Kids Books About Homelessness and Food Insecurity
November is Homelessness and Food Insecurity Awareness Month. One of the first books that made me want to create Little Readers, Future Leaders was a picture book on homelessness I read with my daughter about ten years ago. I loved seeing representation in kid lit about kids going through something challenging. Tough times affect everyone, including kids. I'm so happy to have found more and better representation for various tough experiences throughout the years. When we have book support, we can feel less alone, and that is powerful. Books can also help build empathy.
Everyone deserves to see themselves represented in books and for other readers to experience a bit of someone else's life and build empathy through books. The following list is important for sharing with all readers, as mirror, window, and sliding door books for those housed and unhoused, hungry and full. Build up some empathy and brainstorm some ideas for helping with these tough issues by sharing these conversation starter books--after all our little readers will be the ones to grow up to be our future leaders to help those in need. Happy reading!
*Helpful tip for selecting the right book for your reader: my lists are always organized, from the simplest books to more complex books. This list starts with picture books and then goes to middle-grade books. It’s divided into three sections: housing insecurity, food insecurity, and middle grade books.
Housing Insecurity Picture Books
In this wordless picture book, a homeless woman is not seen by everyone around her, everyone except one child. The boy observes what she goes through and finally, with compassion, acknowledges her, and she feels seen. There is a note with discussion questions and additional resources about helping in the back. Maybe counterintuitive, but wordless picture books can be fantastic for conversation starters, so you might have some great success for a discussion with this one!
Fluffy, the dog, passes Andy, another dog, every day on the way to the park, but they aren't allowed to play together. One day, Fluffy gets lost chasing after the ball; luckily Andy and his owner find and take care of Fluffy until they can find Fluffy's owners. Kindness and new friendships are at the heart of the book, but it's also a story that shows but doesn't talk about being unhoused, helpful as a conversation starter.
Superbly illustrated, this book follows multiple unhoused characters with their bags as they move through the streets to a shelter, a house, the subway, and a park. The book highlights the importance of their bags and how through the multiple characters, homelessness affects a variety of people. Such a terrific conversation starter with supportive back matter, including discussion questions, author's note, and how to help.
Still a Family
by Brenda Reeves Sturgis, illustrated by Jo-Shin Lee
Even though a child and her mom must stay at one shelter and her dad needs to stay at another, they are still a family. They spend time together during the day at the park, going on walks and eating at the soup kitchen. No matter what happens, they are still a family. A note from the author is in the back, along with resources to check out.
Claire and Wes lived in the brown house when they were little, their home. Then, they had to move with nowhere to go. They have various feelings as they're challenged by moving from place to place and asked questions by strangers. Throughout it all, their optimism and determination remain, and they know they always have each other. Reader's note about homelessness affects on children and what we can do to help included.
The old man gets looked over by everyone as he lives on the street. When he goes to the Shelter for a meal and they ask for his name, he can't remember and turns away. Eventually, a little girl paying attention helps him figure out his name, and he can get a meal.
Such a moving story. It doesn't show specifically being unhoused or food insecurity, but it eludes to it, shining a light on those made to feel invisible. Isabel and her family don't have much, but they have what they need: each other. Until there's not enough money to pay the bills, and they have to leave their happy, memory-filled home to move to the other side of the city. As Isabel wanders around the new area of town, people pass her without noticing until she becomes invisible. This turns out to be powerful because she begins to see other invisible people, which leads her to do one of the hardest things anyone can do: make a difference. Love how this highlights that everyone has a place and belongs.
Based on the author's own true story, The Bright Side is about a boy whose parents help him to look on the bright side as he goes through life changes, like leaving his house to live on a school bus until they can get a house again. When he's sad about leaving his friends, his parents tell him he can make new friends wherever they go. When there's no bathroom, he gets to shower in the "great outdoors" or gets to make his own toy instead of getting one new. And then there's the challenges of going to real school versus bus school. Looking on the bright side is hard at first, but eventually, he notices how much stronger and better it has made him and how helpful it is when plans fail!
A girl finds hope and strength in spending time with her tree through the seasons, while her family and the town she lives in are impacted by unemployment and food insecurity. Gentle and ties into nature's rhythms as a metaphor for life's rhythms of change and hope.
Love this true story from the author about "the challenges of homelessness, the magic of friendship, and the power of empathy." Told in letter formatting, the author is writing to tell her librarian the impact she made on her. When she was five, she had to move with her parents and six siblings from Colorado to Iowa. Her dad needed a job, so they went to stay with family while he searched. She tells of missing her old home and friend while longing to have a home now. She tells of the challenges of her family of nine staying in Aunt Linda's fancy house to Cousin Alice's tiny basement to Grandma's small home. Nowhere feels like it has a special spot just for her. One day they visit the library full of light with enough space for everyone. What was the best part was the librarian, who took the time to help and listen, a first true friend who made the library feel like her home. I'll let you read to figure out what the author of the letter decided to be when growing up.
CJ and his nana ride the bus across town after church on Sundays. As they travel across town, CJ has many complaining questions for his nana, similar to what many kids would ask, to which she excellently answers. She helps CJ see the positives in everything he's not certain about. He learns to enjoy the music all around, and see the good in his experiences and people different from him. Love the perspective and empathy building from this read.
