Abandoned by their father and then their mother, four children begin a search for a home and an identity.

When Angel's self-absorbed mother leaves her and her younger brother with their poor great-grandmother, the eleven-year-old girl worries not only about her mother and brother, her imprisoned father, the frail old woman, but also about a mysterious man who begins sharing with her the wonder of the stars.

Discusses the placement of over 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children in homes throughout the Midwest from 1854 to 1929 by recounting the story of one boy and his brothers.

Twelve-year-old Natalia Rose Baleine Gallagher dreams of seeing whales on the beach near her new home, and is consumed with the prospect that her mother who abandoned her as a child loves and misses her, and wants Nat to find her.

Abandoned by his mother in an Acadia National Park campground, Jack tries to make his way back to Boston before anyone figures out what is going on, with only a small toy elephant for company.

At first Curtis isn't worried when his mother doesn't come home after her all-night shift at the gas bar. For a time Curtis manages on his own, looking after himself and his five-year-old brother. But then the credit card maxes out and the landlord starts demanding the rent. Just in time the boys make friends with cranky old Mrs. Burt who lives across the street. With the neighbor the boys go on an adventure. But will they ever return to their mother?...

"Coo, a ten-year-old girl raised by a flock of pigeons, delights in finally making human contact, but quickly learns that our world is more cruel and complicated than she could have guessed"--

The story of a feral boy who was found naked digging in the leaves of the woods in southern France in 1798, whose journey ultimately took him to Paris after he was taken in by villagers.

Abandoned as a baby in a forest to be eaten by Shadow Creatures, twelve-year-old Bo and his pet fox embark on a quest to return the wish-granting Stars to the Ulvian sky before the Shadow Witch can steal the star magic.

"When eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster. The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name....