Between the ages of eleven and seventeen, a child experiencing sexual abuse kept a secret journal of poetry. Throughout the abuse, she kept her little orange book hidden whilst she filled it full of poems questioning what was happening to her, whether the abusers really loved her and whether she was normal. Named after the original journal, The Little Orange Book by Jessica Eaton and Claire Paterson-Young contains a unique analysis and exploration of the poems and their themes. Each poem is presented along with evidence from literature and practice in child sexual abuse. The book explores key questions and examples such as: How do children understand the difference between abuse and romance? What is the impact of abuse on children's self-image and self-trust? How do children use fairy tales, films and popular culture to understand abuse? What coping mechanisms do children use to cope with sexual abuse - and how are they perceived by society?

What can we learn from this unique example of writing from a child experiencing severe abuse, rape and daily violence? What can we learn about how she coped with and understood what was happening to her? Jessica Eaton and Claire Paterson-Young work through the poems, performing thematic analysis and grounding the voice of the child in empirical literature to inform our understanding and to improve the way we support children during and after abuse. A must-read for parents and professionals alike.