Poverty Annotated Bibliography

Children’s Books On Poverty

Anzaldua, G. (1993). Friends from the other side. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press.

Picture book, elementary. The story is written in English and Spanish. It describes the friendship between Prietita, a Mexican American girl, with Joaquin, an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Joaquin and his mother come “from the other side” of the Rio Grande River in Mexico to search for work in the United States. Joaquin and his mother live in a shack with only three walls and a tarp, but offer food to guests. Joaquin sells firewood to earn money, but his mother has no work. Prietita shows friendship to Joaquin by defending him against the taunts of being a “wetback,” and her neighbors hide Joaquin and his mother from the Border Patrol.

Bregoli, J. (2004). The goat lady. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House.

Picture book, elementary level. The author tells about an elderly woman who lives in a rundown farmhouse with white goats, a gray goose, and chickens in the yard. During warm weather, the goats are allowed inside the house. Neighbors complain about the unruly animals and are curious about the woman who owns them. The author becomes acquainted with Noelie Lemire Houle, the “goat lady” who wears old, mismatched clothes with missing buttons. Noelie milks goats every day, drinks it herself to help her arthritis, and gives the extra milk to those who need it. She also donates some of her goats to the Heifer Project to help low-income people around the world become self-sufficient. After the author’s mother painted many portraits of Noelie and exhibited them in the town hall art show, the neighbors become more accepting of Noelie’s way of life.

Cohn, D. (2002). Si, se puede! Yes, we can! Janitor strike in L. A. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

Picture book, elementary level. The story is based on the 2002 janitors’ strike in Los Angeles, but is personalized with one mother’s experiences. The text describes a mother’s participation in a janitor’s strike because her earnings as a full-time janitor do not pay enough to care for her child and mother as she wants. She must work on weekends cleaning houses and washing clothes, which eliminates important family time. Carlitos, his classmates, and teacher find a way to support the strikers and the janitors receive the pay raise they deserve.

Coombs, K. M. (2000). Children of the dust days. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.

Picture book, elementary level. The text is liberally illustrated with archival photographs revealing the hardships children and their families experienced during the dust storms and drought of the North American plains during the 1930s. Because of the drought, farm families could not grow crops to sell or food to eat, so they often went hungry and lost their farms. Many families traveled to California looking for work harvesting crops. If the family was fortunate enough to find work, children worked alongside their parents, but often went hungry and lived in unhealthy camps. If children went to school, they were ridiculed because of their lack of school knowledge and their poor clothing. The author suggests additional resources for learning about the dust days and extension activities for teachers to use after reading the text with students.

Cooper, M. L. (2004). Dust to eat: Drought and depression in the 1930s. New York: Clarion Books.

Upper elementary/middle school level. The text is embellished with photographs of the Dust Bowl, its impact on people’s lives, and the economic recovery during World War II. The author also specifies his sources for each chapter, including John Steinbeck’s newspaper articles, Woody Guthrie’s autobiography and biography, Caroline Henderson’s collection of letters, and other historical accounts of this time period. The book portrays the causes and effects of the Great Dust Bowl, which led to the farmers’ loss of crops and livestock and eventual loss of farms on the plains. The Works Progress Administration and Agricultural Adjustment Act in the 1930s helped farmers, but 3 million left their farms and searched for jobs harvesting crops in California. These “Okies,” or migrant families, found hard work, low pay, poor living conditions, and a great deal of prejudice as they moved from valley to valley harvesting fruits and vegetables.

Damon, D. (2002). Headin’ for better times: The arts of the Great Depression. Minneapolis: Lerner.

Upper elementary/middle school level/adult resource. The author reviews the causes of the Great Depression, the harmful effects on lower- and middle-class people, and the role of art during this difficult era. Artists also lost their jobs during the Great Depression, but they depicted the conditions and suffering of the Great Depression, offered hope, and encouraged citizens to question the effectiveness of capitalism in providing living wages for all people. Roosevelt’s New Deal, designed to help the U.S. recover from the Great Depression, was extended to artists. The WPA arts program encouraged visual artists, photographers, musicians, actors, and writers to create paintings, murals, posters, sculptures, movies, plays, songs, and books to portray people’s hardships during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, as well as avenues of escape from their troubles. Overall, the book encourages readers to consider the importance of art in reflecting a time period and envisioning a better future.

DiSalvo-Ryan, D. (1991). Uncle Willie and the soup kitchen. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Picture book, lower elementary level. The story is told by Uncle Willie's nephew who is cared for every day after school by Uncle Willie. While the young boy is in school, his uncle works at a soup kitchen. When he asks about the soup kitchen, Uncle Willie invites him to spend a day with him helping to prepare and serve lunch for others who "need help." The day at the soup kitchen portrays friendly people working together preparing food often donated from local markets and welcoming the people who come to eat.

DiSalvo, D. (2001). A castle on Viola Street. New York: HarperCollins.

Picture book, elementary level. Andy and his family live in a small apartment because they cannot afford a house. Andy’s father works at a diner and his mother works part-time job at a bakery. Their desire for a house becomes stronger when they learn about an organization which restores empty, run-down houses through volunteer labor. Those who volunteer may become the owners of the renovated home. After Andy’s family works hard on Saturdays helping refurbish one house, they discover they will become the recipient of another house on the same street. The author includes background information on such organizations as Habitat for Humanity which enables low-income people to afford a home. She also has volunteered to build and renovate homes through an organization similar to Habitat for Humanity.

Dole, M. L. (2004). Birthday in the barrio. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press.

Picture book, elementary level. The text is written in Spanish and English and focuses on a Cuban-American community in Miami, Floria. Lazarita wants a special “quinces,” or fifteenth birthday celebration to mark her entrance into womanhood. However, her father is out of work and cannot afford it. Instead, Lazarita’s sister Rosario and her friend Chavi devise a way to provide the birthday celebration while also raising money for a homeless shelter. The two determined girls appeal to community members to prepare and donate food, and adults arrange to close the street for a block party. The party brings the community together, celebrates Lazarita’s “quinces,” and raises funds to keep the homeless shelter open.

Estes, E. (1971). The hundred dresses. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.

Upper elementary. Wanda Petronski is quiet and generally excluded by others in her class at school partially due to her different last name and partly due to her poverty. She always wears the same, faded dress to school, but once announced she had 100 dresses at home. This led to teasing from the other children about Wanda's 100 dresses and the eventual move by Wanda's family. The class discovers Wanda is a talented artist when she wins an art contest with her sketches of 100 different dresses. One of the main characters wrestles with the moral dilemma of going along with teasing and not protesting it even when she understands its unfairness.

Friedrich, E. (1996). Leah’s pony. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

Elementary. This historical fiction takes place in the Great Plains during the Great Depression and illustrates the power of collective action to save farms. Leah, the main character, lives on a farm and loves her pony, cares for it, and rides it into town each day. When the drought and dust storms begin, Leah’s father sells his pigs and some of the cattle to earn money and her mother saves money by making underwear out of flour sacks for Leah to wear. When Leah’s father can’t repay a bank loan to purchase seeds for planting, the bank plans an auction to sell the cattle, chickens, pickup trucks, and tractor to recoup their costs in the loan. In order to save the farm, Leah sells her beloved pony and bids $1 on the tractor in what becomes a “penny auction.” Neighboring farmers also buy animals and the pickup truck for very small amounts of money, then return the farm animals and vehicle to Leah’s parents.

