The ABC (Anglicare Book Club): Why Books Matter for Children in Foster Care

There is a great deal of research about books in the home, and most of it points in the same direction. Children who grow up owning books tend to read more confidently, speak more fluently, and come to see learning as something that belongs naturally in their lives. One study* of nearly 60,000 people across 31 countries, found that the number of books a child owned influenced how far they went in education and the kind of work they later did as adults, regardless of their parents' own education or occupations. Books do more than support literacy. They help shape a child's sense that reading, learning, and curiosity are things meant for them too.

Children in foster care often miss out on this. Moves between homes, interrupted schooling, and the practical chaos of a life that keeps being rearranged mean that building up a shelf of your own books is harder than it should be. Borrowing is one thing. Owning is another.

The foster care team recognised this need, and in 2019 established the Anglicare Book Club. Since then, around 200 books each year have been gifted to children, mostly aged between three and eight. The books arrive once a term, usually during a home visit, and they are chosen with that specific child in mind.

How the Book Club works

The mechanics are fairly simple. Children's books are donated through Anglicare Op Shops, with brand new titles carefully set aside for the program. Foster Care staff then volunteer their time to sort through the books, assess what is suitable, and thoughtfully match them to individual children.

The care behind each choice

Much of the value lies in how deliberately the books are matched to each child. Case managers consider reading level, developmental stage, emotional suitability, and individual interests. Some stories are avoided because certain themes may feel unsettling or overwhelming for children who have experienced trauma or instability. Others are chosen because they might encourage confidence, imagination, curiosity, or comfort.

The process is relational too.

Because books are often given during home visits, case managers begin to notice patterns over time: the child who gravitates toward animal stories, the one who loves humour, the child ready to move from picture books into a first chapter series after struggling with reading confidence.

Katrina, a senior case manager, recalled giving a child a boxed-set series connected to a particular interest of hers. At the next visit, she eagerly shared updates about the characters and her progress through the books. The series quickly became something she returned to again and again. What started as a single gift turned into a proper reading habit.

Reading becomes a relationship builder

Katrina explains further:

"When you take the time to choose a book for a child, it is not only about reading level. It is about who they are and what might spark something in them. I have had children come back the next visit and tell me exactly where they are up to, or what they loved. It creates a different kind of connection. It helps them feel seen in a really unique way. All children deserve books."

This fits with what literacy researchers have been saying for years. Children read more when the books in front of them reflect who they are and what they are interested in, and when reading is bound up with people they like and trust.

The way the books are given matters as well. The ABC volunteers ensure each book arrives as a proper gift, always wrapped, with a bit of care and ceremony about them. The message, without anyone needing to spell it out, is that the book belongs to the child. For children who may have had to pack up their belongings quickly, or leave treasured things behind, that sense of ownership carries significance.

"It helps them feel seen in a really unique way."

Anglicare case managers say the books often become a gateway to support deeper connection. "Talking about a story, a character, or how a child is getting on with a series turns out to be a softer way of staying connected."

The small threads of belonging

There is something worth taking from this for practice more generally. Children are shaped by the big things, obviously - school, stability, adults who are safe and steady - but also by the ordinary details that accumulate over time. Someone remembering what they like. Someone choosing something with them in mind.

These are the small threads of belonging. The threads that weave a narrative, telling a child they matter, and they belong.

A carefully chosen book does more than help with reading. It tells a child that somebody thought about them properly, and that this particular thing is theirs to keep. And children notice these things. Of course they do. Which, really, is the whole point.

*Source: Evans, M. D. R., Kelley, J. et al. "Scholarly Culture and Occupational Success in 31 Societies."