Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    City Kid
    Unavailable
    City Kid
    Unavailable
    City Kid
    Ebook337 pages5 hours

    City Kid

    By Mary MacCracken

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead

    About this ebook

    From the author of international bestsellers A Circle of Children and Lovey comes an inspiring true story of a gifted teacher’s determination to understand the ‘rotten’ city kid everyone has given up on.

    Sitting quiet and withdrawn at a battered school desk, Luke had the looks of a shy angel – and a past that special needs teacher Mary MacCracken could barely believe.

    Already Luke had been picked up 24 times by the police. He’d set over a dozen major fires, and had a staggering record of thefts. No adult could reach him, no teacher could control him, and no policeman could cow him. All this – and Luke was only seven and a half years old.

    Trying to help Luke was Mary MacCracken’s job – and a seemingly impossible challenge. This is the remarkable story of how the impossible came true.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateAug 28, 2014
    ISBN9780007555178
    Author

    Mary MacCracken

    Mary MacCracken, an internationally best-selling author, has written four books about her work with autistic and learning-disabled children: Circle of Children, Lovey, City Kid, and Turn-About Children. Her books have been published in fourteen countries and the first two were made into movies for television, starring the actress Jane Alexander. Mary spent her last years with her husband, Cal, an inventor with eighty patents, at Kendal at Hanover, a Continuous Care Retirement Community in Hanover, New Hampshire, and the decade after his death writing about their experiences dealing with his disease.

    Related to City Kid

    Related ebooks

    Personal Memoirs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Love, Luck & Impossible Sadness

      Jul 21, 2019

      Love, Luck & Impossible Sadness
      9 min read

    • Article

      The REAL me

      Sep 9, 2021

      The REAL me
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Naked Truth

      Oct 28, 2021

      The Naked Truth
      4 min read

    • Article

      My girl was SAVED BY A BRUISE

      Sep 1, 2021

      Christine Wheeler, 26, Weipa, Qld As the text flashed up on my phone, I saw it was from my daughter’s day care. Charlie’s fallen over but she’s okay, it read. Because of that last part, I wasn’t too worried about my lively two-year-old. And when

      3 min read

    • Article

      Let Him Rot!

      Dec 20, 2022

      Let Him Rot!
      4 min read

    • Article

      Child’s Play

      Mar 10, 2023

      The blackmail began in the boys’ locker room. It started with Travis Downing’s least favorite person, Rory Paxton, cackling like a hyena behind his iPhone camera. Rory loved taking photos of boys while they were changing, making sure to capture just

      9 min read

    • Article

      Blind Panic

      May 20, 2021

      Blind Panic
      4 min read

    • Article

      All The signs

      Jun 3, 2021

      All The signs
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘I Didn’t Settle’

      Jan 4, 2024

      ‘I Didn’t Settle’
      2 min read

    • Article

      I Was STABBED Over A NOISY WASHING MACHINE

      Oct 27, 2021

      Annick Henenberg, 66, Melbourne, Vic Cleaning up the kitchen, I switched on the kettle to make tea. ‘What a productive day,’ I said to my puppy, Bijoux. A volunteer and counsellor for a grief helpline, I was having a quiet day doing housework. Next

      3 min read

    • Article

      MY SISTER WAS MURDERED... Then She Helped Mum To Heaven

      Aug 18, 2021

      Jennifer Newland, 48, Forster, NSW My mum, Rose, was my best friend. Whenever I got teased at school, she always made me feel better. ‘You’re mine and I love you,’ she said, drying my tears, after one tough day. Then, she broke out into the Monty P

      3 min read

    • Article

      Hiding the TRUTH

      Jun 3, 2021

      Hiding the TRUTH
      4 min read

    • Article

      How My White Privilege Protected Me In Jail

      Jun 26, 2020

      Being locked up for a crime I didn’t commit was hard. But nothing compares to the humiliation and harassment that my elderly, disabled, Black cellmate experienced.

      4 min read

    • Article

      I Was Supposed To Be A Tragedy.

      Apr 16, 2021

      I am the last born of four daughters in an Indian family, which obviously means my birth was a tragedy. Well, at least for those who congratulated my mother with, ‘I’m so sorry,’ or, ‘Better luck next time,’ or who said things amongst themselves like

      6 min read

    • Article

      BABY SURPRISE I had NO CLUE I was due!

      Dec 1, 2021

      Karla Akuhata, 41, Rotorua, NZ As I lay in bed, I felt another wave of excruciating cramps. I tried to breathe in and out slowly as I fought the dizzying pain. I guess my period’s almost here, I thought, feeling miserable. For the last 48 hours, I

      3 min read

    • Article

      Gone Too Soon

      Nov 4, 2021

      Gone Too Soon
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Murder Of James Bulger 30 Years On

      Feb 7, 2023

      This week marks 30 years since two-year-old James Bulger was abducted and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. James would be in his 30s now. Would he be married? A father? With a career? All that was snatched away from

      4 min read

    • Article

      Into His killer’s Hands

      May 20, 2021

      Into His killer’s Hands
      6 min read

    • Article

      I Was MOWN DOWN At The PUB

      Jan 5, 2022

      Bernadette Schiller, 58, Oxenford, Qld Taking in the beautiful reds and browns of Uluru, I was in awe. I’d seen photos, but I hadn’t realised how magnificent it would be to see in person. Aged 16, I was on holiday with my aunt and uncle, who lived

      3 min read

    • Article

      Lindsay’s New Lease On Life

      Dec 23, 2021

      Lindsay’s New Lease On Life
      4 min read

    • Article

      Letters to Mum

      Mar 24, 2021

      Dear Mum, There are still times when I go to call you. It seems inexplicable to me that you actually died. I used to wonder how it would feel, and after 16 years, I’m still not sure. The main thing I want to tell you is that I get it now. I understan

      5 min read

    Reviews for City Kid

    3.5/5

    7 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A portrait of an amazing child: only seven and a half years old, but with a police record. Mary MacCracken worked with him, and tells how he responded and changed. (The book's Appendix has valuable data for teachers or others who would work with troubled children.)