Haggerty, M. E. (1993). A crack in the wall. New York: Lee & Low.

Picture book, lower elementary level. Carlos and his mother move into a small, dusty apartment with a big crack in the wall. Their belongings are contained within one shopping bag and two suitcases. Carlos' mother promises to move them to a better place after she finds a new job and searches for work each day. Carlos must come straight home after school, let himself into the apartment, and stay there alone until his mother returns. As a surprise for his mother, Carlos decorates the crack in the wall.

Hesse, K. (1998). Just juice. New York: Scholastic.

Upper elementary level. Justus Falstich, nicknamed Juice, her four sisters, and Mom and Dad live in the country in a small house near a community which seems to shun the family. The family struggles to survive after Juice’s dad lost his last job. Juice’s mother sells the rugs and pine needle baskets to earn a little money. Although the family has little food, a truck which they can’t afford to drive, and one picture book which the children read over and over, they are a very loving, close family. Juice often skips school to cheer her father’s spirits about his struggles to find work and to avoid the painful experiences of struggling to read and do math. However, Juice is very resourceful in helping her father set up a new machine shop business to repair tools and suggesting he sell the metal plates, pitchers, and candlesticks he makes and skilled in making things herself in the shop. The story illustrates the struggles some children and adults have with becoming literate while still having many other talents and the importance of family members, supported by governmental assistance, working together to meet their basic needs.

Kurusa. (1985). The streets are free. Copenhagen, Denmark: Annick.

Picture book, elementary level. The book describes the rapid growth of a poor area or 'barrio' San Jose on the mountain above Caracas, Venezuela. The children have no place to play outside but the streets. With encouragement from a librarian, the children request the mayor develop a vacant lot into a playground. After a public display by the mayor of reserving the lot for the playground, nothing happens until the families cooperatively build the playground.

Lied, K. (1997). Potato: A tale from the Great Depression. Washington, DC: National Geographic.

Picture book, lower elementary level. The book portrays the hardships during the Great Depression when a family’s wage earner lost his job, could not find another, and the bank foreclosed on their house. In order to survive, the family drove from Iowa to Idaho to spend two weeks harvesting potatoes. The family bartered potatoes for other things they needed, including food and clothing.

Mackall, D. D. (2007). Rudy rides the rails: A Depression era story. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press.

Picture book, elementary level. The text is historical fiction and based on a real “Ramblin’ Rudy” who rode in railroad cars looking for work during the Great Depression. It shows the hopelessness of workers who lost their jobs, couldn’t find another, and weren’t able to support their families. In 1932, Rudy left Akron, Ohio in a railroad car to travel west to look for work and send the money home to his parents and younger sisters. With his father out of work, Rudy’s family was surviving on food from relief lines, soup kitchens, and missions. On the journey, he met other hoboes who taught him to watch out for “bulls” (police) and signs hoboes left outside of houses to show which offered kindness and which houses were dangerous. When he finally arrived in California, Rudy discovered many hoboes, all looking for work. He decided to return home to Akron. The text contains a “hobo glossary” which explains terms used by hoboes and the signs they carved outside of homes or other places to help hoboes who followed them.

McBrier, P. (2001). Beatrice’s goat. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Picture book, elementary level. The text is based on a true story about a nine-year-old Ugandan girl who was able to fulfill her dream of attending school when her family received a goat through the Heifer Project International. Without the income from selling the goat’s milk, Beatrice’s family could not afford the books and school uniform Beatrice needed to attend school. In addition, the family benefitted from the nutrition in the goat’s milk.

Miller, W. (2001). Rent party jazz. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Picture book, elementary level. The text is historical fiction and is based on an African American rent party tradition in the South during the 1920s and 1930s. Rent parties were held to help African Americans raise money for rent before the landlord threw out their furniture if they were one day late in the rent. The fictional story takes place in New Orleans in the 1930 and is narrated by Sonny, a young African American boy. Sonny works part-time before school to help his mother, a single parent, pay the bills. When Sonny’s mother loses her job, a local musician, Smilin’ Jack, tells Sonny about the rent party tradition and offers to play his trumpet for the party. The party raises more than enough money for the rent and demonstrates how African Americans helped one another during hard times.

Mills, L. (1991). The rag coat. Boston: Little, Brown.

Picture book, elementary level. The main character, Minna, is the oldest child of a poor family in Appalachia. After Minna's father becomes ill and eventually dies from "miner's cough," her mother quilts with other "Quilting Mothers" to earn money. When Minna admits she can't go to school until she has a coat, the "Quilting Mothers" quilt one for her using their rags. The coat becomes a patchwork quilt of their families' stories. At first the other children at school ridicule her "rag coat" until she tells the story in each patch.

Parton, D. (1994). Coat of many colors. New York: HarperCollins.

Picture book, lower elementary level. The book contains the lyrics to Dolly Parton's song of the same title. It portrays Dolly Parton's childhood growing up in Tennessee and her family not having enough money to buy her a winter coat. When someone gave her mother a box of rags, Dolly's mother sewed them into a warm coat, similar to the Bible story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. When Dolly wears her "coat of many colors" to school, the other children laugh at her. However, Dolly asserts the worth of her coat.

Perkins, L. R. (1995). Home lovely. New York: Greenwillow.

Picture book, elementary level. The book portrays a young girl Tiffany and her mother Janelle beginning to live in a trailer in a remote area. The mother works only part-time and Tiffany must stay by herself while her mother is at work. Despite these hardships, Tiffany grows some plants, which turn out to be vegetables, to make their new home look better. Even though Tiffany is disappointed that the plants turn out to be potatoes, tomatoes, and cantaloupe, the mail carrier brings her flowers to plant, provides guidance in caring for the plants, and eventually brings a young tree for planting. The end of the text is hopeful, with Janelle’s job becoming full-time and Janelle and Tiffany eating food from the small garden.

Stanley, J. (1992). Children of the dust bowl: The true story of the school at Weedpatch Camp. New York: Crown.

Picture book, upper elementary/middle school level. The author clarifies his sources for the text and photographs, which provides some insight for the perspectives portrayed, including those of the Weedpatch School leaders/educators and students. The text and photographs depict the struggles of plains farmers in Oklahoma and Texas during the drought leading to the dust bowl of the 1930s. Families often lost their farms due to the drought, the loss of topsoil, and crop failures. They were forced to became migrant workers and live in California labor camps, with little food, poor sanitation, rampant diseases, and no health care. When the federal government created farm labor camps in California, workers had better living conditions. The author also focuses on the inspirational story of educators and farm worker children and youth who cooperatively built their own school for the Weedpatch Camp using donated materials. The school superintendent is portrayed as innovative and astute in negotiating barriers, teachers are dedicated, and students are motivated, eager learners and workers.

Turner, A. (1995). Dust for dinner. New York: HarperCollins.

Picture book, lower elementary level. The text describes one family’s economic hardships during the 1930s Dust Bowl when drought and loose soil allowed dust to fly everywhere. When Jake’s and Maggie’s family sold their farm because of a few years of failed crops due to drought, they traveled to California to look for another job. Along the way, they found work on farms. Eventually Jake’s and Maggie’s father found a job as a watchman, and the family moved into a house.

