The Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern

Lizzie and Ben decide to help a woman who lives in a box at the end of their street. They bring her food and things to keep warm during the winter. The woman, Dorrie, gets asked to move out from in front of the shop where she sits by its angry owner. Now Dorrie is away from the heat that the shop provides her during the cold nights. Ben and Lizzie decide to get their mother to help; Mama goes and talks to Dorrie and finds out what happened that lead to Dorrie’s unfortunate living situation. Mama insists that the shop owner let Dorrie stay and succeeds. She helps her children find ways to help others like Dorrie. The children start helping out in a soup kitchen where the run into Dorrie more often.

The Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern is a touching story that illustrates the innocence of two children in their attempt to help a homeless woman. The book portrays within the two children a curiosity and a sympathy that one can expect from young children being presented with the, possibly unfamiliar, idea of homelessness. Lizzie and Ben’s first instinct is to reach out to Dorrie, the woman in the box. They do so in secrecy for fear that they will get in trouble for interacting with strangers, something that their mother does not allow. Dorrie’s story is one that pulls at the heartstrings; she is a very nice woman who just couldn’t make her financial means work out. The story uses the innocence of children to positively reflect the reality of homelessness in the modern world. It gives its young readers the idea that they can help and be a part of solving this issue or taking the steps to eliminate homelessness in today’s society. The story ends with an overwhelming portrayal of hope.
“Maybe someday, I thought, Dorrie wouldn’t have to live in her box. Maybe she could get a job and a place of her own. She’d have a key just like I have a key to our apartment.” (McGovern, 28)
The compassion that the children feel in this book is something that is felt inside the reader as well. The book does a wonderful job of creating questions and ideas for an underrepresented topic.
McGovern, Ann. The Lady in the Box. New York: Turtle Books, 1999.