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.