A Reflection on Homelessness by Me

As I completed this project I had a lot of thoughts on the ideas of homelessness in children's literature. The main characters in my chosen literature are all children. They are children filled with hope. Hope was an underlying feeling in all the books that I chose. In Bud, Not Buddy, Bud was filled with the hope that he would someday meet his father and have a home that he wouldn't have to run from or worry about being sent away. Andrew in Fly Away Home hopes that he will someday be able to move into an apartment again with his father and they won't have to blend in with airport crowds anymore. In The Lady in the Box, Ben sincerely hopes that Dorrie will one day have a key to her own apartment and that her box will be a thing of the past. In December, there is more of an underlying idea of faith. Simon believes that the Christmas angel December helped him and his mother slowly rise out of poverty. Through reading the articles I came to the decision that issues like homelessness are important to introduce to children. Each article and book that I read did something to empower a young audience. Bud was strong and never gave up. Andrew helped save money so that he too could add to the privilege of one day having a home. Ben and Lizzie started small by leaving food for Dorrie and then got more aggressive on the issue by helping out in a local soup kitchen. December invoked the idea to never give up faith and that no matter what happens there may always be someone less fortunate that you are able to help.
In all the books, the feeling of sympathy arises for the young characters and while reading I was really touched and affected by all the different situations. The articles helped explain this and made the point that these issues can really affect students. Students who are introduced to these topics can be more open-minded to the realities of the world around them.
Finding hope when surrounded by hopelessness is what I was constantly reminded of while reading. The characters are strong willed and persistent and even though all of the stories didn't end happy; there is the hope in those that didn't that the characters will someday be better off.