Identity Books for Families to Explore: Socio-Economics

After their house is burned, the love, hope, and dreams of a mother and daughter triumph over the tragedy.

Acclaimed poet Bao Phi delivers a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son - and between cultures, old and new. A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event - a long-ago fishing trip. As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao’s father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam.

A first-person narrative and full-color photographs tell the story of young, hope-filled Mikey and his family and their stay in an emergency shelter and at New York City's Henry Street Settlement Urban Family Center.

A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

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.

A girl discovers that her impoverished family is rich in things that matter in life, especially being outdoors and experiencing nature.

"A straightforward fictional view of an urban soup kitchen, as observed by a boy visiting it with his 'Uncle Willie,' who works there every day....The difficult lives of those fed (including children)--as well as the friendly, nonintrusive attitude of the kitchen workers toward them--are presented sensitively but without sentimentality.

Despite their own poverty since Daddy died, Mama tells nine-year-old James Otis they need to help Sarah, seven, whose family lost everything in a fire.

Davey describes how he spends his time after school trying to keep safe and warm until he can meet his mother and older brother when the shelter opens at eight o'clock.

Sometimes it's hard to stay positive. Like when you live in an old school bus instead of a normal house... Or when you have mostly just bread and ketchup to eat... And especially when you have to go to a new school where all the other kids already have friends. But the sweet and imaginative boy in this book discovers that he has a tremendous talent he can use: He knows how to look on the bright side! And when he does, he can accomplish just about anything.