The journey of a young carer can often be diverse and challenging. In order to raise awareness of the role young carers play in their families while looking after loved ones who are need of that extra bit of support, it's important to expose yourself to different experiences and situations.
These books are recommended by our Young Carers Team, as a gentle introduction into the concept of a young carer, the challenges they may encounter and the personal impact the unpaid caring role can have for them.
These books are aimed towards young people themselves, who may be considering whether or not they identify as a young carer. They carry varying themes throughout, and some are more subtle than others. We encourage you to read these in advance of sharing with young people to ensure they are pitched appropriately to the needs of your child and are not likely to cause unnecessary distress.
Running on Empty
By S E Durrant
AJ's grandfather has always been the one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. AJ is worried about his parents but they don't really seem to notice. In order to deal with his grief and to keep his anxiety at bay, AJ does what he and his grandfather did best: running. Round and round the Olympic Park, aiming for the cross country trials, running to escape, AJ only seems to be heading ever closer to disaster. Running On Empty is a beautiful book about false starts and emotional journeys, with hope as the ultimate finishing line.
The Village by the Sea
By Anita Desai
Forgotten by the evolution of the centuries and indifferent to the advances of the twentieth century, Thul, a tiny fishing village not far from Bombay, continues to follow those rhythms of the seasons that have always been handed down. Hari and Lila were born and raised in the village, but now their family is falling into despair: the father to alcohol while the mother is seriously ill. As for money, that there is not even enough to meet the most basic needs between.
The Late Crew
Rab Ferguson
Meet The Late Crew:
Tyler is 11 years old. He helps his mum with her chronic fatigue, and his autistic younger brother Levi with his daily routines. He's so busy helping others, that sometimes he struggles to do things for himself - including getting to school on time! Which leads to a detention, where Tyler meets the rest of The Late Crew... and an out of this world visitor.
Levi is Tyler's younger brother. He's 9, and loves space more than anything else in the world. He finds loud sounds difficult sometimes, and has a pair of ear defenders with galaxies on them that he takes everywhere. All of Levi's knowledge of space comes in very handy... especially when meeting someone who's from there!
Grace, Alisha, and Jayden are in Tyler's year at school. Grace always knows the answer in class, Alisha is the queen of sarcasm and quips, and Jayden is the tough one. It turns out they all have a similar reason for being late, and being in detention, as Tyler does. He's not the only one who has caring responsibilities at home - and those responsibilities prepare them perfectly for a task they could never have expected...taking care of an alien egg!
The Late Crew and The Copy Cat Creature
By Rab Ferguson
Alisha Alva just wants teachers to treat her like a normal human being.
Yes, her (super cool) mum has mental health issues she calls her Letters. And yes, staying up late helping Mum on Bad Nights sometimes means it's hard to keep her eyes open in school.
But surely if Alisha acts like a very normal perfectly proper girl, her head of year Miss Penn will finally leave her alone.
Oh, and don't forget the aliens. Last term, Alisha and her friends the Late Crew met extra-terrestrials. Now, a new out-of-this-world creature is following Alisha. A creature that can become a copy of any living thing it sees.
It might be that nothing is ever normal again.
Reading together with a young person is often an ideal way to experience the narrative together. It opens up opportunities for discussion and questions, and embraces a shared understanding.
We encourage you to contact your local library to see if they have the book you choose to read, or to explore online second hand book sellers as often these offer great condition books at much lower costs.
Share with your community
Have you read a book highlighting young carers that isn't included in the list above? Or, perhaps you'd like to share a review of one of the books above, telling us how it helped you or what you thought about it? Click the button to the right to let us know.