Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom

"A title that teachers on my daughter's team have found very helpful is "Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom," by Susan E. Craig. It's actually one of the few books I've been able to get them to read!
This book, too, is written by an educator for teachers. The writing is straightforward, clear, respectful, and understanding of teachers' roles and challenges. While it is focused more specifically on children who have been traumatized by violence (especially domestic violence), the lessons it shares are broadly applicable. Under most topics, she includes sidebars that focus on "What you know" and What's new," which help teachers to develop a new "trauma lens" for seeing dysregulated kids' behaviors in a new trauma-informed light."

The above review is by a fellow adopted mom I met on the list serve for ATTACH. You do have to become a member to join this google group. For those looking for a book for your schools, I have not read this book but it sounds excellent!

A Safe Place for Caleb

This book is written by Kathleen and Paul Chara. I am reading this in the car with my son on the way to therapy. Actually, he is reading it to me. It is EXCELLENT. It talks a lot about the feelings of pain and separation from birth mom. It explains the hurting beliefs developed because of this. It is told in the first person by a boy named Caleb so while the child is reading he says "I felt very sad when I was taken from my birth mom even though she was not good to me." I feel it really helps my son express a lot of feelings he otherwise couldn't say. It has small posters in the back and gives permission to copy them to use in their room. It has discussion questions. We have only read the first 2 chapters but so far I am really loving this book. Today we read about healing beliefs. It says on the cover of the book it is for children, teens and adults. I would say it is about maybe a third grade reading level. If your child is younger you could read it to them. I can see how an adult would still very much identify with this. I have read many many attachment books. This is easily the only book my son has been able to read, discuss and seems to appreciate.