Home for Margaret

PreS-Gr 3–Hiking through woods with her mother, Emma is surprised to meet Margaret, a gray-haired woman who lives in a tent in the snow. Back home, Mom tells Emma “Some people have lost their jobs. Some people have health problems. No one chooses to be homeless.” Noticing that Margaret seems cold, the pair make repeated visits to the tent with gifts of food and warm clothes. Mom, a social worker, “calls several shelters” on Margaret’s behalf, ultimately arranging stable housing for her. The illustrations, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, show the contrast between the changing seasons, and between Emma’s warm home and Margaret’s chilly tent. Mom and Margaret have fair skin, while Emma’s appears a shade darker. Readers will relate to Emma’s compassion and Mom’s concern, but Margaret’s own perspective is conspicuously absent and the book ignores the fact that no one asks for Margaret’s consent before intervening in her life. This well-meaning interference, and the happy ending it precipitates, undermine the book’s attempt to show young readers that people experiencing homelessness are still, most importantly, people.