My Homelessness Collection

Each of the books I choose is special in its own way. Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting represents all the homeless people that don’t live on the streets and the sense of hope that things will get better. Shelter Folks by Virginia Kroll represents how important having a community is as well as the complicated feelings homeless children may feel. Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern, depicts a homeless reality in many urban areas as well as explains the unfortunate situations that cause people to be homeless. Finally Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by DyAnne Desalvo-Ryan depicts how the community affects homelessness, positive attitudes toward homelessness, and what people can do to help. Together I felt that these 4 books did the best job of giving children a powerful introduction to homelessness.

Although each book had its individual strengths there are some common themes and ideals between the books. First, each of the books has a unique family portrayed. Most only have one parent, others none, and some have uncles or other relatives living with them. This in itself is illustrating different lifestyles that children might be able to relate to. The great part about these families is they all hold community as a high priority in their lives. Community is the largest theme that runs through all of these books. In some the community is reaching out to help those in need and make their community a better place to live. In the other books the importance of the community of homeless people to other homeless people is illustrated. These books do a great job of illustrating to children the importance of communities in all aspects of life.

All of these books are also very realistic, each portraying homelessness in a different setting. They all do a good job of putting homelessness into the context of the larger picture and help children see homelessness as the complex issue it is. None of the books give children an unrealistic view of “saving” homeless people, rather they all give examples of small steps they kids could take to help homelessness. They are all also realistic in the confused, sad, and frustrated attitudes that children have about homelessness. I was careful to choose books that illustrated both children who are homeless and children who are experiencing homelessness from the outside.

Homelessness is an issue that is not specific to one community or to one place. It is a global issue that affects people all over the world. Service and service-learning is a personal passion and I truly believe that children should learn about the importance of community at a young age. They should learn about the importance of communities in everyday life and the importance of accepting all communities which also means accepting all cultures. Students who value communities and cultures will truly get a multicultural education.

Social Issues: Connecting Children to their World

Strehle, Elizabeth. “Social Issues: Connecting Children to their World.”
Children's Literature in Education 30.3 (1999): 213-220. 15 November 2008. .

In this article Elizabeth Strehle focuses on using children’s literature in the classroom to discuss complex social issues, to connect to students lives, and to supplement curriculum. In this article she focuses on teaching students about homelessness, especially in urban areas. Strehle first discusses how students are exposed to an enormous amount of information on complex issues through TV, media, and everyday life. She claims that you can use literature to bring these experiences into the classroom and discuss homelessness and other social issues. She discusses the ways that literature in general can help foster discussion in classrooms. She then analyzes two books about homelessness Way Home and Smoky Night and their benefits to the classroom. She concludes by explaining how books about social issues can break negative stereotypes and help expose misconceptions that students hold.

Strehle presents a compelling argument for discussing social issues in the classroom, through literature and I completely agree with her. Students have a wealth of knowledge about social issues and it is our job as teachers to unpack that knowledge, figure out what they know, what they have to add to conversations, and what stereotypes or misconceptions they hold. We can use literature to start these discussions as well as to break stereotypes. Strehle says, “The universal theme of developing as people and solving problems, regardless of the culture, is an appropriate starting point for discussing relevant community issues. In offering literature embedded with social issues to students during
thematic studies, teachers can offer opportunities for students to begin to see themselves as children among the world's children.” Children can relate to these social issues and they should be exposed to them.

Finally, in her final argument Strehle says, “In the discussion of homelessness the teacher's selection of literature models a set of values that reflects the status quo or questions the social norm.” Using books about homelessness in your class is a powerful tool for students to begin to understand the complexity of homelessness and to break negative stereotypes. Especially in the recent economic hardships, homelessness has become a more prevalent issue in the U.S. Strehle’s article perfectly illustrates the need for homeless literature in the classroom. Not only are stereotypes broken, but students can see the need for compassion and community. In addition, she inadvertently expresses the need for teachers to choose literature that breaks social norms, that challenges students to step out of their comfort zone and think deeper.

Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen

DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne. Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen. New York: Morrow
Junior Books, 1991.

When a young boy wonders about some of the homeless people in his neighborhood, his Uncle Willie suggests he work at the soup kitchen with him. Along with some of the other regulars, like Brother Mike, Shata, and George, Uncle Willie gets food donated from the community and then works to prepare lunch for the homeless in the neighborhood. The most interesting thing to the little boy is the people who come to eat. They all sit and chat just like in any other community. The people that were collecting cans and sleeping on benches come to eat here too. The boy sees how the people eating have such a great relationship with people serving food, how they are all just friends.

This book is a great addition to any classroom library. First, the little boy has questions about homelessness. He doesn’t understand why people are homeless and lonely, in fact he is scared to talk to many of the people. Instead, of telling him to stay away from those people or explaining homelessness to him, his mother suggests he work at a soup kitchen with his Uncle Willie. While there he learns that these are not people to be scared of, but rather just people in unfortunate circumstances. It is a great illustration of the scared feelings people might have and then shows why those are the wrong feelings to have.

It also does a great job of illustrating how kids or adults can become involved in their community to make a difference. Not only through volunteering, but by simply offering a smile and showing that somebody cares about them. This book shows that through Uncle Willie and his relationship with the people who walk through the soup kitchen’s door. Dyanne DiSalvo-Ryan draws on her own experiences working in a soup kitchen to precisely portray these relationships and the happiness felt.

Fly Away Home

Bunting, Eve. Fly Away Home. New York: Clarion Books, 1991.

In Fly Away Home, a little boy and his father live in the airport. The book depicts a large supportive homeless community in the airport. As the little boy and his Dad move from terminal to terminal trying not to get noticed, several members of their homeless community are asked to leave the airport. It is after this that the boy shows his anger and frustration at being homeless, he doesn’t understand why other people have homes and not him. On the weekend his Dad goes to work in the city and he tries to make money returning luggage with his friend. At the end of the story instead of being sad or upset he is hopeful, because like a bird he saw fly away he hopes he will be able to get out of the airport one day.

I chose this book for my collection because of the realistic portrayal of homeless people and the variety of people shown in the story. As the boy and his Dad go from terminal to terminal they pass many homeless people, some with shopping carts, some being drunks, others just an old loving couple. It is through these multiple representations and through the image of their family that students can break their misconception that homelessness as simply a person begging for food. In the story the boy and his Dad buy breakfast from an airport cafeteria and on the weekends the Dad goes to work and leaves his son with another homeless family. It shows that most homeless people have money and are working to try and better their circumstances. Although, with heightened security living in an airport may not be realistic it is representative of the fact that all homeless people are not living on the streets.

I also chose this book because of the boy’s attitude toward being homeless. Throughout most of the book he was angry, frustrated, and confused. He didn’t understand why so many other people had homes to go to and he didn’t. Since, many children understand that their families have less money or a parent out of work, but don’t understand the “why”, behind it I felt this was an accurate portrayal of how a child would feel. In addition, I thought it was excellent to show that he had hopes to get out of the airport at the end of the story. After watching, a bird fly away, he realized that he too could one day leave the airport and fly away home.

Shelter Folks

Kroll, Virginia. Shelter Folks. Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eardmans Publishing
Company, 1995.

Shelter Folks is the story of Joelle and her family as they are forced to move into a shelter because her Mom isn’t making enough money. At first Joelle is embarrassed that she is a “shelter folk.” She hides her face on her walk to school, doesn’t ever talk about home, and won’t let people drive her back to the shelter. However, as time goes on Joelle realizes how kind and caring everyone at the shelter is. She also meets another girl in her class that lives at the shelter and slowly becomes more okay with living there. However, it is only when everyone from the shelter comes to her school play that she realizes how great the people are. She is even able to stand up to other kids in her class and admit she lives at the shelter.

