orphanages

"A beautifully told, inspiring true story of one woman's volunteer experiences at an orphanage in rural Cambodia-a book that embodies the belief that love, compassion, and generosity of spirit can overcome even the most fearsome of obstacles. Gail Gutradt was at a crossroads in her life when she learned of the Wat Opot Children's Community. Begun with just $50 in the pocket of Wayne Matthysse, a former Marine Corps medic in Vietnam, Wat Opot, a temple complex nestled among Cambodia's verdant rice paddies, was once a haunted scrubland that became a place of healing and respite where children with or orphaned by HIV/AIDs could live outside of fear or judgment, and find a new family-a place that Gutradt calls "a workshop for souls." Disarming, funny, deeply moving, In a Rocket Made of Ice gathers the stories of children saved and changed by this very special place, and of one woman's transformation in trying to help them. With wry perceptiveness and stunning humanity and humor, this courageous, surprising, and evocative memoir etches the people of Wat Opot forever on your heart"--.

Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does, too.).

Portia Remini, a normal among the freaks, on the run from McGreavy's Home for Wayward Girls, where Mister watches and waits.

Jacob and friends have escaped Miss Peregrine's island and flee to London, the peculiar capital of the world, where they are chased by Miss Peregrine's brother.

In 1949 Philadephia, Mary Mouse and an orphan named Caro embark on an adventure when they team up to expose criminals and make the Cherry Street Orphanage a safe haven for mice.

Sixteen-year-old Jacob, having traveled to a remote island after a family tragedy, discovers an abandoned orphanage, and, after some investigating, he learns the children who lived there may have been dangerous and quarantined and may also still be alive.

Presents the story of Moses, a Haitian orphan, survived several natural disasters.

Katie Davis traveled to Uganda for a short mission trip over the Christmas break of her senior year in high school. She found herself so moved by the Ugandan people and their needs that she knew it was her calling to return to care for them. She is now in the process of adopting thirteen children there, and has established the ministry, Amazima, that cares for hundreds more. Here, she shares her story.

Recounts the author's experience with adoption of a Chinese girl, discussing the problem of abandoned babies found every day in China and examining the country's policies on reproduction and topics such as human rights, poverty, and infanticide.

Roger Dean Kiser chronicles the experiences he had after he was abandoned by his family as a child, and discusses how his life in the system influenced him.