In American society, there are so many stereotypes and biases against people who are living in poverty. When we talk to children about poverty, we need to do so in ways that challenge these stereotypes and point to the bigger systems that place people in poverty. This list of children’s books about poverty and hunger will help children develop compassion, as well as an understanding of root causes of these issues.
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Children’s books about poverty in the United States and Canada
Yard Sale by Eve Bunting and Lauren Castillo
Reading this book out loud will brought tears to my eyes. Callie’s family is moving from their big house into a small apartment. They have to sell almost everything they own. Even Callie’s bike is for sale, because there’s no sidewalk outside their new apartment. Bunting and Castillo have captured the sadness of this event without causing us to feel hopeless. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7).
Related Post: How to talk to children about poverty
Migrant by Maxine Trottier and Isabelle Arsenault
I had no idea that there are Mennonites from Mexico who travel to Canada each summer as migrant workers. Migrant allows children to peek into their world through the eyes of Anna. Anna thinks of her family being like a flock of geese, going back and forth. She wonders what it would be like to be instead be a tree, rooted in one place. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7).
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Sunday Shopping by Sally Derby and Shadra Strickland
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While this whimsical book is not explicitly about poverty, I include it here because it shows how imagination and warmth can bring joy even if money is tight. Each Sunday night, Evie and Grandma get ready to go shopping by putting on their pajamas. That’s because they “shop” the Sunday papers, cutting out pictures of the things they are buying with their play money. Their dreams are modest but still bring a lot of pleasure to both of them. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8.)
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Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson and E.B. Lewis
When a new girl named Maya shows up in school and tries to befriend Chloe, Chloe isn’t sure why she turns away from her. Perhaps its because her clothes are ragged and she brings strange food in her lunchbox. Maya gives Chloe many chances to show friendship, but she doesn’t take any of them. One day, Maya isn’t there.
Their teacher takes out a bowl or water and drops a stone in. Ms. Albert tells the children that each time we show kindness, it ripples out into the world, just like the ripples from the rock. When Chloe learns that Maya has moved away, Chloe thinks about what she might have done when she had the chance. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10)
The Hard-Times Jar by Ethel Footman Smothers and John Holyfield
This children’s book about poverty is based on the author’s childhood in a migrant worker family. Emma loves to write stories. Right now, her “books” are made of grocery sacks held together by safety pins, but she dreams of having real store-bought notebooks. She helps her parents earn extra money to put in their “hard-times jar,” but she knows that money isn’t for extras like notebooks. Since her parents are migrant workers, hard times are sure to come.
Emma is determined to to earn enough extra picking apples that she can get her notebook, but then her mother says that this harvest, she must go to school instead of working in the fields. How will she ever get her real notebook? (Recommended for ages 6 – 10).
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On Our Street: A First Talk about Poverty by Jilliam Roberts and Jaime Casap
This is a straight-forward non-fiction children’s book about poverty for the youngest readers. It focuses primarily on homelessness, although there are additional sections on refugees and global poverty.
I like the way the book focuses on questions that young children are likely to have about poverty, its compassionate perspective, and its use of real photographs. However, I wish that it spoke more about systemic issues such as low-wage jobs and affordable housing. I recommend that adults add in some additional questions and perspectives that I highlight in this post on talking with children about poverty. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8)
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts and Noah Z. Jones
Everywhere Jeremy looks, he sees other kids wearing those shoes: the black high tops with white stripes. Grandma reminds him that they must focus on what he needs (winter boots), not what he wants. When the sole comes off Jeremy’s shoe at school, the guidance counselor gives him a pair of shoes he finds embarrassing. Almost all the other kids laugh when they see them.
But maybe now Grandma will get him a pair of those shoes? When all she kind is a thrift store pair that are too tight, Jeremy still insists he’ll wear them. But sore toes make him rethink his decision, and wonder who might enjoy the shoes more. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8).
Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton and Brooke Boynton-Hughes
Dolly Parton has turned her famous song Coat of Many Colors into a children’s book. Her message can instill pride in children who live in poverty, and discourage bullying by those who don’t. She tells the story of how her mother made her a beautiful coat of patchwork rags. Dolly compared herself like Joseph from the Bible, feeling rich in the multicolored coat. But when she arrived at school, the other children didn’t understand the love that went into her coat, making fun of it.
