Skip to Main Content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

Picture Books
-
On Our Street by Jillian Roberts; Jaime Casap; Jane Heinrichs (Illustrator)Call Number: Y 362 R
Publication Date: 2018
A gentle introduction to the issue of poverty, On Our Street explores the realities of people living with inadequate resources. Using age-appropriate language, this book addresses mental illness, homelessness and refugee status as they are connected to this issue.
-
iSi, Se Puede!/Yes, we can!: Janitor Strike in L.A. by Diana Cohn & Francisco DelgadoCall Number: Y 800SCs
Publication Date: 2002
"When Carlitos's mother and the other cleaners go on strike for higher wages, Carlitos cannot think of a way to support his mother until he sees her on television making a speech, and then he gets his class to help him make a sign to show his pride."
This book is fully bilingual (text in both English and Spanish), and is shelved in our Spanish-language collection.
-
I Like, I Don't Like by Anna Baccelliere; Ale+Ale (Illustrator)Call Number: YE BAC
Publication Date: 2017
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child in the world has the right to play. Unfortunately, that universal right is not always respected. "I Like, I Don't Like" presents this reality to readers by showing how children in varying circumstances can see the same object very differently.
-
Those Shoes by
Maribeth Boelts & Noah Z. JonesCall Number: YE BOE
Publication Date: 2007
"Jeremy, who longs to have the black high tops that everyone at school seems to have but his grandmother cannot afford, is excited when he sees them for sale in a thrift shop and decides to buy them even though they are the wrong size."
-
-
-
Pink by Nan Gregory & Luc MelansonCall Number: YE GRE
Publication Date: 2007
"Vivi loves the color pink. She is working and saving her money in order to buy a pink doll from the store. How does she feel when the doll is sold to someone else?"
-
Night Shift by
Jessie HartlandCall Number: YE HAR
Publication Date: 2007
"Late at night after children have gone to bed, people who work the night shift, like street sweepers, window dressers, newspaper printers, road workers, and donut bakers, are doing their jobs."
-
Somebody's New Pajamas by
Isaac Jackson & David SomanCall Number: YE JAC
ISBN: 0803715498
Publication Date: 1996
"When two boys from different backgrounds become friends and sleep over at each other's homes, they exchange ideas about sleepwear as well as about family life."
-
-
The Rag Coat by Lauren A. MillsCall Number: YE MIL
Publication Date: 1991
"Minna proudly wears her new coat made of clothing scraps to school, where the other children laugh at her until she tells them the stories behind the scraps."
-
-
Lunch Every Day by Kathryn OtoshiCall Number: YE OTO
Publication Date: 2021
"Every day Jimmy takes 'Skinny Kid's' lunch at school. No way will he be caught dead standing in that FREE LUNCH line."
-
Early Readers
-
Rich by
Nikki Grimes & R. Gregory ChristieCall Number: Y GRI
Publication Date: 2009
"Dyamonde Daniel is excited about the local library's poetry contest, and so is her friend Free. The prize is one hundred dollars--just think what they could buy with that much money! But when they find out that Damaris, one of their classmates, has been living in a homeless shelter, their ideas about what it means to be rich or poor start to change."
Books for Tweens (8-12ish)
-
-
Crenshaw by
Katherine ApplegateCall Number: Y APP
Publication Date: 2015
"Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent, and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again. Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He's been gone for four years, but has come back into Jackson's life to help him."
-
How to Steal a Dog by
Barbara O'ConnorCall Number: Y OCO
Publication Date: 2007
"Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach."
-
Books for Teens
-
Begging for Change by
Sharon G. FlakeCall Number: Y FLA
Publication Date: 2003
"Teenaged Raspberry Hill tries to sort out her confused feelings of disgust, shame, and love for her homeless, drug addicted father and worries that she may have inherited his lying and stealing ways."
-
-
Parrot in the Oven by
Victor MartinezCall Number: Y MAR
Publication Date: 1996
"Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican American family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone's struggle."
-
True Believer by
Virginia Euwer WolffCall Number: Y WOL
Publication Date: 2001
"Living in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an occasion to rise to."
-
-
-
Saint Iggy by
K. L. GoingCall Number: Y GOI
Publication Date: 2006
"Iggy Corso, who lives in city public housing, is caught physically and spiritually between good and bad when he is kicked out of high school, goes searching for his missing mother, and causes his friend to get involved with the same dangerous drug dealer who deals to his parents."