When our kids still attended the local K-8 school Eugene and I got new neighbors: a woman and her three granddaughters. Her life revolved around work and child raising. The middle child had spina bifida. When her daughter had left home she'd thought her parenting days were over. But when her daughter had been deemed an unfit parent and lost custody she stepped up.
She wasn't alone, rather in the vanguard of a growing movement of grandparents raising grandchildren, usually due to substance abuse issues.
Many other kids aren't fortunate enough to have relatives who can take them in. They get sucked into the underfunded and often criminally negligent foster care system. Hank, narrator of Gennifer Choldenko's The Tenth Mistake Of Hank Hooperman, and his three-year-old sister, Boo, are in danger of being lost in it.
When we meet Hank and Boo they're hiding from the landlord. Their family is six months behind on rent. If it's not paid in full by the next day they'll be evicted. Their mother has been missing for a week.
Hank searches desperately for someone who can take two kids in on such short notice. Finally he finds the address of a stranger and takes Boo there on the bus. Lou Ann turns out to be an older woman who runs a day care. She takes them in and registers Hank for a new middle school.
Hank is worried about his mother. He knows that her decisions often put him and Boo in danger. "But other times Mom will drive to Mexico in the middle of the night or invite strange people to our apartment or not come home at all." No matter what she's done he still loves her. For all he knows she might be dead or in prison. And Lou Ann hasn't made a long term commitment. Everything he does seems to aggravate her. Where can he and Boo go if she kicks them out?
The Tenth Mistake Of Hank Hooperman puts a very human face on the precarious lives too many American children lead. It can make them feel seen and help more secure classmates empathize.
On a purrrsonal note, Choldenko dedicated the book "to every kid who carries adult responsibilities on eleven-year-old shoulders." One such child was a next street over neighbor. She spent a lot of time in charge of her younger special needs siblings. She also had to periodically get her drug and alcohol addicted mother out of police custody. I went the see something, say something route. Years later I saw the girl who told me she was happy to only have to do homework and chores, to finally get the chance to be a kid.
A great big shout out goes out to my readers. I want to share with you some words of wisdom from the book. At the end Hank says, "Mistakes burn brighter than the good things I do." This is so true of most of us. We torture ourselves over mistakes while brushing off our good decisions. If that describes you--good news--you have the power to change. Start slow--maybe thinking of one good choice you made every day--and work your way up. You'll be glad 😊 😃 you did.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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