Juvenile fiction
" I pause near the bananas to make her think I'm grabbing one, and I notice there are three left, not two. I leave them all. My school lunch will come soon enough, and Gabby gets hungry in the morning. She can have two bananas if she wants."
Once Maya, protagonist of Christie Matheson's Shelter, had a home. Now she, her mother, and her little sister, Gabby, reside in a small room in a homeless shelter. Her mother is trying to get a job so they can move out. But Gabby's extreme allergies make most day cares non options.
Once Maya's family was together. Her father has been in a hospital since he was hit by a car, kept alive by machines. The staff has been easing up on his sedation. Soon they'll learn if he'll be able to breathe on his own.
Shelter covers a day in Maya's life, focusing on the uncertainties and challenges she faces: commuting on a rainy day without raincoat, umbrella, or boots; being unable to concentrate when she's desperately hungry, trying to ignore the comments of a very mean girl.
"I go to our new apartment's tiny kitchen to fill my reusable water bottle. My mom calls it a galley kitchen because it's a narrow room with the cabinets and appliances on either side. It can barely fit all four of us at once. The kitchen in our house was at least three times bigger."
Joy, protagonist of Janae Marks' A Soft Place to Land, has just moved out of the place she's called home for her entire twelve years. After her father lost his job her parents had to sell it. Now the family is crowded into a tiny apartment. Joy has to share a bedroom with her little sister, Malia. She also has to not make too much noise. They can't upset other tenants.
When her family lived in their own house Joy's parents never argued. Now they fight constantly. Sometimes her dad stays with his brother. Joy and Malia fear that divorce will be the next step in their family's sad story.
A new friend, Nora, shows Joy a tiny hidden room below the basement the kids her age have decorated. It's their hideout--a place they can escape their cramped quarters and annoying siblings and chill, draw, even have game nights.
The one hideout rule is don't let the adults know. One night a mistake on Joy's part leads her mother to it. The custodian locks the place up, sure that it's not safe.
Now Joy needs to find a way to regain not only a safe space but her new friends.
Kids are capable of great empathy for the suffering of peers. They also have a great desire to help. Either or both of these fine books provide a great opening for family discussions and actions. What are kids in your community lacking? Are their organizations your family can assist? If not how can you all start something? I've heard of kids coming up with amazing answers to poverty in their own back yard.
On a purrrsonal note, today I went to a meeting. My friend, Tamra, has enlisted a bunch of us to create a mutual aid society to help students, non tenured faculty, and staff with financial emergencies. Unlike traditional charities, mutual aid societies build community, afford help recipients more dignity, and don't confuse and exclude people who need help by bureaucratic red tape. (Jules)
Jules was cleaning when she found a bunch of fake mice and stuff. She calls them cat toys. Toys? They aren't for playing. We predators need to keep on top of our game for the important job of keeping our homes rodent free. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Tamra.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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