The Great Gilly Hopkins. ISBN 978-0-06-440201-9. Katherine Paterson. 1978. Newbery Honor. Ages 9-12. Caucasian and African-American.

Galadriel “Gilly” Hopkins is 11-years-old when she is placed into yet another foster home. She daydreams about leaving Mrs. Trotter’s home which she shares with William Ernest, another foster child, and of traveling to San Francisco to be with her mother. Gilly knows that “she can’t go soft” and tells anyone who will listen that she doesn’t need any help from anybody. Gilly steals the money she needs to buy a bus ticket to San Francisco from Mrs. Trotter and her blind neighbor, Mr. Randolph. But, when this untraditional family of Trotter, William Ernest, and Mr. Randolph don’t give-up on her, even when they discover her crime, Gilly starts to care about them in return. Her mother appears for a brief visit, only to leave Gilly again. Gilly eventually ends up living with her grandmother, whom she just met but takes with her what she learned from Mrs. Trotter - that maybe she can be loved just the way she is.

The Great Gilly Hopkins could be used in social studies to discuss the differing family structures of today’s American culture, including a discussion of birth parents, foster parents, and adoptive parents. Students could make predictions about the plot based on the book title and cover illustration. Students could also write about who they think Gilly should live with and why.