Vergara, D. A. (2007). Zapizapu crosses the sea: A story about being fair. Victoria, BC: Trafford.

Elementary. The text is realistic fiction and illustrates the problems when farmers are not paid a fair price for the foods they grow, in this case zapizapu, which is used to make a very special drink. The farmer’s children, Santiago and Maria, cannot attend school because he is not paid a fair price which pays for food, a decent house, education, and health care. When two children, Matthew and Isabella, across the sea learn that farmers are not paid a fair price for growing zapizapu, they start a movement to pay one extra coin for zapizapu from shops that promise to pay growers a fair price. Santiago and Maria’s father is very pleased about the fair price, which pays for clean water, toys, visits to the doctor, and school for his children.

Wilkinson, B. (1975). Ludell. New York: HarperTrophy.

Upper elementary/middle school level. Ludell is an African American girl who lives with her grandmother in Waycross, Georgia. Ludell's mother lives in New York, but visits and writes occasionally. Ludell and her grandmother, like most African Americans in the community, struggle economically. The women usually support their families through housework, laundry, and ironing for White families in the community. Similar to most African American families, Ludell and her grandmother have no such conveniences as telephones, televisions, and cars. Their food is simple and inexpensive. Children may attend school without any money or food for lunch, and the children learn to find ways to earn money. Teenage girls, like Ludell's mother, become single parents. Despite such economic hardships, the book portrays love among families, women helping one another, and the possibilities of a better life through education.

Wyeth, S. D. (2001). A piece of heaven. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Upper elementary/middle school level. The main character, Haley, is a strong, 13-year-old girl who handles many challenges in her life. She, her older brother Otis, and her mother live in a one-room apartment and share a bathroom with neighbors. As a 15-year-old, Otis wants more independence than his mother permits, leading to conflicts between them. When her mother becomes overwhelmed by the bills she cannot pay and her inability to prepare a nice birthday dinner for Haley, she becomes clinically depressed and enters a hospital. Haley decides to help with the family finances by finding a job helping Jackson, a music teacher, clean out junk from his backyard and shed. When her brother is arrested for selling stolen goods and Haley is taken by social services to live in a group boarding home, Haley holds onto her job at Jackson’s. As she finishes cleaning and decorating the yard with stones, she gains a sense of achievement that she is strong enough and creative enough to accomplish this large task. The book closes with hints of a better life for Haley and her family.

Children’s Periodicals Dealing With Poverty

Chorlian, M. (Ed.). (2008, March). Tough times: Surviving the Great Depression. Cobblestone, 29.

Elementary level. Articles explain the events which led to the Great Depression and many people’s experiences during this time, including losing their jobs, homes, and possessions and finding enough food to eat. During this period people grew gardens, scavenged for food, or ate foods they hadn’t eaten before. Two million people “hit the road” or traveled on trains from place to place to find work, food, and a place to rest. Farmers from the Great Plains lost their homes due to the “Dust Bowl” or the drought and dust storms that destroyed the crops and soil. Families found simple means of entertaining themselves through listening to the radio, seeing inexpensive movies, playing simple games, or attending baseball games. Articles explain Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs which offered financial assistance, temporary work opportunities, and established minimum wages and maximum hours worked per day. However, they also clarify the especially harsh effects of the Great Depression on African Americans and small farmers and sharecroppers who did not benefit from the New Deal as much as European American large business owners.

Adult Resources Dealing With Poverty

Aristide, J-B. (2000). Eyes of the heart: Seeking a path for the poor in the age of globalization. Monroe, ME: Common Courage.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide wrote this book to explain to readers the economic crisis in Haiti resulting from its debt to France following the slave revolution in 1823 and the current global economy. In order to pay off the debt, Haitians logged most of the trees in the rainforest which led to soil erosion and decreased agricultural productivity. He clarifies how free trade and competition with other countries have almost eliminated Haitian rice production and Creole pig production, resulting in dependence on imported food. The standard of living for most Haitians is very poor with 70% of the people unemployed, 80% have no access to clean drinking water, 85% cannot read and write, and only 50% of the children attend school. Throughout the text, Aristide cites examples of children’s and adults’ spirit, courage, and solidarity despite the lack of basic needs. He articulates his vision for the future for Haiti, with economic development through agriculture, food production for all Haitians, regrowth of trees on mountains, free education for all children, and children and young people involved in creating changes.

Arthur, C. (2002). Haiti: A guide to the people, politics and culture. New York: Interlink Books.

The author describes the dismal living conditions in Haiti, including the current high rate of unemployment (70%), the low average income ($250 a year), 80% poverty rate, the low literacy rate (40%), the high rate of malnutrition among children (25%), the lack of health care among 50% of the population, and the lack of access to drinking water for 67% of the population. Unfortunately, educational opportunities for children are very limited with more than half of the children not attending school because parents need their children to work in the fields or care for siblings. Most schools (90%) are private, and parents must pay fees and buy uniforms for their children to attend. Among the private schools, the vast majority are small, unregulated, poorly equipped, and with poorly trained teachers who are barely literate themselves. Haitian families tend to be large due to the lack of contraceptives and parents’ desire for children to help them earn a living and care for them in their old age. Unfortunately, 13% of children die before the age of five. The economy is greatly underdeveloped due to declining agriculture which can no longer feed the growing Haitian population, the declining fishing and mining industries, and the declining tourist industry resulting from political upheavals. Even though assembly plants are one of the most significant sources of employment, the low wages are not enough to cover workers’ daily living expenses. Overall, the assembly plants do not contribute to Haiti’s economy. The author claims that without efforts to reduce the gap between the small elite who live in opulence and the large number of Haitians who live in poverty, there will likely continue to be political and social upheaval in Haiti.

Bauer, M. (n.d.). Close to slavery: Guestworker programs in the United States: A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center.

The author clearly criticizes the current guestworker program in the U.S. and provides quotations from guestworkers to support her position. The report is based on interviews with thousands of guestworkers, a review of research on guestworker programs, and examples of legal cases and legal experts’ experiences around the country. The author explains the two current guestworker programs, the H-2A program for agricultural work and the H-2B program for non-agricultural work. However, both programs permit the guestworker to work only for the employer who petitioned the Department of Labor for his/her services. If the work situation is abusive or not what was promised, the worker has no recourse. What often happens is that guestworkers are often cheated out of wages, forced to mortgage their futures to obtain low-wage, temporary jobs, held captive by employers or labor brokers who seize their documents (such as visas, passports, and Social Security cards), forced to live in squalid conditions, and denied medical benefits for on-the-job injuries. The author recommends major revisions in the program to provide greater rights and protections for guestworkers.

Betts, B. (2006). Displaced children in U.S. history: Stories of courage and survival. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 19. 9-12.

The author’s thesis is that the study of homelessness during various historical eras may help children deal with homelessness today. She offers teaching strategies and encourages students to compare their own experiences with the lives of children in the migrations. The author focuses on four major U.S. migrations of homeless children, including: (1) the the forced relocation of Cherokee children and their families during the Trail of Tears in 1838-1839, (2) the escape of African American slaves on the Underground Railroad from slave states in the South to free states in the North and Canada from the colonial period to 1865, (3) the Orphan Train Riders or the relocation of orphaned and abandoned children from cities in the north and east to rural communities in the midwest from 1853 to 1930, and (4) the One Thousand Children program or the relocation of Jewish children during the Holocaust from 1934-1945.