Nobody seems to notice the Queen on the corner except a girl and her mom. The girl dreams about what might have happened to the Queen and questions where her palace went. Eventually, the Queen helps save the neighborhood from a fire, and the girl ensures the Queen gets the recognition she deserves.
Zettie and Mama live in their car for now because living in the Shelter was hard. While Zettie goes to school, Mama looks for work so that they can afford an apartment to live in. Love the portrayal of family and strong bonds of love.
This is an oldie, but it still has something to offer readers. An unhoused boy and his father live together in an airport, where they try to move about their days unseen. They have a community of other unseen, unhoused people who support one another, but the boy wants life to be different. He finds hope in a trapped bird finally being freed and his father attempting to make a different life for them.
How Kip Tiernan grew up to create the Nation's First Shelter for Women. She noticed and observed what was needed, including seeing women dress up as men to get assistance. Love how it shows her advocating and using her voice to advocate for women in need and then working to make sure a shelter gets set up to help.
*Disclaimer: I have not read this book, so I can't fully and honestly review it. However, given the unique formatting of this book, there is great potential in this being an engaging and powerful conversation starter for readers. This is a choose-your-own-ending book, which can be very powerful in growing perspectives and empathy.
Book's summary:
"Imagination is a powerful tool, and when paired with compassion, it can grow into one of our greatest human superpowers: empathy. In this choose-your-own-ending book, children explore the difficult decisions and life circumstances that those experiencing homelessness face on a daily basis. For a moment, they experience life in someone else's shoes. Imagine If... leads children away from fear and stereotypes, toward a recognition of the humanity of every individual experiencing homelessness."
Food Insecurity Picture Books
"One out of every five kids in the United States is at risk of having an empty fridge like Maddi." After playing at the park one day, Sofia is hungry and opens Maddi's fridge before she can stop her. Only milk is inside, which is saved for Maddi's little brother. Maddi makes Sofia promise not to tell, so Sofia tries to help on her own, making a few silly mistakes in the process. Eventually, Sofia gets help from her mom, and they work to help Maddi's family. Note in the back on how to help friends with empty refrigerators.
Molly has a lot of questions as she visits a food pantry for the first time, like why do they have to wait in line, why Caitlin from school is embarrassed to be spotted there, or why she can't pick a box of the special cookies from the shelf. Honest and warm read about questions about food pantries children might have and a great representation on food insecurity.
After thinking, a child tells his Pa that since they're low on food from Mom being out of work, others might also need food. So together, they make a plan to build a Sidewalk Pantry to go right next to their Sidewalk Library. It doesn't take long before food is taken by hungry people in need. Pa and the child work together to collect food to fill the shelves. There are happy thank you notes exchanged, which spark even more ideas. Such a sweet read!
After Lulu's mother's van breaks down, the Hunger Monster arrives again. The Hunger Monster is only visible to Lulu and causes problems for her at school, making it challenging for her to concentrate. With the Hunger Monster making Lulu promise never to say its name, how will Lulu and her mother be able to defeat it? Realistic yet hopeful, this is a moving story about food insecurity that helps build empathy and destigmatize hunger feeling before they can turn into shame. Ideas for helping end hunger are included.
*TW: Child dies from hunger, implied, not explicit
Powerful and moving with the combination of text and illustrations will help readers reflect on their own experiences and family and consider some of what some families might go through. While driving with her family in their old car, a young girl was mortified when her parents stopped to pick the watercress they spotted growing out of a ditch and that she and her brother had to help them gather it. What if a classmate drives by and spots her and her family?! The cold ditch water, snails, dirty clothes, and brother picking on her don't help her feel any better about the situation. By the time the watercress has been cleaned and cooked for family dinner, she is determined not to eat it. She only wants vegetables that have come from a grocery store. She reflects on how free has made her feel bad in the past. Her mother decides to tell her a story about her family from China, something she never talks about. Will this change the girl's perspective on watercress? On "free" things? On her family?
The true story of John van Hengel, the founder of food banks. The riches-to-rags story shows John van Hengel's life starting after his picture-perfect life falls apart. After experiencing his own hunger and food insecurity problems, an idea is sparked and fueled, leading to the creation of the food bank.
Middle Grade
Another oldie but great book to share! Armand loves his solitary life on the streets of Paris. Armand returns to find three cold and hungry children under his bridge one day before Christmas. Soon, the old man who previously had no interest in children, makes changes to help care for the children. Love the found family and kindness in this sweet read.
Crenshaw, a large and outspoken cat, aka Jackson's imaginary friend, has returned to his life after his family stops having enough money for food and rent. Now it's looking like they might have to live in their minivan, again. Can Crenshaw save Jackson and his family, stopping them from losing everything? Great to highlight friendship and resilience.
Lisa Fipps has such a way with words, weaving together powerful novel-in-verse stories. (If you haven't tried a novel-in-verse, they're fantastic! Quick and typically powerful reads, plus they're great for older reluctant readers typically, because the lower word count is less threatening.)
In this story, Joe Oak has quite the unsteady life, as bills pile up, his mom leaving when she gets the "itch," and Grandmum starting to feel unwell. A lot happens from being unhoused to having to go dumpster diving and more. There's some heartbreak and hardships, but there's also friendships, love, and some good unexpected surprises.
