The Best Children’s Books About Homelessness

“What are the best Children’s books about Being Homeless?” We looked at 86 of the top Kids Homelessness books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 18 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Kids Homelessness” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 50+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

---

---

Top 18 Children’s Books About Being Homeless

---

---

18 .) A Shelter in Our Car written by Monica Gunning

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

Since she left Jamaica for America after her father died, Zettie lives in a car with her mother while they both go to school and plan for a real home.

---

---

17 .) Beatrice’s Goat written by Page McBrier and Lori Lohstoeter

Lists It Appears On:

• Lets Lasso The Moon
• The Barefoot Mommy

A young girl’s dream of attending school in her small Ugandan village is fulfilled after her family is given an income-producing goat. Based on a true story about the work of Project Heifer.

---

---

16 .) Crenshaw written by Katherine Applegate

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal, Katherine Applegate delivers an unforgettable and magical story about family, friendship, and resilience. 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 has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything? Beloved author Katherine Applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary.…

---

---

15 .) Hold Fast written by Blue Balliett

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

On a cold winter day in Chicago, Early’s father disappeared, and now she, her mother and her brother have been forced to flee their apartment and join the ranks of the homeless–and it is up to Early to hold her family together and solve the mystery surrounding her father.…

---

---

14 .) How to Steal a Dog written by Barbara O’Connor

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother’s calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer.…

---

---

13 .) Just Under the Clouds written by Melissa Sarno

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

Since her father’s death, Cora, twelve, longs for a permanent home for herself, her special-needs sister, and their mother while navigating middle school and studying trees using her father’s field notes.

---

---

12 .) No Fixed Address written by Susin Nielsen

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

From beloved Governor General Literary Award–winning author Susin Nielsen comes a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship and growing up when you’re one step away from homelessness. Felix Knuttson, twelve, is an endearing kid with an incredible brain for trivia. His mom Astrid is loving but unreliable; she can’t hold onto a job, or a home. When they lose their apartment in Vancouver, they move into a camper van, just for August, till Astrid finds a job. September comes, they’re still in the van; Felix must keep “home” a secret and give a fake address in order to enroll in school. Luckily, he finds true friends. As the weeks pass and life becomes grim, he struggles not to let anyone know how precarious his situation is. When he gets to compete on a national quiz show, Felix is determined to win — the cash prize will bring them a home. Their luck is about to change! But what happens is not at all what Felix expected

---

---

11 .) One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference written by Katie Smith Milway and Eugenie Fernandes

Lists It Appears On:

• Lets Lasso The Moon
• The Barefoot Mommy

Based on a true story, tells of how a poor Ghanaian boy buys a chicken through a community loan program, which eventually helps lift him, his mother, and his community out of poverty.

---

---

10 .) Paper Things written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

When Ari’s mother died four years ago, she had two final wishes: that Ari and her older brother, Gage, would stay together always, and that Ari would go to Carter, the middle school for gifted students. So when nineteen-year-old Gage decides he can no longer live with their bossy guardian, Janna, Ari knows she has to go with him. But it’s been two months, and Gage still hasn’t found them an apartment. He and Ari have been “couch surfing,” staying with Gage’s friend in a tiny apartment, crashing with Gage’s girlfriend and two roommates, and if necessary, sneaking into a juvenile shelter to escape the cold Maine nights. But all of this jumping around makes it hard for Ari to keep up with her schoolwork, never mind her friendships, and getting into Carter starts to seem impossible. Will Ari be forced to break one of her promises to Mama? Told in an open, authentic voice, this nuanced story of hiding in plain sight may have readers thinking about homelessness in a whole new way.…

---

---

9 .) The Family Under the Bridge written by Natalie Savage Carlson

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

An old tramp, adopted by three fatherless children when their mother hides them under a bridge on the Seine, finds a home for mother and children and a job for himself.

---

---

8 .) The Hundred Dresses written by Eleanor Estes and Louis Slobodkin

Lists It Appears On:

• Scholastic
• The Barefoot Mommy

In winning a medal she is no longer there to receive, a tight-lipped little Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson. Includes a note from the author’s daughter, Helena Estes.

---

---

7 .) The Lady in the Box written by Ann McGovern

Lists It Appears On:

• Pragmatic Mom
• Scholastic

When Lizzie and Ben discover a homeless lady living in their neighborhood, they must reconcile their desire to help her with their mother’s admonition not to talk to strangers.

---

---

6 .) The Old Man written by Sarah V

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom

Day breaks over the town. Get up, everybody! It’s time to go to school. For the old man too, it’s time to wake up. The night was icy and he’s hungry. His name? He doesn’t know . . .

---

---

5 .) The Streets are Free written by Kurusa and Monika Doppert

Lists It Appears On:

• Scholastic
• The Barefoot Mommy

Based on a true story, the children of a slum in Caracas–with the help of a librarian–rally around the dream of creating a playground.

---

---

4 .) Tight Times written by Barbara Shook Hazen

Lists It Appears On:

• Lets Lasso The Moon
• Scholastic

A small boy, not allowed to have a dog because times are tight, finds a starving kitten in a trash can on the same day his father loses his job.

---

---

3 .) Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen written by DyAnne DiSalvo

Lists It Appears On:

• Lets Lasso The Moon
• Pragmatic Mom

A boy spends the day with Uncle Willie in the soup kitchen where he works preparing and serving food for the hungry.

---

---

2 .) Fly Away Home written by Eve Bunting

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Pragmatic Mom
• Scholastic

A homeless boy who lives in an airport with his father, moving from terminal to terminal and trying not to be noticed, is given hope when he sees a trapped bird find its freedom.