While Dolly’s letter to children at the end of the book acknowledges the pain she felt from their teasing, the story itself communicates that it’s the other children’s perspective that is wrong, not what Dolly wears. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7).
Tía Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina and Claudio Muñoz
Even though she can walk to everywhere she has to go, Tía Isa wants a car so that she can go to the beach. After all, she grew up right next to the beach on the island where she used to live.
But saving for a car isn’t easy, when half of Tía’s extra money goes back home to their family on the island. When her niece starts telling people about Tía’s car dream, she discovers that there are many ways she can help this wish become reality. (Recommended for ages 5 – 9).
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Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
In a divided, impoverished neighborhood in Cleveland, a young Vietnamese girl decides to start a garden. All she does is plant a few bean seedlings in a vacant lot filled with garbage. Yet, it doesn’t take long for other neighbors to notice and build upon what she is doing. The 13 chapters are each told by a different neighbor, and reveal the prejudices, suspicions, hopes, and talents that live in this community that the rest of the city has forgotten. (Recommended for ages 12+).
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes and Louis Slobodkin
This classic book, written in 1944, is sure to help children develop empathy towards kids like them who struggle with poverty. Wanda Petronski, a Polish immigrant in a small town, seems strange to many of the other girls in her class. She wears the same faded dress to school every day, but claims she has 100 dresses at home.
When her best friend Peggy begins teasing Wanda every day about the dresses, Maddie is uncomfortable. Maddie is no stranger to poverty. She has to wear other people’s hand-me-downs. Will saying something to Peggy mean the end of their friendship? When Wanda stops coming to school, Maddie has to think long and hard about her silence. (Recommended for ages 7 – 12).
Children’s books about poverty throughout the world
Mama Panya’s Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlin and Julia Cairns
My son and I both love this engaging story that helps children learn about the power of community.
As Mama Panya and her son Adika travel to the market to buy ingredients for her delicious pancakes, Adika invites every person he sees to dinner. Mama Panya grows increasingly anxious about how she will feed such a large crowd. Adika is not concerned, repeating his mother’s phrase that she has “a little bit and a little bit more,” sure that it will be enough.
The book also includes 9 pages of illustrated educational notes about village life, Kiswahili greetings, and Mama Panya’s pancake recipe. (Set in Kenya, recommended for ages 4 -8).
Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier and Lori Lohstoeter
This is the true story of how one Ugandan child’s life was changed by the gift of a goat from Heifer International. Beatrice helps her mother care for their garden, tends their chickens, and takes care of her younger siblings. She sometimes watches the children outside the schoolhouse, wishing she could be one of them. Her mother can’t afford the fees for books and uniforms.
When Beatrice’s family is chosen as one of twelve who’ll receive a goat, she doesn’t understand why her mother is so pleased. After Mugisa arrives, she begins to see how the animal can change her future. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8).
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One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi
Who would think a story about famine and multiplication could be so engaging? Once in India there lived a raja who kept nearly all the land’s rice for himself. Even during a time of famine, he was selfish. When the raja offers to reward Rani for a honest act, all she asks him for is one grain of rice, which he will double each day for thirty days. In the process, she teaches him a valuable lesson about hoarding. Demi’s miniature paintings will convey even to younger children how the quantity of rice grows over time. (Recommended for ages 4 – 10).
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Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson
In this story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, children learn of the power of trees to solve problems of poverty, hunger, sickness, and drought. Each type of tree is attached to a particular person. This slows the story’s pace enough for children to grasp about these big problems. Kadir Nelson’s stunning illustrations will make you feel as if you are standing right next to the women as they plant their precious trees. (Recommended for ages 4- 9).
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Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood and Sally Wern Comport
When I think of a town built on a landfill, it’s hard for me to imagine anything other than survival and despair. Ada’s Violin challenged my stereotypes in telling the true story of a teacher and a group of children who learned to make beautiful music with their recycled instruments.
It’s truly a tale of community, with the town’s gancheros (recyclers who find materials to sell in the dump) figuring out what landfill materials could be used to make instruments. The book follows the children’s journey to far away lands where they open for a famous rock band. They discovered that “buried in the trash was music. And buried in themselves was something to be proud of.” (Set in Paraguay, recommended for ages 5 – 10).