Cadet, J-R. (1998). Restavec: From Haitian slave child to middle-class American. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

This autobiography is a moving account of the injustices Haitian children endure who are forced to live as restavecs or slaves among families. Restavecs means “staying with,” and is a derogatory term used in Haiti. Restavecs are slave children who usually live with wealthy or financially comfortable families. They work constantly as house servants, doing the least desirable household tasks, but never receiving any pay for their work. Although they live with a family, they are not part of the family and do not experience family life or childhood as long as they remain restavecs. They often prepare their own meals, sleep on cardboard under the kitchen table or on the porch. In essence, restavecs have no rights and are denied basic education and health care. When restavecs mature, they often are released to the streets to earn their living as shoeshine boys, gardeners, or prostitutes. The author’s story reveals the deep scars, pain, and immense difficulties of living in a family after leaving his life in Haiti as a restavec. The author encourages Haiti and all countries to rid itself of child slavery.

Chomsky, N., Farmer, P. & Goodman, A. (2004). Getting Haiti right this time: The U.S. and the coup. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press.

The text includes essays by Chomsky and Farmer and interviews conducted by Amy Goodman on behalf of Democracy Now!, a nationally syndicated radio and TV program regarding the forced removal of Jean-Bertrand Aristide from his position as president of Haiti in February, 2004. Goodman conducted interviews with both President Aristide and his partner Mildred Aristide as well as Representative Maxine Waters and others who were knowledgeable of Aristide’s removal from Haiti. One of the main points in the book is that Aristide did not resign from his presidency, instead he was kidnapped by U.S. forces and taken to the Central African Republic, a destination unknown to Aristide until they arrived. Some authors believe one of the reasons for Aristide’s removal is his insistence that France repay the $21 billion taken from Haiti during the period of slavery and colonialism and to reimburse reparations paid to France for loss of property following Haiti’s independence from France. Aristide was popular among the poor, the majority of people in Haiti, but had opposition from the military, wealthy landowners, and the business community, who also controlled the mass media. Overall, the authors are very critical of U.S. policies toward Haiti, which supported Aristide’s opponents, and the lack of accurate information in the mass media about the 2004 coup.

Cohen, R. (Ed.). (2002). Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from children of the great depression. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.

The editor provides a context and elaborates on the meaning of nearly 200 letters written to Eleanor Roosevelt by children and youth experiencing the hardships of the Great Depression from 1933-1941. The young people request individual assistance, explain why their families are unable to provide basic necessities, and justify the worthiness of their requests. The poignant letters provide some insight into hard-working families during this period who either have no employment, work part-time, or work at low-paying jobs. Children and youth plead with Mrs. Roosevelt for clothing; for money to ward off evictions, pay debts, and purchase simple household conveniences; for funds for educational expenses, Christmas gifts for family members, marriage and new household expenses, bicycles to help their families, and for radios to ameliorate loneliness. The letters attest to the courage, tenacity, and intelligence of youth who had few resources, but hoped for better lives during this era. The editor also clarifies Mrs. Roosevelt and her staff’s responses to the letters. Only 1 percent of youths received the material assistance they requested. About 5 percent were told by Mrs. Roosevelt’s staff to seek help from New Deal agencies, 3 percent were directed toward charities, and 3 percent were encouraged to contact educational institutions. Eighty-eight percent of the letter writers were rejected by Mrs. Roosevelt’s office. Readers are left to wonder about the children and youth who never had their requests filled.

Coles, R., Testa, R. & Coles, R. (Eds.). (2001). Growing up poor: A literary anthology. New York: The New Press.

The text is a collection of stories, poems, and essays describing experiences of poverty, at times exacerbated by racism or sexism. The selections are divided into four categories, including the material circumstances of poverty, denigration by others, experiences of the working poor, and examples of resolve and resiliency. The selection from Invisible Man by Jesse Hill Ford is a powerful example of racist oppression as well as poverty while the selection from White Mule by William Carlos Williams depicts sexism amidst poverty. The most hopeful category of readings are included in the stories of people who faced immense difficulties due to race, gender, and/or class, but worked to make changes. The selection “Full Circle” by Lori Arviso Alford, M.D. is inspirational in the racism and poverty the author faced, but overcame to become a successful surgeon. She describes how she integrates her Navajo cultural values and practices within her work with Navajo and other Native American patients.

Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. New York: Henry Holt.

The book provides important insights into the cycle of poverty and how people with entry level jobs, paying slightly above minimum wage, do not have a decent standard of living. Such workers have no extra resources to allow them to spend two months’ rent to secure an apartment, so they often resort to living under crowded conditions with others or renting residential hotel rooms by the week, which is more expensive. Such living accommodations do not allow for cooking, so entry level workers subsist on fast or convenient foods, which are also more costly. Since entry level positions have no or minimal health insurance, workers go without routine care or prescriptions drugs and then develop serious health problems. Readers are introduced to the author’s investigation of the possibility of a single person living on the wages of an entry level job of $6 - $7 per hour during 1998-2000. She spent a month in three different cities in the U.S.: Key West, Florida; Portland, Maine, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, applied for and got entry-level jobs as a waitress, dietary aide in a retirement home, as a “Merry Maid” cleaning service worker, and as a Wal-Mart employee. The author also struggled to find adequate housing, often in short supply in areas where jobs were located, and earn enough in one month to pay for housing and other living expenses. What Ehrenreich discovered was that it was very difficult to live decently on entry level wages. Readers are introduced to descriptions of intimidating and oppressive managers; invasive personality and drug tests during the application process; evasive or minimal discussions of wages and benefits; physically demanding, low-status jobs; and employees working hard despite little nutritious food and injuries or illnesses. With no sick pay or health insurance, workers avoided missing work even when injured or ill to avoid losing a day’s wages.

Payne, R. K. (2003). A framework for understanding poverty (3^rd rev. ed.). Highlands, TX: Aha! Process.

The author provides valuable background knowledge for educators who work with children and youth from poverty. She distinguishes between generational poverty (two or more generations of poverty) and situational poverty (of relatively short duration precipitated by a death, illness, or divorce). Since schools function with middle-class norms and the “hidden rules” of the middle-class, teachers must directly teach these rules to children from poverty, who are often successful in following the “hidden rules” of poverty. Educators must also understand the “hidden rules” for survival in poverty, such as the focus on the present with money and education, the importance of developing entertaining skills to endear oneself to others, a belief in fatalism rather than making choices, and casual language. However, teachers must also realize that children and families from poverty are not poor due to a lack of intelligence. They have varying resources including financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships or role models, and knowledge of the hidden rules. The educators’ role is to develop good relationships with children and youth from poverty; teach them how to be successful in school; provide support, opportunities, and expectations for learning; and serve as a role model. The text has many valuable suggestions for specific strategies and programs to help students from poverty succeed in school.

