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Adopted Heroes and Heroines in Literature

by Nancy T. Reynolds with additions from the readers at http://www.adopting.org via Roots and Wings Adoption Magazine The novels on these pages all feature children and young adults who have been orphaned, abandoned and/ or adopted, formally or informally, by strangers, relatives, or stepparents. While this selection provides a starting place to explore fiction for elementary school aged and adolescent children, it naturally reflects my own interests and tastes. Your public library and children's librarian can direct you to additional sources.

Literature featuring non-relative adoptees
Intermediate Level
Lloyd Alexander. The Prydain series (5 books).
Susan Cooper. The Dark is Rising series (5 books; the 4th and 5th feature an adopted hero).
Diana Wynne Jones. Charmed Life.
John Masefield. The Midnight Folk, The Box of Delights.
Ruth Nichols. The Marrow of the World.
Joan North. The Cloud Forest.
Noel Streatfeild. Ballet Shoes; Dancing Shoes.

Young Adult
DianaWynne Jones. Archer's Goon.*
*(Some readers may object to her light treatment of adoption disclosure.)
L.M. Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables series (8 books).
Jean Webster. Daddy Long Legs.

Books about self-supporting characters
Intermediate
Frances Hodgson Burnett. A Little Princess.
John Christopher. Tripod series; Fireball trilogy.
Peter Dickinson. Changes trilogy; The Dancing Bear.
Diana Wynne Jones. Witch Week
Alexander Key. Escape to Witch Mountain.
Alexander Key. The Forgotten Door.
Ursula LeGuin. Earthsea trilogy.
Dinah Mulock. The Little Lame Prince.
E.Nesbit. Harding's Luck
Otfried Preussler. The Satanic Mill.

Young Adult
Susan Cooper. Seaward.
Peter Dickinson. The Blue Hawk; Tulku.
Diana Wynne Jones. The Homeward Bounders.
Patricia Wrightson. The Book of Wirrun trilogy.

Children adopted or parented by relatives
Intermediate
L. Frank Baum. The Wizard of Oz series.
John Bellairs. The House with a Clock in its Walls; The Figure in the Shadows; The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring and many others.
Lucy M. Boston. Green Knowe series.
Frances Hodgson Burnett. The Secret Garden.
Sylvia Cassedy. Behind the Attic Wall
Margaret Greaves. Cat's Magic
Diana Wynne Jones. Dogsbody; Eight Days of Luke; Fire and Hemlock.
Jane Langton. The Diamond in the Window; The Swing in the Summerhouse; The Astonishing Stereoscope.
L.M. Montgomery. Emily of New Moon trilogy.
E. Nesbit. The House of Arden.
Noel Streatfeild. Theater Shoes.
Patricia Wrightson. The Nargun and the Stars.

Children in stepfamilies
Intermediate
Edward Eager. Half-Magic; Magic by the Lake.
Diana Wynne Jones. The Ogre Downstairs; Howl 's Moving Castle;

Young Adult
Penelope Lively. The Driftway.
Gillian Rubinstein. Space Demons; Skymaze.

Foster families
Intermediate
Vivien Alcock. The Stonewalkers
Michelle Magorian. Good Night, Mr. Tom.
Gillian Rubinstein . Space Demons; Skymaze.

Young Adult
Margaret Mahy. The Changeover.

Children with disabilities and impairments
Intermediate
C.S. Adler. Eddie's Blue-Winged Dragon. (cerebral palsy)
Jean F. Andrews. The Secret in the Dorm Attic. (deafness)
Peter Dickinson. Annerton Pit (blindness)
Viriginia Hamilton. Sweet Dreams, Brother Rush (mental retardation); Dustland trilogy (stutter)
Albert Likhanov. Shadows Across the Sun. (post polio)
Joan Phipson. A Tide Flowing. (paraplegia)

Young Adult
Theodore Sturgeon. More than Human.
John Varley. Blue Champagne.

Interracial and Intercultural Friendships
Lucy M. Boston. A Stranger at Green Knowe; An Enemy at Green Knowe.
Suzy McKee Charnas. The Bronze King; The Silver Glove; The Golden Thread.
Peter Dickinson. The Devil's Children; Tulku
Diane Duane. So You Want to be a Wizard; Deep Wizardry; High Wizardry.
Patricia Wrightson. The Rocks of Honey.

Writers of different ethnicities
African-American
Octavia Butler (young adult science fiction)
Eloise Greenfield
Virginia Hamilton
Mildred D. Taylor

Chinese American
Lensey Namioka (Ms. Namioka's family and subject matter reflect both Chinese and Japanese traditions)
Maxine Hong Kingston
Laurence Yep

Japanese American
Cynthia Kadohata
Lensey Namioka
Yoshiko Uchida

Native American
Michael Dorris
Janake Highwater

Latino
Sandra Cisneros
Nicholasa Mohr
Lygia Nunes (Brazilian)
Gary Soto
Russian
Grigory Bablanov

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