This story is marvelous for an elementary school library. This book illustrates the feelings that children might have if there family became homeless. It talks about the anxiety and loneliness that they might feel. In addition the book goes on to discuss her school life. This shows children that homeless people do not all live on the streets, but they can have homes and go to school. The family was simply going through hard financial times. Virginia Kroll used her own experience struggling with finances to draw inspiration for this story.

The most prolific part of the story is the community that is built and the pride that Joelle openly takes in to this community. One student is beginning to mock Joelle’s shelter friends who came to watch her in the play. Joelle bravely stands up to them and says they are with her. She was able to realize that it is okay to be homeless, that there is nothing wrong, you just have a different kind of house. Although, the author sugar coats the issue a little, she does so in a way that ensures no stereotypes are created. By not including starvation or alcoholism, things that are common in shelters, she has presented the information through a child’s emotional reaction to the situation. This allows all readers to connect with Joelle.

The Lady in the Box

McGovern, Ann. The Lady in the Box. New York: Turtle Books, 1997.

The Lady in the Box tells the story of a brother and sister in New York City. After seeing a homeless woman living in a box near their apartment building they help her by bringing her food and warm clothing. The children’s mother notices that food and clothing are missing from the house. Their mother takes the children to talk to the woman. They hear her story about hard times and losing her job. Their mother ensures that she is allowed to keep her box in the warmest location and takes her children to work at a soup kitchen. As the story ends the young boy becomes friends with the homeless woman.

Ann McGovern based this story off a homeless woman she knew when she lived in New York. She uses this knowledge to make several choices that break “typical” homeless stereotypes. First, the woman tells the story of how she became homeless. This will help students understand that homeless people aren’t necessarily lazy or drunk, but just going through hard times. Although in the story some characters, mainly the shop owner, treats the homeless women as an inferior, this is a realistic way that some homeless are treated. The author does an excellent job of illustrating why this is wrong and ways that children or adults can change their own behavior as well as others.

The author also does an excellent job of describing realistic solutions to homelessness for children. In the beginning of the story the children simply leave food for the woman. Then rather than taking the woman in, the family gets her box moved to a new location. Finally, at the end of the story the family goes to work in a soup kitchen. The author did a good job of putting the story in context of the larger social issue. Students can see that it is impossible for them to solve homelessness, but they can see small things they can do to work towards a better future. However, the best part of the story is the child’s dialogue with the homeless woman. They become friends and he wishes for a better future when she will have a home of her. Children can see that homeless people are simply people.

Coin Drive

There’s a coin drive going on at our school
for children hurt by the hurricane.
Teacher says, “Handful of dimes is fine.
But only give if you want to share.”

Momma says, “Those people should have known.
Should have done more than they did to get out.”
Poppa says, “Look how those people stole.
Criminals. Animals, them. Their kind.”

I saw the pictures, too, myself.

People with nothing, no cars, for sure.
Swollen old ladies could barely walk.
Crazy boys with stolen guns,
but also daddies grabbing bread.

I saw the pictures, too, myself.

So many bodies floating, dead.
Waiting, water creeping up,
up past neck, past mouth, past eyes.
How long did they wait for help?

I feel proud for the fifty cents
I put today in the coin drive jar.
I feel proud that I can say:
I saw the pictures for myself.

Wong, Janet. Coin Drive. Janet S. Wong. November 15, 2008.


The Girl Who Makes the Cymbals Bang

I’m the girl who makes the cymbals bang—
It used to be a boy
That got to play them in the past
Which always would annoy

Me quite a bit. Though I complained,
Our teacher Mister Cash
Said, “Sorry, girls don’t have the strength
To come up with a crash.”

“Oh yeah?” said I. “Please give them here!”
And there and then, I slammed
Together those brass plates so hard
His eardrums traffic-jammed.

He gulped and gaped, and I could tell
His old ideas were bending—
So now me and my cymbals give
Each song a real smash ending.

-X.J. Kennedy


Kennedy, X.J. “The Girl Who Makes the Cymbals Bang.” The 20th Century Children’s
Poetry Treasury. Jack Prelutsky, ed. New York: 1999. 17.