Rosen, E. I.. (2002). Making sweatshops: The globalization of the U.S. apparel industry. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

The author defines a sweatshop as a company paying wages below the federal mandated minimum or maintaining working conditions which violate the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938. For example, workers may be forced to work more than eight hours a day in unsafe conditions. However, sweatshops exist in the U.S. since the 1980s because federal laws are not being enforced. Apparel sweatshops tend to be concentrated in New York, California, and Texas, but can also exist in large cities in other states. They usually employ new immigrant women. Apparel sweatshops can also be found in developing countries such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, eastern Europe, China, and sub-Saharan Africa. In the 1950s and 1960s, women apparel workers in the U.S. made good wages and had good working conditions due to the unions. In the past 50 years, half the apparel industry job for women workers have transferred from the industrialized countries to developing countries. Apparel jobs moved because of U.S. trade liberalization policies which are supposed to result in lower clothing prices for consumers, increased profits for the apparel industry, and increased economic development in poor countries. However, the low pay and poor working conditions of apparel workers in developing countries does little to lift workers out of poverty, and the reduced costs of clothing offers consumers minimal benefits. Not surprisingly, the apparel manufacturers’ profits increased more than all other U.S. manufacturing industries during 1980 - 2000, which mainly benefitted the CEOs. The author explains how free trade policies have led to the loss of jobs for women apparel workers in the U.S., and the deterioration in wages and working conditions for those still employed in the industry. Such conditions led to the increase in sweatshops in the apparel industry in the U.S. The text provides descriptions of oppressive working conditions for women apparel workers in El Salvador, China, and Bangladesh. The author argues for paying women apparel workers a living wage, one that allows women to support themselves and their families.

Seabrook, J. (2003). The non-nonsense guide to world poverty. London: Verso.

The author provides a view of poverty around the world, including wealthy countries such as the U.S. and Great Britain. He also includes quotes from people considered poor and from those who have studied and worked with the poor to provide a more personal perspective on poverty. An important point of the text is that the poor do not desire wealth, but security, sufficiency, enough to meet their needs, and space to raise children in peace and without want. The author defines least developed countries as having low income per capita; having low nutrition, health, education and adult literacy; and having instability in agricultural production and exports of goods and services. These countries are located primarily in Africa and Asia (30 in Africa, 13 in the Asia-Pacific region, five are Arab states, and one in the Americas). The author also clarifies that people fall into and out of poverty during different seasons depending on the availability of work and food and during various periods in their lives from childhood through old age. He criticizes the creation of “free trade” and a global economy which disadvantage poor countries and lead to the creation of sweatshops, the avoidance of labor laws, and disregard for human rights, as well as the creation of “development” programs to help “underdeveloped” countries catch up with “developed.” However, the great gap between the wealthy and the poor also has a detrimental effect on the wealthy. According to the author, the price of wealth is paid with greater obesity and increases in crime and drug use. The text closes with visions for changes using ideas from Gandhi’s economics policy in India, Nyerere’s leadership in Tanzania, and the Landless Workers’ Movement in Brazil who focus on self-sufficiency, or producing most of the needed goods and services in the local community.

Tea, M. (Ed). Without a net: The female experience of growing up working class. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.

The editor collected essays from women who are telling their own stories of their experiences living in poverty or surviving with working class status. Tea wanted to include “insider’s perspectives” on working class struggles and highlight the many strengths women developed despite all the uncertainties of poverty and the lack of family with financial resources. Essays reveal challenges women have in taking care of dental and physical health needs when they have no health insurance, having enough food on little income, feeling out of place with their second-hand, bargain-priced clothing, experiencing family alcoholism, mental health problems, sexual and physical abuse, living in housing “projects,” and getting an education to have a better life, but still being working class. One of the most interesting essays is “Winter Coat,” in which the author describes her humiliation in standing in the “free lunch” line, having “free breakfast” at school, and being interrogated by the school nurse about having enough to eat at home. “There are Holes in My Mandarin Dog Biscuit” describes a young girl’s experiences of constant hunger and resorting to eating dog biscuits after school when she could find nothing else to eat. The authors are straight as well as lesbian with parents who worked hard to provide educational opportunities for their children and parents who were unable to provide all the basic necessities. Some of the authors provide some insight into the importance of fighting and doing manual labor for survival while questioning if becoming middle class is a better alternative to embracing one’s working class roots.

Children’s Books On Child Labor Or Exploited Labor

Bader, B. (1993). East side story. New York: Silver Moon.

Upper elementary level. The text deals with the injustices immigrant women and girls endured while working in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City in the early 1900s. Although immigrants came to the U.S. seeking a better life, many were forced to live in crowded tenements and work in oppressive sweatshops such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. Through the main character Rachel Boganovich's experiences, the reader discovers the crowded, inhumane, and unsafe working conditions in the factory; the long hours and low wages; and the practice of firing any employees trying to organize a union. The author also raises the issue of educational equality for girls and boys with Rachel and her older sister being forced to work for wages to help support the family while their two brothers focus on studying and doing well in school.

Bartoletti, S. C. (1996). Growing up in coal country. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Middle school level/adult resource. This text is based on the author’s extensive research on coal mining in northeastern Pennsylvania from the late 1800s to the early 1900s through interviews, mining records, published newspapers, magazines, and books, and old photographs. The book is generously embellished with photographs of men and boys working in mines and the patch villages where the workers lived with their families. The author helps readers understand the dangerous conditions in mines, how boys as young as five or six worked in mines despite laws requiring the minimum age of 12, and the poverty in miners’ families. The wealth of the coal landowners and operators is contrasted to the poor housing, limited water, and few educational opportunities for coal miners’ families. The coal companies owned the miners’ housing, stores, and schools which helped to keep the miners’ families poor. The author also portrays miners’ efforts to improve their working conditions through strikes.

Colman, P. (1994). Mother Jones and the march of the mill children. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook.

Picture book, upper elementary level. The author introduces the reader to Mary Harris Jones or Mother Jones who fought for the rights of miners, railroad workers, mill, and factory workers. She was especially concerned about employers who hired children at very little pay to perform dangerous jobs after she personally investigated child labor in different factories. Frequently workers' families needed their children to work in order to earn enough money so the family could survive. In order to call attention to the physical dangers and injustice of child labor, Mother Jones organized a march of adult and child workers to President Theodore Roosevelt's home in New York in 1903. Although President Roosevelt refused to see her, the march and speeches along the way made the country more aware of the harm of child labor and laws began to be passed which outlawed child labor.

Currie, S. (1997). We have marched together: The working children’s crusade. Minneapolis: Lerner.

Upper elementary/middle school level. The text is embellished with many photographs of working children, Mother Jones, and of both Mother Jones and children participating in marches for better working conditions in the early 20^th century. The author focuses on the labor strike of 1903 when Mary Harris Jones led a group of child workers from Philadelphia to New York to bring attention to the strike and child labor. The cause of child labor is attributed to the low wages paid by mill owners to adult full-time workers. Most families in the Kensington area of Philadelphia needed their children to work for their families’ survival. Descriptions of the long hours, low pay, injuries and illnesses which resulted from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, poor treatment of workers, and lack of educational opportunities and time to play for child workers which precipitated the strike are included. The author tries to include child workers’ perspectives on work and the march with Mother Jones, although he admits little was known about how children felt about the march. Although the march did not benefit the striking children, it did call national attention to the problem of child labor.

D’Adamo, F. (2003). Iqbal: A novel. New York: Atheneum.

