A Chance to Grow: A Book About Homelessness

When Joe, his sister Gracey, and their mother are evicted from their apartment and left homeless, they live in shelters and on the streets, looking for work and a permanent home

Grade 3-6-- Joe lives with his mother and baby sister. When their apartment goes condo, they are evicted. The family lives in their van until it is destroyed in an accident. Then they live in shelters and on the street. The mother finally finds a job as a cleaner that includes a room to live in. This is a simply told story; the mother helps her children maintain a spark of optimism in the face of unbearable conditions. Powell effectively conveys the problems of the homeless in a realistic manner and manages to temper harshness with hope. However, there are many better written books on the topic of homelessness. Davila's black-and-white drawings are appropriate--except for the fact that the boy on the cover bears little resemblance to the one on succeeding pages. --Jacqueline Rose, Southeast Regional Library, NC
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.