of a child whose courage and unyielding determination enabled him to survive extreme life-threatening odds.

As a child, Dave was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous games--games that left him Dave nearly dead. With only his willpower to survive, Dave learned how to play his Mother`s sinister games in order to survive because she no longer considered Dave a son but a slave, and no longer a boy but an "It."

Although A Child Called "It" contains situations of mistreatment Dave suffered, it is a real life story of the indomitable human spirit. This gripping account is told through the eyes of a child--who will pay any price in order to succeed.

The first part of a trilogy series, A Child Called "It" is currently translated in nearly forty languages and has been read by millions throughout the world. As stated by Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Dave is the living example that all of us have the capability to better ourselves no matter what the odds. One`s life is forever changed after living through the eyes of A Child Called "It."


Author: Dave Pelzer
Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 1993
Format: Book, paperback, 184 pages
Hope's Boy

A Memoir

From a disastrous decade in foster care to Harvard Law School and beyond, this is the profoundly moving memoir of one boy who beat the system.


Author: Andrew Bridge
Publisher: Hyperion, 2008
Format: Book, hard cover, 306 pages
I`m No Hero

A POW Story As Told To Glen DeWerff

Joseph Charles Plumb, Jr. (Charlie), was shot down May 19, 1967, during a combat mission over North Vietnam. An Annapolis grauate and F-4B Phantom pilot with 74 combat missions, Charlie was serving as flight officer on the USS Kitty Hawk.

During the nearly six years of captivity, Charlie distinguished himself among his fellow prisoners as a professional in underground communications. In 1970, he was appointed chaplain of his prison unit and served in that capacity for two years.

This easily read autobiography takes you through Charlie`s life: farm kid, Top Gun pilot, Prisoner of War. It describes the specifics of P.O.W. life in Vietnam from the grizzly torture cells to the humorous antics the American pilots created in order to survive.


Authors: Joseph Charles Plumb and Glen DeWerff
Publisher: J. Charles Plumb, 1973
Format: Book, hardbound, 287 pages
Lockup: Inside America`s Prisons

With more resources than ever invested in the nation`s prison system, a growing number of Americans question whether or not that system is really working. Searching for answers, this six-part series of MSNBC documentaries looks at the world of the incarcerated - from the inside out. With extraordinary access to the inner workings of several correctional facilities, the series records the hopes, fears, regrets, and occasional rehabilitation of jailed convicts, while presenting commentary from wardens, corrections officers, and medical personnel. The result is a comprehensive, hard-hitting examination of life behind bars in America.


Produced by:MSN NBC; Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 2007
Format: DVD, 43 minutes
Noesis: Comprehension and Understanding

Noesis is the autobiographical story of Alfonzo Tucker, a young African American man, destined to survive and succeed. It is the story of a young man, abandoned by his biological mother, raised by a drug addicted father and left to survive in a world where life issues need not be solved with violence or criminal behavior. This is his early journey searching for stability, love, and happiness. He is driven to success and is helped and adopted by a loving Caucasian family that help to guide him to academic, athletic, and spiritual achievement. This is a book that is from the heart and soul. It is an inspirational book for all.


Author: Alfonzo Tucker
Publisher: The Noesis-3 publishing house, inc.
Format: Book, paperback, 230 pages
Puppies for Sale and Other Inspirational Tales

A "litter" of stories and anecdotes that hug the heart and snuggle the soul. Provides encouragement, guidance, and compassion.


Author: Dan Clark with Michael Gale
Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 1997
Format:Book, paperback, 335 pages
Somebody`s Someone

A Memoir

This straightforward, sincere story of a neglected child who tries to fulfill her wish-to be a "wanted and special child"- opens when Louise is 11. She has lived in a chaotic, violent foster home for as long as she can remember. After a brutal beating with a garden hose, she runs away to her well-meaning but ineffectual grandmother. From there, she pinballs from one relative or foster parent to another, all of whom treat her with indifference if not abuse. She ends up, at 13, at an Illinois shelter whose sheer normality (i.e., no beatings, and friendly people who teach her to swim and do macrame) allows her finally to relax a little. Unfortunately, it`s a temporary situation, and Louise`s anxiety over leaving a safe place makes her behave badly.

The author, who`s now a hair stylist and owns two Bay Area salons, brilliantly portrays how what seems like "in-cur-ridge-abul" to adults feels like simple self-defense to a child scarred by maltreatment. When one shelter worker finally gives her unequivocal love, it turns her life around. If this were fiction, it might seem overly maudlin; its poignancy lies in being a true story. The narrator`s vernacular voice ("When I did ask somebody about the... reason my mama left... everybody got deaf and dumb all a sudden....") can sometimes make for bumpy reading. But this rare look into the inner world of an unwanted child will enlighten readers concerned with the fate of at-risk children.


Author: Regina Louise
Publisher:Warner Books, 2003
Format: Book, hard cover, 367 pages
Swings Hanging From Every Tree

Daily Inspirations for Foster Adoptive Parents

A sensitive collection of encouraging, inspirational words and experiences from and for foster and adoptive parents and those who care for them and their families. You will find words of advice, validation, blessing, grace and humor.


Editor: Ramona Cunningham
Publisher: Wood 'N' Barnes Publishing, 2001
Format: Book, paperback, 373 pages
The ABCs of Child Safety Awareness

A handbook for providing a safe, nurturing environment for children.
Contents include:
 
  • About Child Abuse
  • Buckle up
  • Baby
  • Dining Out with Kids
  • Discipline and Your Child
  • Home Alone
  • Partners in Prevention
  • Poison Awareness
  • Reporting Abuse
  • Safe at Home
  • Shopping Tips
  • Take Time-Out
  • Very Important Phone Numbers

Publisher: CA Consortium to Prevent Child Abuse;Dial Publishing Company, 1994
Format: Booklet, 27 pages

The Lost Boy

A Foster Child`s Serach for the Love of a Family

The Lost Boy is the long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It", and is the compelling story of young Dave, who is rescued from his abusive, alcoholic mother and placed in the hands of the foster care system. Having been subjected to years of extreme physical and psychological suffering, Dave fights for a stable setting, but finds himself moving in and out of five different homes, while continuing the fight to cope with his past.
 
Throughout Dave`s journey, social service personnel, educators, counselors, and foster parents give their all to ensure Dave`s well-being and protection from his vindictive mother, who, at one point, wishes to have Dave committed to a mental institution.

The second part of a trilogy series, The Lost Boy sets the standard as a sequel, yet stands alone as an inspirational, behind-the-scenes, unique tribute to the unsung heroes who dedicate themselves to making a difference in the lives of children in peril. The Lost Boy is not only a heart-felt, gripping, true account of one child`s refusal to become mired in his past, but of his immense struggle to find not only a home, but binding ties of the love of a family.


Author: Dave Pelzer
Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 1993
Format: Book, paperback, 184 pages
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