Upper elementary/middle school level. The text is a fictional account of Iqbal Masih and his struggle to free bonded child workers. The story is told through Fatima, a young girl who makes carpets, along with 13 other children, in a Pakistani carpet factory. The children are bonded to the factory owner to pay off their families’ debts to local moneylenders. The text describes the unhealthy, oppressive living and working conditions at the carpet factory, the minimal food, the futility of working off the debt, and the severe punishments for making mistakes or trying to escape. When Iqbal arrives at the factory, he offers hope for a different life. Readers learn about the Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan, dedicated to end child labor and enforce the law forbidding the exploitation of children, which Iqbal joins. Enforcing the law necessitates finding police who do not take bribes from carpet factory owners. When Fatima and other children are freed from bonded labor, they stay at the Liberation Front home until they can be reunited with their families. The author also includes additional sources for learning about Iqbal Masih and child labor laws.

Denenberg, B. (1997). So far from home: The diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish mill girl. New York: Scholastic.

Upper elementary/middle school level. The text is historical fiction, based on historical research, but the actual diary is fictional. Most of the text portrays Mary Driscoll’s experiences of living in “the Acre,” the poorest section of Lowell, Massachusetts, reserved for impoverished, Irish immigrants as well as several months of work in one of the textile mills. The text depicts many of the safety and health hazards of working in the mills and the transition from Yankee female labor to Irish female immigrant labor who were more easily exploited by mill owners. As Mary Driscoll’s diary details the inhumane working conditions of no water, lint-filled air, extreme heat in summer, long days, no breaks, and demands for greater and faster work, readers can empathize with and become outraged by these injustices.

Freedman, R. (1994). Kids at work: Lewis Hine and the crusade against child labor. New York: Clarion Books.

Picture book, upper elementary. The book contains pictures by Lewis Hine, a teacher and photographer, who traveled the U.S. during the early 20th century taking pictures of children at work in factories, mills, coal mines, and fields. The photographs portrayed the dangers and harshness of the working conditions, the long hours, and the small size of the children as compared to the large machines they often worked with. Lewis Hine's pictures and investigation for the National Child Labor Committee exposed the exploitation of children for cheap labor and made the country aware of the need for child labor laws. His pictures also informed the public about the lives of poor, immigrant families who often needed the wages of everyone in the family to survive. One strategy they used to earn money was completing "piece" work at home with all family members including small children helping for pennies.

Hendershot, J. (1987). In coal country. New York: Dragonfly.

Picture book, lower elementary level. The book and illustrations portray life as a coal mining family who live in "Company Row" with other mining families working in the Black Diamond Mine. The father is proud of his work as a miner even though coal dust settles on everything. The importance and difficulty of the mother's work are also portrayed. The author communicates an enjoyment of life within the family despite few economic resources.

Kuklin, S. (1998). Iqbal Masih and the crusaders against child slavery. New York: Henry Holt.

Middle school level. Although the author never met Iqbal Masih, she explains how she completed the research for the text in the author’s note. Kuklin spoke with people who knew Iqbal or his family, reviewed materials from respected human rights organizations, and used quotes from an interview with Iqbal. The text provides background information on Iqbal Masih, a boy from Pakistan, who was sent to work in a carpet factory at the age of four, to pay a $12 loan from the factory owner to Iqbal’s family. This began his six years of hard labor, in unsafe conditions, punishments for making mistakes or complaining about conditions, and injuries from the sharp weaving tools. The author provides valuable background information regarding why families must send their children to work; the different types of work children still do in different parts of the world; the history of child labor in the U.S. and England; people and groups who have fought against child labor; Iqbal’s own efforts to end child labor or slavery and the resulting awards acknowledging his contributions; his mysterious murder; and responses from youth dedicated to ending child labor. The author emphasizes the importance of education for children forced to work and labeling programs to document that child labor was not used in producing products. Kuklin provides additional resources for youth to learn more about child labor and addresses for writing to Iqbal’s family, heads of state, and the U.S. government.

Littlefield, H. (1996). Fire at the Triangle Factory. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda.

Picture book, elementary level. The text illustrates the difficult working conditions immigrants had to endure in clothing factories during the early 20th century, including 10-hour days; six-day work weeks; low pay; poor lighting; little ventilation; flammable sewing machine oil and patterns; crowded, noisy working conditions; and locked doors. Because immigrants had difficulty finding work and were frequently very poor, they were often forced to endure these inhumane conditions in order to provide needed income for their families. In addition to the portrayal of the tragic fire at the factory which led to the death of 146 immigrant women and girls, the text depicts some of the ethnic conflicts between Italian Catholics and Polish Jews.

Parker, D. L. (1998). Stolen dreams. Minneapolis: Lerner

Picture book, upper elementary/middle school level. The text contains photographs and descriptions illustrating children who engage in hard labor for little compensation in different countries around the world. The author defines child labor as the use of children under the age of 16 for work detrimental to their health, education, and development and provides many portrayals of children who have been harmed through hard labor. The author also identifies areas where most child labor occurs as Africa, Asia, Central, and South America. However, the United States also has a problem with child labor with children working as migrant workers or in sweatshops in the clothing and meatpacking industries as well as restaurants and grocery stores. Usually children work because of their families' poverty; however, child labor increases poverty because it keeps adult workers' wages low. When children work instead of attending school, they continue the cycle of poverty. The text contains a description of Iqbal Masih, a child laborer from Pakistan who became a spokesperson against child labor. It also describes what can be done to address child labor, including increasing educational opportunities; helping adults find jobs; increasing the adult minimum wage; improving the status of women and girls; and increasing the enforcement of child labor laws. The text closes with descriptions of children and youth in the United States and Canada who have collectively fought against child labor.

Paterson, K. (1991). Lyddie. New York: Trumpet.

Upper elementary/middle school level. A wonderful story of Lyddie, a courageous young girl who survives through hard work after her father abandons the family, her mother takes her younger sisters to live with relatives, and she and her brother are hired out. When Lyddie hears about the mill jobs in Lowell, Massachusetts, she moves there to work and earn enough money to reunite her family. Not only does Lyddie work hard at the weaving looms in the factory six days a week, but she also teaches herself to read and develops a love of books. Lyddie copes with the unhealthy working conditions, the fast pace required in the factory, and the sexual harassment of the overseer. When she protests her overseer's treatment, she is fired which she transforms into an opportunity for a better life.

Rappaport, D. (1987). Trouble at the mines. New York: Bantam Skylark.

Upper elementary level. The book portrays the hardships of coal mining including the dangerous working conditions and the low pay. Because the mine owners are unconcerned about these problems, the miners, led by Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, strike. The strike stretches on for a difficult eight months for the miners' families who struggle to survive the lack of income. Finally, the mine owners agree to an increase in pay. The story's events are based on the miners' strike in Arnot, Pennsylvania in 1898.

Roberts-Davis, T. (2001). We need to go to school: Voices of the Rugmark children. Toronto: Groundwood Book.

Upper elementary/middle school level. At the age of 16, the author traveled to Nepal to collect the stories of children and youth who used to work in carpet factories, but now attend schools and rehabilitation centers established by the Rugmark organization. Rugmark began in 1994 when consumers in Germany pressured stores to carry hand-woven carpets made without child labor. The Rugmark label on carpets certify that they have been made by adults paid a decent wage. The author summarizes the reasons for high poverty in Nepal and few educational opportunities, which necessitates the need for children to work to help support their families. The children’s stories and poems describe the hard work they did for their families and at the carpet factory as well as their hopes for a better life in the future.

