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Suggestions for 2009-2010
There are no Children Here: the Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America
By Alex Kotlowitz
Title available in paperback?: Yes
Pages: 336
The story is a true one of two young brothers, Pharoah and Lafeyette Rivers and their mother,
LaJoe, who struggle with the challenges of urban life in the Henry Horner Homes of Chicago.
I've found the book appeals to students because they care about the fate of the characters, but at the same time,
investigative journalist author Kotlowitz succeeds in teaching us all the graphic problems and effects of urban poverty,
racism, educational inequality, police brutality, over-crowded courts, illegal drugs, gangs and violence, welfare,
poor nutrition, addictions, stress and lack of healthcare, and an urban landscape where children know to dodge bullets but
still chase rainbows and hunt for garter snakes with crowbars near railroad tracks and piles of old tires.
--title nominated by Gail Hadley, X101 College Reading & U100 Threshold Seminar Co-coordinator,
School of Education / Academic Learning Services
Article and Web site of Interest
Author's Web Site
Coles, Robert. "There Are No Children Here (Book Review)."
Smithsonian. Oct 1991
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