The Streets are Free by Kurusa and Monika Doppert
This is the true story of a group of children from the barrio San Jose de la Urbina in Caracas, Venezuela, who simply wanted a place to play. Their impoverished community is so crowded that they cannot even play in the streets. With the help of a librarian, the children decide they will press their Mayor to give them a playground. Their bravery prompts their community to rally behind them. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10).
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Chandra’s Magic Light: A Story in Nepal by Theresa Heine and Judith Gueyfier
Sisters Chandra and Deena are intrigued when they see a man selling solar tukis (cookstoves) at the market. They realize that if their family could have a solar tuki rather than a kerosene one, their baby brother’s cough would go away. The girls make it their mission to earn the money needed for the tuki.
The book includes 7 pages of bonus material on Nepali daily life, as well as instructions on how to make a solar oven from a pizza box. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10)
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway and Eugenie Fernandes
Kojo helps his mother gather and sell firewood, but there is never enough to do more than survive. When twenty of the families in their village pool their money for a loan fund, there’s a chance for change. Children follow Kojo through the purchase of his first hen, whose extra eggs he will sell at the market, to the poultry farm he develops as an adult, where he gives out loans of his own. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10).
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“Challah in the Ark” in The Barefoot Book of Jewish Tales by Shoshana Boyd Belfand and Amanda Hall
Eliana longs to serve God with her gifts, but isn’t sure what to offer. Inspired by her rabbi’s sermon, she decides to offer God her bread, since she is the best baker in town. She bakes two of her most extraordinary challah loaves, and places in the Holy Ark in the synagogue.
Unknown to her, Samuel, who sweeps the synagogue floor, comes along a bit later. As he sweeps he prays to God because his children are hungry but he has no money for the Sabbath meal. Finishing his prayer, Samuel notices that the Ark is open. He spots the challah and thanks God for providing it for his family. This goes on each week for years, without Eliana and Samuel knowing about each other’s actions, until the rabbi discovers the situation. Will he understand how God is at work? (Recommended for ages 6 – 12).
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Mimi’s Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It by Kate Smith Milway and Eugenie Fernandes
One day when there is no clean water available on their long journey to home, Mimi lets her little sister Nakkissi have a drink from a stream. The next day Nakkissi becomes sick, and her mother must take them to the neighboring village to see the nurse. Mimi learns about simple cures that the nurse offers there, and wishes that her community could have its own clinic.
This fictional story introduces children to the real life basic interventions that make a tremendous difference in the lives of children facing poverty. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10).
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Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins and Jamie Hogan
Naima is a talented painter, creating beautiful alpana patterns that Bangladeshi women paint in their homes for special occasions. But when her father cannot bring in enough money from his rickshaw business to support them, she wishes she were a boy so that she could help him drive the rickshaw.
Naima decides she will dress as a boy and try to drive it while her father is asleep, but her efforts end in disaster. When her mother decides they must sell the wedding bangle that has been in her family for years, Naima is desperate to find a way to help their family earn money. (Recommended for ages 7 – 12).
Serafina’s Promise by Anne E. Burg
Serafina’s dream of becoming a doctor seems almost impossible as she lives in a remote village in Haiti where her mother always needs her help at home. When Serafina’s home is washed away in a flood, she fears that her dream has also disappeared. The encouragement of her friend Julie Marie, as well as the support of a woman doctor, gives Serafina courage to ask her parents if she can go to school. This haunting novel in verse is one that older children and adults alike can appreciate. (Recommended for ages 10+).
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7 responses to “18 Children’s Books About Poverty and Hunger”
Thank you Rebekah. Your post are always very helpful. I need to buy a gift for a kid. I probably buy The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes and Louis Slobodkin. I really want to help children develop empathy towards kids like them who struggle with poverty. Thank you so much.
It’s a really moving story! I’m looking forward to my little guy being just a bit older so that I can read it to him.
Love this list. I see myself referring to it often this school year. Thanks!
Thank you Deana for checking it out! I hope that books are eye-opening for your students.
What a great list of books, Rebekah! Many of these were new to me so thanks for sharing them.
You have so many of my favorites on this list. Thanks so much for sharing during Multicultural Children’s Book Day.
Yellow Prince, Vasil Barka
About Holodomor in Ukraine. We read this book when I was childhood.