---

---

1 .) Sam and the Lucky Money written by Karen Chinn

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Lets Lasso The Moon
• Pragmatic Mom

Sam must decide how to spend the lucky money he’s received for Chinese New Year.

---

---

---

The 50+ Additional Best Kids Books About Being Homeless

---

---

#	Books	Authors	Lists
19	Challah in the Ark	Shoshana Boyd Belfand and Amanda Hall	The Barefoot Mommy
20	A Haitian Story of Hope: Sélavi: That is Life:		Pragmatic Mom
21	A Kids’ Guide to Hunger & Homelessness: How to Take Action!		Lets Lasso The Moon
22	Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay	Susan Hood and Sally Wern Comport	The Barefoot Mommy
23	Almost Home	Joan Bauer	Goodreads
24	Another Bullshit Night in Suck City	Nick Flynn	Goodreads
25	Blink and Caution	Tim Wynne-Jones	Goodreads
26	Breakfast at Sally’s: One Homeless Man’s Inspirational Journey	Richard LeMieux	Goodreads
27	Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard	Liz Murray	Goodreads
28	Can’t Get There from Here	Todd Strasser	Goodreads
29	Chandra’s Magic Light: A Story in Nepal	Theresa Heine and Judith Gueyfier	The Barefoot Mommy
30	Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America	Lisa Gray-Garcia	Goodreads
31	December		Pragmatic Mom
32	Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City	Matthew Desmond	Goodreads
33	Faith the Cow		Lets Lasso The Moon
34	Falling Down	Eli Easton	Goodreads
35	Front Desk	Kelly Yang	Goodreads
36	Girl in Pieces	Kathleen Glasgow	Goodreads
37	I Am A Bear	Jean-François Dumont	Goodreads
38	I Can Hear the Sun: A Modern Myth		Pragmatic Mom
39	I See You	Michael Genhart	Goodreads
40	If the World Were A Village		Lets Lasso The Moon
41	Lizzie Flying Solo		Pragmatic Mom
42	Louisiana’s Way Home	Kate DiCamillo	Goodreads
43	Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard		Pragmatic Mom
44	Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya	Donna Jo Napoli and Kadir Nelson	The Barefoot Mommy
45	Mama Panya’s Pancakes	Mary and Rich Chamberlin and Julia Cairns	The Barefoot Mommy
46	Maniac Magee	Jerry Spinelli	Goodreads
47	Migrant	Maxine Trottier and Isabelle Arsenault	The Barefoot Mommy
48	Miles from Nowhere	Nami Mun	Goodreads
49	Mimi’s Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It	Kate Smith Milway and Eugenie Fernandes	The Barefoot Mommy
50	Miss Pinkeltink’s Purse	Patty Brozo	Goodreads
51	No and Me	Delphine de Vigan	Goodreads
52	No Ordinary Day	Deborah Ellis	Goodreads
53	No Place	Todd Strasser	Goodreads
54	One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale	Demi	The Barefoot Mommy
55	One potato, Two Potato		Lets Lasso The Moon
56	Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America	Jonathan Kozol	Goodreads
57	Refugee	Alan Gratz	Goodreads
58	Rickshaw Girl	Mitali Perkins and Jamie Hogan	The Barefoot Mommy
59	Roam		Pragmatic Mom
60	Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together	Ron Hall	Goodreads
61	Saving Red	Sonya Sones	Goodreads
62	Seedfolks	Paul Fleischman	The Barefoot Mommy
63	Serafina’s Promise	Anne E. Burg	The Barefoot Mommy
64	Shingebiss		Scholastic
65	Shoebox Sam		Pragmatic Mom
66	Si, Se Puede!		Scholastic
67	Sorta Like a Rock Star	Matthew Quick	Goodreads
68	Still a Family: A Story about Homelessness	Brenda Reeves Sturgis	Goodreads
69	Suttree	Cormac McCarthy	Goodreads
70	Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women	Elliot Liebow	Goodreads
71	The Bridge Home	Padma Venkatraman	Goodreads
72	The Can Man		Pragmatic Mom
73	The Double Bind	Chris Bohjalian	Goodreads
74	The Exact Location of Home	Kate Messner	Goodreads
75	The Glass Castle	Jeannette Walls	Goodreads
76	The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough (CitizenKid)		Lets Lasso The Moon
77	The Hard-Times Jar	Ethel Footman Smothers and John Holyfield	The Barefoot Mommy
78	The Invasion of Tork	Claire Davis	Goodreads
79	The Language of Flowers	Vanessa Diffenbaugh	Goodreads
80	The Lunch Thief		Pragmatic Mom
81	The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City	Jennifer Toth	Goodreads
82	The Pecan Man	Cassie Dandridge Selleck	Goodreads
83	Towers Falling	Jewell Parker Rhodes	Goodreads
84	W is for Wasted	Sue Grafton	Goodreads
85	Wolf Hollow	Lauren Wolk	Goodreads
86	Yard Sale	Eve Bunting and Lauren Castillo	The Barefoot Mommy

---

---

5 Best Children’s Books About Being Homeless Sources/Lists

---

---

Source	Article
Goodreads	Popular Homelessness Books
Lets Lasso The Moon	Top 10 Books to Help Kids Understand Hunger
Pragmatic Mom	Homelessness in Children’s Books
Scholastic	Read-Alouds About Poverty and Class
The Barefoot Mommy	18 Children’s Books About Poverty and Hunger