By Rosemary Zibart With artwork by Sandi Wright and Ryon Harding Z Productions, 2016, ISBN: 978-0-9975706-0-1, 32 pages, $9 
Every day children are removed from abusive and neglectful situations with their birth families and moved into foster families. While that move is for a child’s safety, it’s an extremely traumatic experience for that child. Now, there’s a book to help that transition be a little less scary. “Kit Coyote” follows the story of the brave little coyote pup who is mostly on his own before being taken into foster care one night by social worker Kathy Rabbit and Officer Bear. From there, the story follows little Kit into foster care where we are introduced to his new foster mom, CASA and therapist. Kit struggles with feelings of sadness while missing his family, but also happiness as he goes to school and begins to build a relationship with his foster mom, Rayna Fox. Ultimately, Kit’s story ends with him waiting for a judge to determine whether Kit would return to his family or remain in foster care. The author does a great job covering all the aspects of foster care and trying to help the reader understand the various parts and pieces from the child’s perspective. The book tries to hit all the scary and mixed emotions a child feels moving to a new home and not knowing what might come next. “Kit Coyote” is the perfect first night read for a child in a new foster family. Because it’s shared from the child’s perspective, it will make it easy for children to relate to Kit’s experiences. It could even be beneficial for a caseworker or police officer to have on hand to read with a child being removed from their birth family so they have a better understanding, in child terms, of what is happening to them. Ultimately, “Kit Coyote” would be a great addition to any foster parent’s bookshelf. — Reviewed by Kim Phagan-Hansel
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