Saller, C. (1998). Working children. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.

Picture book, elementary level. The author includes photographs of working children from the early 20^th century as well as today. The text is a brief history of child labor, efforts to end it, and the existence of child labor today. Saller focuses on the main cause of child labor, family poverty, the different kinds of work children did during the early 20^th century, and the harmful effects of hard, dangerous work on child workers. Through the work of reformers and the National Child Labor Committee, eventually the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed which prevented young children from working and older children from working during school hours. However, at the close of the text, the author introduces readers to the continuation of child labor today in harvesting crops, sewing clothing in sweatshops, and in making other products U.S. consumers use. She urges readers to investigate whether the products they buy are made with child labor.

Shea, P. D. (2003). The carpet boy’s gift. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House.

Picture book, elementary level. The book is fictional, but is based on Iabal Masih’s life and his efforts to liberate thousands of child laborers. The text portrays Nadeem, a fictional child laborer who works in a rug factory in Pakistan to repay his family’s 1,000 rupee debt to the factory owner. Readers learn about the unhealthy conditions in the factory which harm the children’s health. When Iqbal Masih marches through town, he encourages Nadeem and the other children to leave the factory because of the new law against child slavery. Iqbal suggests the children attend the nearby school; however, the factory owner refuses to recognize the child laborers’ freedom. Nadeem and the other child laborers are saddened to learn of Iqbal’s death, but determined to leave their jobs. The text also contains background information on Iqbal Masih, resources for exploring the issue of child labor, and organizations that are working to solve the problem of child labor. Overall, the text and suggested resources provide an excellent introduction to the topic of child labor and how children can help solve the problem.

Springer, J. (1997). Listen to us: The world’s working children. Toronto: Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre.

Picture book, upper elementary/middle school level. The author introduces readers to the problem of child labor today and its root cause, poverty, and the willingness of employers to exploit and oppress poor children and their families by taking their labor and paying them little. In addition, the author calls attention to the prevalence of child labor among low status groups and girls from different cultures around the world who frequently are valued less than boys. With the globalization of the economy, companies move to countries where they can produce their goods more cheaply, usually by reducing labor cost, including hiring child workers. Children and youth today are found in agricultural, domestic, industrial, sex, street, military, and fast-food work, often to their detriment. A valuable portion of the text is the focus on young people who have fought against child labor, programs designed to ensure products are not made by child labor, and what readers can do to fight against the exploitation of children and youth at work.

Wallace, I. (1999). Boy of the deeps. New York: DK Publishing.

Picture book, elementary level. The author tells his grandfather’s story of beginning to work in a coal mine as a young boy, but changes the setting to focus on the oldest coal mining area in North America, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Commercial coal mining began in 1720 in this area and still continues. The text portrays James, a young boy, who begins to work deep underground underneath the Atlantic Ocean in a coal mine along with his father. Readers learn about how miners travel underground, the tools they use, how they check for dangerous gases, and the physically demanding, hazardous working conditions. The climax of the story is the collapse of the ceiling where James and his father are working and their escape to safety. Despite the many dangers to young miners’ lives, they continue to work in the mines.

Adult Resources Dealing With Child Labor

International Labour Office. (2004). Child labour: A textbook for university students. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.

The text is a comprehensive overview of child labour throughout the world. The first part of the book describes the extent of the problem of child labour. It defines child labour, including the worst forms of it. The second part focuses on causes and issues, such as reasons for the existence of child labour, the connection between child labour and education, and the special concern of girl child labour. The third section focuses on actions which can be taken to eliminate child labour, including conducting research to know its extent and causes and actions which governments, international organizations, employers’ organizations, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, and children can take to abolish child labour. The last section focuses on what individuals, workers’ and employers’ organizations, universities, the media, and public interest organizations can take to address this issue and suggests various types of collective action, such as campaigns, boycotts, fair trade initiatives, social labelling, and ethical investments. The authors encourage the primary audience for the text, university students, to take action against child labour, emulating such organizations as the United Students Against Sweatshops, which organized in 1998.

Nasaw, D. (1985). Children of the city at work & at play. New York: Oxford University Press.

The author focuses on children growing up, working, and playing within cities during the 1900s-1920s. He endeavors to write about the children from their perspective and includes the benefits and dangers for children who worked on city streets selling newspapers, candy, and gum or polishing shoes. Children enjoyed the freedom from adult supervision and the extra income they kept for themselves to spend at candy shops, lunch counters, penny arcades, amusement parlors, and the first movie theaters. The author describes the power of the young “newsies” to unionize, strike, and force the publishers to negotiate in 1899. Although most of the text focuses on boys who worked and played on city streets, it describes the different experiences for girls who were seen less frequently playing and working on city streets. They were more often found at home helping their mothers with younger siblings and completing household chores. When their mothers took in homework or boarders to earn income, they frequently helped with these tasks. Unlike their brothers, girls’ time outside was often limited to short trips to local markets to purchase family necessities. During the 1920s, child street traders were replaced by home delivery of newspapers and adult workers. Stronger and more enforced child labor laws also led to the demise of child street traders.

Children’s Books On Homelessness

Ackerman, K. (1991). The leaves in October. New York: Atheneum.

Upper elementary level. The main character, Livvy, her father, and younger brother learn to cope with living in a homeless shelter after her father loses his job and her mother abandons the family. Poppy, Livvy's father, searches constantly for work and promises they will be in a home before the leaves turn red and gold in October. Livvy, her brother Younger, and some other shelter residents make and sell tissue flowers to earn money. When Poppy finds a job working on the highway, he considers placing Livvy and Younger in a foster home, but later realizes the importance of being together, even if they live in a small camper.

Barbour, K. (1991). Mr. Bow Tie. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Picture book, lower elementary level. This book is a simple story about a homeless man, a former war hero, who is helped by a family to be reunited with his own parents. The narrator is a young girl who notices a homeless man always wearing a bow tie who lived outside the family store in all kinds of weather. One day the girl's father gave Mr. Bow Tie something to eat and Mr. Bow Tie began sweeping the sidewalk, helping around the store, and playing games with children in the neighborhood. The girl's father found out Mr. Bow Tie's name and the location of his parents, they contact the parents who then take Mr. Bow Tie home with them.

Berck, J. (1992). No place to be: Voices of homeless children. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Upper elementary/middle school level. The author interviewed more than thirty children who were living in or had recently moved from welfare hotels or shelters for homeless families in New York City. Through quotes and poems from the thirty children, the author reveals their experiences and feelings about being deprived of school, space, privacy, control over their lives, good nutrition, health care, and safety. The book explains why people become homeless, different types of shelters, the difficulties of getting an education while being homeless, health problems often resulting from shelter living, the stress of homelessness, and advice from the thirty children for helping homeless people.

Bunting, E. (1991). Fly away home. New York: Clarion.

Picture book, lower elementary level. A homeless father and his son live at an airport and have learned how to move around so as not to be noticed by airport security. Even though the father has a weekend job as a janitor in an office in the city, it does not pay enough to afford them a place of their own to live. They become friends with other homeless people living at the airport and remain hopeful the father will find more work and have a place to live.

