Books about children growing up in poverty

[Anonymous]

Rosa Lee by Leon Dash; The Corner; Savage Inequalities.
I’ll add to the list later when I can check my bookshelves.

[Anonymous]

“ Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich, is a true story about trying to make a living on low wages and what the author learns from the experience. The book recounts the author's experiment of seeing if she could "match income to expenses" on low wages.”. It’s not about kids, but will give you a perspective of what there parents face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rosa Lee by Leon Dash; The Corner; Savage Inequalities.
I’ll add to the list later when I can check my bookshelves.

Just to add: The Corner is set in Baltimore, with demographic details much like the ones you describe. This could be a good one to start with — with the video as a backup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recs for you or for your students? Urban or rural? POC or white? Historical or modern?

Books for me, not for my students. I work in a city school with high poverty. An interesting mix of students. Some are Hispanic and poor and some are white and poor. The white students mostly came from families from Appalachia. They came to the city during WW2 to work in factories. Now there are very few factory jobs left so they are either unemployed or working in low paying, hourly jobs.

Hillbilly Elegy, by JD Vance: I personally think Vance has gone off the rails as a Senate candidate (understatement . . . ), but I read his memoir when it first came out and found it thought-provoking on a variety of levels. Obviously, it's a memoir, so it's just one person's experience and POV at a certain stage in his life, not the all-encompassing "truth" about families from Appalachia or the culture where he grew up. But even so, it broadened my perspective quite a bit and stoked my curiosity to learn more.)

Maid, by Stephanie Land: Truly helped me understand some of the ways that poverty builds on itself - sometimes it's an ever-growing hole people can't dig themselves out of, even with massive effort.

Educated, by Tara Westover: Not directly on point and a painful at times, but a beautifully written book that's insightful on the issue of trauma, if not the type of poverty you're seeing in your students.

Speaking of multi-generational trauma, that might be a topic to consider, as well. Trauma and poverty often go hand-in-hand, even if you don't always see it on the surface. I'm not sure which books exactly to recommend on this - may be worth starting a separate thread so others with more insight can weigh in.

[Anonymous]

Ramp Hollow

https://southernspaces.org/2018/dispossessions-appalachia-review-ramp-hollow/

[Anonymous]

A Most Beautiful Thing — centered on a Black crew team is a compelling book. There’s also a documentary film about the team.


https://www.npr.org/2020/06/27/883885055/a-most-beautiful-thing-tells-of-the-first-u-s-all-black-high-school-rowing-team

[Anonymous]

Here are a few more options. These may or may not give you insight into the lives of your students. I will say though, that many urban families have more rural backgrounds— and maintain these connections.


https://reimagineappalachia.org/reimagine-appalachia-book-club/

[Anonymous]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? You’d have to scan for anything that would be problematic in 2022, but I loved this book as a child and their experience with poverty was really well depicted.

[Anonymous]

Free Spirit - Growing Up On the Road and Off the Grid by Joshua Safran

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17352015-free-spirit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recs for you or for your students? Urban or rural? POC or white? Historical or modern?

Books for me, not for my students. I work in a city school with high poverty. An interesting mix of students. Some are Hispanic and poor and some are white and poor. The white students mostly came from families from Appalachia. They came to the city during WW2 to work in factories. Now there are very few factory jobs left so they are either unemployed or working in low paying, hourly jobs.

Really, the kids you teach are from families who migrated some 70 years ago?
Sounds fishy.

[Anonymous]

Found this for children's books about poverty:

https://www.rebekahgienapp.com/childrens-books-about-poverty/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recs for you or for your students? Urban or rural? POC or white? Historical or modern?

Books for me, not for my students. I work in a city school with high poverty. An interesting mix of students. Some are Hispanic and poor and some are white and poor. The white students mostly came from families from Appalachia. They came to the city during WW2 to work in factories. Now there are very few factory jobs left so they are either unemployed or working in low paying, hourly jobs.

Really, the kids you teach are from families who migrated some 70 years ago?
Sounds fishy.

DP: Key word here is FAMILIES vs “parents”. I’m the PP who lived and worked in Baltimore. Connections and family histories and cultures matter. Good on the OP for trying to get some sense of factors that might still actively impact some of her students.

[Anonymous]

The Homecoming and Diceys Song series by Cynthia Voight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recs for you or for your students? Urban or rural? POC or white? Historical or modern?

Books for me, not for my students. I work in a city school with high poverty. An interesting mix of students. Some are Hispanic and poor and some are white and poor. The white students mostly came from families from Appalachia. They came to the city during WW2 to work in factories. Now there are very few factory jobs left so they are either unemployed or working in low paying, hourly jobs.

Really, the kids you teach are from families who migrated some 70 years ago?
Sounds fishy.

DP: Key word here is FAMILIES vs “parents”. I’m the PP who lived and worked in Baltimore. Connections and family histories and cultures matter. Good on the OP for trying to get some sense of factors that might still actively impact some of her students.

Except for the most part, they likely won't care. It's very, very old news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recs for you or for your students? Urban or rural? POC or white? Historical or modern?

Books for me, not for my students. I work in a city school with high poverty. An interesting mix of students. Some are Hispanic and poor and some are white and poor. The white students mostly came from families from Appalachia. They came to the city during WW2 to work in factories. Now there are very few factory jobs left so they are either unemployed or working in low paying, hourly jobs.

Really, the kids you teach are from families who migrated some 70 years ago?
Sounds fishy.

DP: Key word here is FAMILIES vs “parents”. I’m the PP who lived and worked in Baltimore. Connections and family histories and cultures matter. Good on the OP for trying to get some sense of factors that might still actively impact some of her students.

Except for the most part, they likely won't care. It's very, very old news.

It sounds like she's not trying to teach her kindergarten students about their heritage. She's trying to understand more about them, including where they come from, both presently and going back a few generations.

If you think family history isn't passed on to subsequent generations, you're wrong. We all carry legacy culture, values, mindsets, reflected experiences etc. from the generations that preceded us. Often this cultural "inheritance" is subtle, but sometimes it's quite literal and direct. Either way, it has an impact in shaping us for sure. Good for OP for being curious about her students!