Tig

Gr 4-7–A devastatingly honest novel about foster care, neurodivergence, family, and resilience. Tig, 11, and Peter, 12, have been living alone after being abandoned by their mother, but when Uncle Scott picks them up at the police station, everything changes. Being from “the wrong part of town” is bad enough, but moving to upscale Wensleydale is a slap in the face for the siblings who have had a life with so little. Tig is the chatty, energetic, spunky one, nicknamed after Winnie the Pooh’s friend Tigger. Peter is the quiet and pensive one. Uncle Scott and his partner Manny try their best with the kids, sometimes saying the wrong thing, but hoping to do well and offer them a home. As the summer goes on, it’ll be up to Tig and Peter to decide whether they are ready to open their hearts again, knowing that grown-ups are volatile and often hurtful. Can the children form a new family and start fresh? This novel is told through the eyes of a child whose life has been nothing but rough, and readers get a glimpse into foster family experience. Raw and honest in the portrayal of pain, the narrative offers solace in the knowledge that Tig and Peter aren’t’ alone anymore. Tig’s dyslexia and neurodivergence are well portrayed, making her an often-misunderstood main character, but also one worth loving.