Economic Diversity in Children's Literature

Finding a definition for economic diversity can be challenging! Searching for books in the library that deal with homelessness, poverty, and economic disparity can be even harder. For example, Last Stop on Market Street (written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson) is a perfect introduction to the fact that not everyone has the same amount of money and/or how they choose to spend that money. But if you are doing a search in a library catalog, chances are the first subject heading for this book that you will find is "buses" followed by grandmothers, city and town life, and African Americans. CJ and his grandma do ride a bus across town but that's not the focus of the story. CJ wonders why he can't have a car like his friend Colby. But when CJ and his grandma get off the bus, you learn that they are making a trip they make every Sunday to help out at a soup kitchen. If you did not know what the book was really about - you would not find it by doing a subject search in the catalog. All children will encounter homelessness and economic disparity at some point. Helping them to understand and develop empathy now is a good goal for the new year.

                                      

 PICTURE BOOKS

The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee; published 2020. Accompanying his parents to their night-shift jobs as office cleaners, young Daniel reluctantly joins in as they use their imaginations to transform the deserted building into a magnificent paper kingdom where he might one day rule. 

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams; published 1982. A child, her waitress mother, and her grandmother save dimes to buy a comfortable armchair after all their furniture is lost in a fire.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña; illustrated by Christian Robinson. A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things. And that it's OK not to have as much money as some of his friends...

Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell ; illustrated by Corinna Luyken; published 2018.  Fellow classmate Adrian Simcox brags about owning a horse, and Chloe just knows he's making stuff up. He lives in a small house and has holes in his shoes. With the help of her mom, Chloe learns an important lesson in empathy.

The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang; illustrated by Khoa Le; published 2020.  Drawn from Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this heartfelt picture book offers a window into the life of a family with little money and a great deal of love.

CHAPTER BOOKS for 3rd-6th

Stay by Bobby Pyron; published 2019. This book does a great job of allowing a reader to enter into the world of someone who is homeless. Piper and her family end up in a new town far away from where they used to live when they had money and a home. First they have to live in separate shelters - mom and the two kids in one shelter; dad in another. Then they get an apartment in Hope House - a family shelter. Piper meets Baby, a dog owned by a homeless woman who lives in a local park because most shelters don't allow pets. But then Baby's owner goes missing and it's up to Piper, her new friends, and other homeless people to find her before Baby is taken away.  

 New Kid by Jerry Craft; published 2019. This award winning graphic novel discusses being a kid who is on scholarship in a prep school. Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. 

Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun; published 2020. Life is full of great expectations for Korean American Pippa Park. It seems like everyone, from her family to the other kids at school, has a plan for how her life should look. So when Pippa gets a mysterious basketball scholarship to Lakeview Private, she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself by following the “Rules of Cool.” At Lakeview, Pippa juggles old and new friends, an unrequited crush, and the pressure to perform academically and athletically while keeping her past and her family's laundromat a secret from her elite new classmates. But when Pippa begins to receive a string of hateful, anonymous messages via social media, her carefully built persona is threatened. As things begin to spiral out of control, Pippa discovers the real reason she was admitted to Lakeview and wonders if she can keep her old and new lives separate, or if she should even try. And yes - this is loosely based on Dickens' classic novel, Great Expectations.

Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson; published 2020. The Hart family of Portland, Oregon, faces many setbacks after Ryan's father loses his job, but no matter what, Ryan tries to bring sunshine to her loved ones. One of the setbacks Ryan faces is moving from where she has always lived into a new-to-her, smaller home. And having to cut back on buying favorite groceries. Not drastic but it does allow readers the opportunity to interact with someone whose family is having to cut corners financially. 

Someplace to Call Home by Sandra Dallas; published 2019. In 1933, when twelve-year-old Hallie Turner and her brothers, Tom and Benny, take to the road seeking whatever work they can get, they find kindness in small-town Kansas. This book is historical fiction and takes place during the Great Depression. It does illustrate the importance of kindness and empathy.

The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman; published 2019. Eleven-year old Viji and her sister Rukku have an abusive father. So they decide to runaway. They soon discover that being homeless on the streets of Chennai, India is not only hard - it is dangerous. The girls are fortunate to find shelter and friendship on an abandoned bridge. They meet two homeless boys - Muthi and Aurl - and form a sort of family. They make a small amount of money by scavenging "treasures" from the city's trash heaps. And Rukku has a special talent for making and selling bracelets. But when illness strikes, Viji must decide whether to risk seeking help from strangers or to keep holding on to their fragile, hard-fought freedom.