The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 10

of the books analyzed, the issue is represented at the
individual level rather than as a set of issues facing
entire communities of people. Interesting to note, the
words poverty, poor, inequality, nor class are
explicitly mentioned in any of the books. Rather,
physical conditions are described (e.g. ―tatty old
robe,‖ ―our tumble down kitchen,‖ ―boarded up
houses‖). Characteristics of people living in poverty
are represented (e.g. ―getting through,‖ ―our family is
rich in more ways than we can count‖).
Issues that Contribute to Poverty. Few of the books
compare the lives of workers and of poverty with
those living in affluence surrounding them -- affluence
that is provided by the cheap labor and structural
adjustments made in the global economy (Fletcher &
Gapasin, 2008). However, the books did include a
number of intersecting issues represented that
contribute to poverty. Half of the books included
housing as a central issue for those living in poverty
(The Lady in the Box, Going Home, Something Beautiful,
The All-I’ll-Ever-Want…, Castle on Viola Street, Amelia’s
Road). Three of the books included changes in the
economy (Streets are Free, Tight Times, All I’ll Ever
Want). One of the books focused on health issues
associated with working (The Rag Coat). Two of the
books dealt with immigration and farm labor.
The Lady in the Box reinforces the dominant
narrative about homelessness. Dorrie lost her job,
could not pay rent and was forced to live on the
streets. Like the father in Tight Times, Dorrie is
positioned as ―losing her job‖ versus being fired from
her job. This linguistic framing is a pattern across the
books. The responsibility for lack of employment is
placed on Dorrie, versus on the company or person
that fired her. After she ―lost her job‖ she was ―not
able to pay her rent so she had to leave her
apartment.‖ Similarly, Dorrie is positioned as leaving
her apartment versus being evicted by the landlord.
Using the verb ―had to leave‖ versus ―was evicted‖
hides the person and actions that are responsible for
kicking her out of her apartment. It also hides the
realities of overpriced housing in New York City and
the lack of affordable housing. This narrative offers
one explanation for homelessness – being out of

work, unable to pay bills – but it closes down other
possibilities that might be explored through classroom
discussion.
Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in
homelessness over the past 15-20 years: a growing
shortage of affordable rental housing and a
simultaneous increase in poverty. Persons living in
poverty are most at risk of becoming homeless, and
demographic groups who are more likely to
experience poverty are also more likely to experience
homelessness (Ehrenreich, 2001). The book,
however, ends with reproducing the myth that if
people work they will not be homeless. Ben, the main
character, thinks ―Maybe someday, I thought, Dorrie
wouldn‘t have to live in a box. Maybe she could get a
job and place of her own.‖ This perpetuates the myth
that working hard provides financial security and
narrows the reasons why people lose their homes.
The Streets are Free, is written in 1981 and based
on a true story of the San Jose barrio in Caracas,
Venezuela. It is structured through a series of events
as the children of the San Jose barrio organize to get a
playground. We see the means through which
members of the community organize with and against
forms of governance, ultimately taking the playground
into their own hands. The illustrations capture the
stark contrast between the brick houses that make up
the hillside and the skyscrapers and commercial
buildings that characterize the valley of Caracas.
The beginning of the book highlights the
transformation of the mountainside in Caracas from a
rural to an urban space. Yet, the economic policies of
exporting oil instead of coffee left thousands of
families without work and forced to move into the
city, abandoning their homes and land are not
mentioned. Many of the children‘s books did not
name the policies that create poverty. The author of
The Streets are Free writes,
The creeks were sewers. The dirt paths were
littered with garbage. The mountain became a
very poor town called the ―barrio‖ of San Jose.
In this passage, the use of passive voice relieves any
actor or policy from the responsibility of increasing
poverty in San Jose. ―The mountain became a very

©The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p. 10