Books About Class for Children
1. Anyplace but Here: Young, Alone, and Homeless – What to Do
Written by Ellen Switzer Numerous interviews with teenage runaways inform a close-up look at the plight of the more than one million youngsters under eighteen living on the streets of America. These interviews are accompanied by tips on help available, minors’ legal rights, AIDS awareness, and coping strategies.
[Grade Level: 8 – 12]
2. A Rose for Abby
Donna Guthrie (Author), Dennis Hockerman (Illustrator)
A young girl inspires her neighbors to help the homeless people in their community.
[Grade Level: K – 3]
3. Amelia’s Road
Linda Jacobs Altman (Author), Enrique O. Sanchez (Illustrator) A young girl from a migrant-worker family overcomes the hardship of their frequent moves by creating a special place for herself.
[Grade Level: K – 3]
4. Changing Places: A Kid’s View of Shelter Living
Margie Chalofsky (Author), Glen Finland (Author), Ingrid Klass (Illustrator), Judy Wallace (Author) Personal narratives of homeless children.
[Grade Level: 4 – 6]
5. The Crossing
Written by Gary Paulsen On one side of the border is Manny Bustos, an orphan scrounging on the streets of Juarez. On the other side is Vietnam war veteran Robert Locke, trying to forget the war in a bottle of whiskey. When Manny decides to slip into America, the two meet – and discover endless new possibilities.
[Grade Level: 6 – 8]
6. Erik Is Homeless
Keith Elliot Greenberg (Author), Carol Halebian (Illustrator) A day in the life of a homeless child.
[Grade Level: 4 – 6]
7. Get Set! Swim!
Jeannine Atkins (Author), Hector Viveros Lee (Illustrator) A young Puerto Rican-American girl competes in her first swim meet while her parents proudly watch.
[Grade Level: K – 3]
8. Gettin’ Through Thursday
Nneka Bennett (Illustrator), Melrose Cooper (Author) A young African-American boy’s family works together to find creative solutions to the shortage of money at the end of the week before the mother’s next payday.
[Grade Level: K – 6]
9. Homelessness: Whose Problem Is it? (Issue and Debate)
Written by Ted Gottfried This book provides a history of homelessness in America, a description of the various segments of the homelss population and the accompanying political and social issues that homelessness raises.
[Grade Level: 6 – 12]
10. The Hundred Dresses
Eleanor Estes (Author), Louis Slobodkin (Illustrator) A young girl learns the realities of prejudice while her classmates learn that hurting others is not satisfying.
[Grade Level: K – 3]
11. Jar of Dreams
Written by Yoshiko Uchida A young girl watches her family cope with financial pressures and racial prejudice.
[Grade Level: 4 – 6]
12. Lives Turned Upside Down: Homeless Children in Their Own Words and Photographs
Compiled and written by Jim Hubbard
A photographic essay, highlighted by firsthand accounts of life as a homeless child, captures the extraordinary and poignant worlds of four children from various parts of the country who are themselves living in that situation.
[Grade Level: 4 – 7]
13. Monkey Island
Written by Paula Fox Eleven-year-old Clay Garrity awakens in the welfare hotel where he and his pregnant mother have lived for the past month to find his mother gone. His search for her leads him to a park, where two homeless menbecome his surrogate family for several months until he is reunited with his mother.
[Grade Level: 4 – 6]
14. Peace and Bread: The Story of Jane Adams
Written by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson A biography of the woman who founded Hull House, one of the first settlement houses in the United States, and who later became involved in the international peace movement.
[Grade Level: 5 – 8]
15. Peppe the Lamplighter
Elisa Bartone (Author), Ted Lewin (Illustrator) A young boy learns that every job is important.
[Grade Level: K – 3]
16. Rag Coat
Written by Lauren A. Mills A young girl proudly wears her new coat made of clothing scraps and tells her classmates the stories behind each piece of fabric.
[Grade Level: K – 3]
17. Stolen Dreams: Portraits of Working Children
Robert Conrow (Author), Lee Engfer (Author), David L. Parker (Author and Illustrator) Photographs show the lives of working children around the world and the hardships they endure.
18. White Lilacs
Written by Carolyn Meyer A young girl’s community is threatened when white people decide to forcibly relocate African-American families to make room for a new park.
[Grade Level: 4 – 6]