Bunting, E. (1996). Train to somewhere. New York: Clarion.

Picture book, upper elementary level. The text is based on the Orphan Train which existed from the mid-1850s until late 1920 to carry 100,000 homeless children from New York City to small towns and farms in the Midwest for adoption. However, the story includes fictional characters and places along the route as the train stops at various towns for prospective adoptive parents to examine the children and choose one to adopt. At times, children seem to be selected for their potential as family workers. Readers develop some empathy for children passed over for adoption and a fear that “nobody wants me.”

Bunting, E. (1997). December. San Diego: Voyager Books.

Picture book, elementary level. Simon and his mother are homeless and live in a cardboard house on the street. For Christmas, they have a small tree decorated with items they found: a silvery spoon, a beaded necklace, a homemade star, and a toy soldier. They collected soda cans in order to buy two Christmas cookies. On Christmas Eve, an elderly woman asks if she can share their shelter and Simon’s mother invites her in. They share their home and the cookies while the woman adds a rose to the Christmas tree. When the woman leaves early the next morning, readers wonder if she was an angel. Within the next year, Simon’s mother is able to find a job and an apartment.

Carlson, N. S. (1986). The family under the bridge. New York: HarperTrophy.

Upper elementary level. Armand is an older man, a "hobo," who lives under a bridge in Paris when he discovers a woman with three children occupying his spot under the bridge. Even though the woman is working, she does not earn enough to afford them a place to live. Despite Armand's reluctance to become involved with the family, the children steal his heart. He eventually takes a caretaker's job which comes with an apartment which he plans to share with his new family.

Chalofsky, M., Finland, G. & Wallace, J. (1992). Changing places: A kid's view of shelter living. Mount Rainier, MD: Gryphon House.

Picture book, elementary level. The authors of this book are eight children who lived in a Virginia homeless shelter. The children speak of the difficulties and benefits of moving into a shelter and the problems of physical abuse, drug abuse, or lack of income in their families. For some children, they leave the shelter because of a new job or housing. The end of the book suggests social action projects which children and adults can do to help those living in shelters.

Chinn, K. (1995). Sam and the lucky money. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Picture book, elementary level. Sam is a Chinese American who receives $4 for the Chinese New Year from his grandparents. As Sam considers how to spend his money, he looks at sweets in the bakery and different toys in the toy store, but realizes he does not have enough money to buy a new basketball. He decides to give his money to a homeless man sitting on the street with bare feet. The text does not explain why the man became homeless or possible solutions to homelessness, but offers a child’s response to a homeless person.

DeFelice, C. (1999). Nowhere to call home. New York: HarperTrophy.

Upper elementary/middle school level. Set during the period of the Great Depression, the text describes the main character’s homelessness experiences after her wealthy father commits suicide in response to financial ruin. Frances chooses to become a hobo and travel from place to place by boxcar rather than live in comfort with an aunt she does not know. Disguised as a young male Frankie, she becomes friends with Stewpot, another young hobo, and together they hitch rides on boxcars, avoid “bulls” or police who check railroad yards, and search for food, warmth, and opportunities to bathe. Frankie and Stewpot offer to do odd jobs in exchange for food or occasionally eat with other hoboes who have gathered food through similar means. They encounter kindness and generosity from people willing to give them some work and food as well as cruelty and disdain from others who refuse to help. The freedom Frances hopes for as a hobo is not enough to compensate for all the challenges of homelessness.

Fox, P. (1991). Monkey island. New York: Orchard.

Upper elementary/middle school level. After Clay is abandoned by his mother in their welfare hotel, he becomes friends with two older homeless men and lives on the streets with them for five weeks. Clay learns the survival techniques of other homeless people, develops pneumonia, is hospitalized, and placed in a foster home. Eventually Clay is reunited with his mother and his new baby sister in a new apartment. His mother is able to find a job. However, the experience of being abandoned and homeless for a time leaves Clay with some sadness.

Grove, V. (1990). The fastest friend in the West. New York: Scholastic.

Upper elementary/middle school level. This piece of fiction deals with the dilemma many adolescents face--developing friendships while maintaining one's individual identity. One main character, Lori, battled the problem of being overweight and was shunned by her best friend. The second main character, Vern, coped with even more serious problems--being homeless and living in the family car at a campground while her parents searched for jobs. Vern was forced to wash her ill-fitting clothing at the campground which made her appearance suffer and other students at school avoided her as well. However, Lori and Vern became friends. Vern trusted Lori enough to tell her the story of how her family became homeless despite her parents' history and commitment to work.

Gunning, M. (2004). A shelter in our car. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press.

Picture book, elementary level. The text portrays a single parent and her child, recent immigrants from Jamaica, who are homeless and live in their car. It clarifies the reasons for their homelessness as the mother’s lack of a full-time job. Readers also encounter the hurtfulness of children’s teasing about having a “junk car.” However, it also portrays the loving closeness between mother and daughter and the mother’s emphasis on education for her daughter and herself in order to improve their lives. The book closes with good news about a job for Mother, which will allow them to live in a room rather than their car.

Harris, M. J. (1989). Come the morning. New York: Bradbury.

Middle school level. This text dealt with a family's struggle to find their father and husband who deserted them and the family becomes homeless during the search. Constance, the mother, oldest son Ben, daughter Felice, and youngest son Jube moved to Los Angeles where they believed their father lived. During the search, they endured the harshness of living in a cheap hotel, a mission, and a shantytown created by other homeless people. At each place, Ben and his family coped with inadequate food and sleeping arrangements. Finally, the family gave up their search for their father and husband and found excellent accommodations at the Salvation Army shelter. Not only did they find acceptable food, additional clothing, laundry facilities, and more spacious sleeping arrangements, but they also found assistance in finding a job and permanent housing.

Hathorn, L. (1994). Way home. New York: Crown.

Picture book, elementary level. The dark illustrations help to depict the less pleasant aspects of city life and the dangers for Shane, a homeless boy, and a cat he claims. On the way to his crudely constructed "home," Shane and his cat pass garbage, boarded-up houses, youths who chase them, growling dogs, restaurants, and car dealerships. Although Shane's home appears to be a small, boarded structure in an alley, he claims it as his own and a place for safety for him and his cat.

Hertenstein, J. (Ed.). (1995). Home is where we live: Life at a shelter through a young girl’s eyes. Chicago: Cornerstone.

Picture book, lower elementary level. The author is a young girl living at the Cornerstone Community Center explaining what it is like to live at the shelter with her mother, brother, and sister. Each page is embellished with photographs of different children living at the shelter and portrays numerous positive aspects of the shelter. The author explains many enjoyable activities the children at the shelter engage in, such as celebrating birthdays, decorating Easter eggs, performing a Christmas play, and baking cookies. She also describes some of the drawbacks of shelter life; for example, being scared when you first arrive, waiting in line for sinks, having other children get into one’s things, and having teachers ask where you live when you attend a new school. The text closes on a hopeful note with the author moving to an apartment with her family, but her affirmation of the shelter as a safe place to live.

Hubbard, J. (1996). Lives turned upside down: Homeless children in their own words and photographs. New York: S