A booklist collaboration between the Madison Public Library - Youth Services and the Doubled-Up Work Group.
Youth
Four children use their own photos and heartfelt narration to share what it’s like to be homeless in this touching collection of words and photographs.
A woman and her young child try to make the best of things when they enter a homeless shelter. (ages 4-8)
James Otis and his mama have fallen on hard times. Yet he finds a way to help a neighbor who has lost her house to a fire. (ages 4-10)
No one, not even his teacher, pays much attention to Brian. One day, a new student arrives at school. One act of kindness can begin many new things. (ages 4-8)
Sophia learns that her friend Maddi’s fridge is empty. A look at the challenge of childhood hunger. (ages 5-8)
A young girl and her family are temporarily living with relatives. She discovers the local library where she feels safe and
happy. (ages 6-8)
Jackson’s family is having a hard time. There is not much food, they face eviction, and now Crenshaw, a giant, imaginary cat has come back into his life. (ages 7-11)
Dèja’s family is living in a shelter. She is starting a new school, making new friends, and trying to understand her father’s deep sadness. An illustration of how 9/11 affected everyone. (ages 8-12)
Simon loves to rap, but does not like speaking in front of his class. He decides to make his oral report about a neighborhood fixture who is experiencing homelessness. (ages 8-12)
Felix and his mom are living out of their van. Thankfully, he has two great friends that support and encourage him. (ages 11-14)
Other Titles
A Family of Five or Six by Pat Van Doren (2008)
A Kids’ Guide to Hunger & Homelessness by Cathryn Berger Kaye (2007)
The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids by Diana Bowman
Adults
After decades working with homeless families and adults, Diane Nilan hit the road in 2005 to chronicle stories of invisible families and youth experiencing hoelessness in non-urban areas across America….. In this memoir, Nilan introduces us to people she met, helping us to understand their backstories
... (B)ased on the months the author spent among America’s homeless, Rachel and Her Children is an unforgettable record of the desperate voices of men, women and especially children caught up in a nightmarish situation that tears at the hearts of readers.
.... (T)his book gives a human face to a huge but largely invisible problem and offers practical insights into how to prevent homelessness and help homeless youth move to a hopeful future.
As Dasani comes of age, the homeless crisis in New York City has exploded amid the deepening chasm between rich and poor. Dasani must guide her siblings through a city riddled by hunger, violence, drug addiction, homelessness, and the monitoring of child protection services.
In this groundbreaking book, Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond takes readers into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee, where families spend most of their income on housing and where eviction has become routine - a vicious cycle that deepens our country’s vase inequity.
Other Titles
How Ten Global Cities Take on Homelessness: Innovations That Work by Linda Gibbs, Jay Bainbridge, Muzzy Rosenblatt and Tamiru Mammo (2021)
No Way Home: The Crisis of Homelessness and How to Fix It with Intelligence and Humanity by Wayne Winegarden, Joseph Tartakovsky, Kerry Jackson (2021)