So I was trying to think of post ideas yesterday afternoon when I remember how many books I’ve read/need to read that deal with the topics of homelessness. One of my favorite of 2019 that I never got around to finishing because it was due back at the library is my first pick.
1)The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Five years ago, Coyote lost her mother and sisters, and since then she and her dad have travel on an old school bus trying to escape the ghosts of their past. But when Coyote learns that a place where she left a memory box with her mother and sisters is set to be demolished, she must find a way to get her father to drive all the way back home to Washington State.
The problem is they are in Florida, the demolition is in four days and her father can’t know what’s going on. Along the way, Coyote and her father pick up lots of travelers with their own baggage.
Over the course of the journey, Coyote learns how tough going home can be, but that with a crew of new friends by her side she might finally be able to find the peace she’s been looking for about her family’s deaths.
While Coyote and her dad aren’t really homeless in the sense that they have the bus, they are definitely emotionally adrift.
Amazon: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
2)No Fixed Address
After Felix Knutsson and his mother fall on hard times they have to move into their van. Felix must keep it a secret, even from his two best friends, as his mother fears him getting taken away by the state and sent to foster care.
But as things go from bad to worse Felix thinks he has a way to help their situation he gets a chance to audition a junior edition of Who What Where When, his favorite game show. He knows he has to earn the spot and that the cash prize will make everything okay again.
But when everything doesn’t go exactly as planned it leaves the question up in the air of whether Felix and his mom will finally find someplace to truly call home.
3)Crenshaw
By the beloved Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan, and Wishtree. Crenshaw is about Jackson whose family has fallen on hard times again, now they have to live in the family minivan while his parents save up money for an apartment, again.
Crenshaw is a large outspoken imaginary cat, who comes back to try and help Jackson through his problems. But will imaginary help be enough to help Jackson face the situation or will the power of friends (real or imaginary) give Jackson the power to save this family from losing everything?
4)Just Under the Clouds
After losing her dad Cora is homeless, her mother is trying to keep everything together and leaves Cora in charge of her disabled sister Adare, who doesn’t seem concern with the question Cora can’t stop asking herself, whether the family will ever find a place to call home.
But after their shelter gets ransacked her mother decides to stay with a family friend for a while and Cora finally starts to find a place she can call her own, but with her mother ready to move on, will the feeling of a home be fleeting or will her family finally be able to find where they truly belong.
5)A Place to Stay: A Shelter Story
A Place to Stay: A Shelter Story shows life at a women’s shelter through the eyes of a young girl. With her mother’s help, the girl is able to use her imagination to overcome some of her anxiety about the shelter and adjust. The picture book deals with the topic in a way young children can understand and also includes factual endnotes detailing various reasons people experience homelessness and the resources available to help.
Amazon: A Place to Stay: A Shelter Story
These are just a few of the books that deal with the topic of homelessness for children and teens. I also want to link back to The Chattering Librarian’s list about books that deal with the topic, as it helped inspire me.
Chattering Librarian: Middle-Grade Books that Tackle Homelessness