Children's Book Suggestions | Income Inequality

HUD's annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count, which estimates how many individuals are living without stable & secure housing, will be held on January 25, 2024. Whether you're hoping to help kids see themselves in a book or help them develop empathy for their friends and classmates, these books on poverty, homelessness, and foster care shine a light on an all-too-common experience.

Updated December 5, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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The wishing machine
Hillman, Jonathan
Paper Book
Oge Mora's Saturday meets Carmela Full of Wishes in this touching and whimsical picture book about a mother and child's last trip to their local laundromat before moving away. Every Sunday after cereal, Sam and Mom walk to the laundromat, wash their clothes, and see...

A hopeful farewell to a familiar ritual for kids who don't have access to laundry at home. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

A terrible place for a nest
Levine, Sara (Veterinarian)
Paper Book
A child learns to settle into a new home in this lyrical and stirring picture book perfect for fans of MEMORY JARS and EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY. Juno and his mom have just moved into a new home, and he hates everything about it - the new school, his new classmates, his new...

A young boy soothes his grief at an unwanted move by helping a bird whose next has been destroyed. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

Dear Librarian
Sigwarth, Lydia M.
Paper Book
When Lydia was five years old, she and her family had to leave their home. They hopped from Grandma's house to Aunt Linda's house to Cousin Alice's house, but no place was permanent. Then one day, everything changed. Lydia's mom took her to a new place -- not a house, but a big building with...

Libraries were Lydia's refuge when her family didn't have a home of their own. Now a librarian herself, she writes a thank you letter to the librarian who welcomed her. (Picture Book Age 4-8)

A duet for home
Glaser, Karina Yan
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling creator of the Vanderbeekers series comes a triumphant tale of friendship, healing, and the power of believing in ourselves told from the perspective of biracial sixth-graders June and Tyrell, two children living in a homeless shelter. As their...

A young musician bonds with a longtime resident when her family moves into a homeless shelter. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

PAWS : Priya puts herself first
Fairbairn, Nathan
Paper Book
The best dog-walkers in town are back in the third book of this heartwarming graphic novel series that is the Baby-Sitters Club for pets! Perfect for fans of Real Friends and Allergic! The holidays have arrived for the PAWS team! And the girls are about to discover...

This graphic novel series is a must-read for fans of The Baby-Sitters Club! In this third installment, Priya's family is evicted and must move across town, straining her friendships with the other girls in her dog walking business. (Children's Graphic Novels Grades 3-5)

Something like home
Arango, Andrea Beatriz
Paper Book
The Pura Belpré Honor winning novel in verse, in which a lost dog helps a lonely girl find a way home to her family . . . only for them to find family in each other along the way. From the Newbery Honor winning author of Iveliz Explains It All. "Trust me: this book will touch...

Sent to live with her aunt after a well-meaning 911 call sends them to rehab, Laura copes with her feelings by training a stray puppy to be a therapy dog in this moving novel in verse. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The tenth mistake of Hank Hooperman
Choldenko, Gennifer
Paper Book
Everyone will be rooting for a happy ending for Hank, a boy struggling to hold his family together when his mom doesn't come home, in this gripping story from Newbery Honor winner Gennifer Choldenko. "One of those rare and important books . . . Hank Hooperman may well be the most...

A middle school boy cares for his younger sister when their mom fails to come home in this novel by a Newbery Honor-winning authors. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Maid for it
Sumner, Jamie
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of Roll with It comes a relatable and "heart-wrenching" (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade novel about a girl who, in a desperate bid to keep her family afloat, takes over her mom's cleaning jobs after an injury prevents her from working. Now...

A middle school exploration of the dynamis explored in Stephanie Lands' popular memoir Maid, in which a tween tries to take over her mother's house cleaning jobs after an accident puts her out of work. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Free lunch
Ogle, Rex
Paper Book
Instead of giving him lunch money, Rex's mom has signed him up for free meals. As a poor kid in a wealthy school district, better-off kids crowd impatiently behind him as he tries to explain to the cashier that he's on the free meal program. The lunch lady is hard of hearing, so Rex has to shout....

A gut-wrenching memoir about the shame and stigma the author experienced as a student receiving free lunch. (Children's Nonfiction Age 10-14)


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