Book Review:
"Shelter Folks"

by Virginia Kroll

Illustrated by Jan Naimo Jones

Reviewed by Christopher Essex

Illustration by Jan Naimo Jones. Not to be reproduced without permission.
In Shelter Folks, Nine-year-old Joelle and her family are forced to move into a neighborhood shelter. It is winter, and the shelter is warm and dry, but Joelle is ashamed and scared about this change in her life. She is especially worried that her friends at school will find out that she is one of the "shelter folks." Joelle's little brother Eli quickly makes friends with the other people in the shelter, who come from many backgrounds and cultures, but it takes awhile for Joelle to make a friend. Making life even more stressful for her is the fact that her class is putting on a Thanksgiving play and she has been chosen to be the narrator, a very important part with many lines. "Me, having to talk to a big crowd of people about being thankful," Joelle muses glumly. But she finds that she does have things to be thankful for as she discovers that the "shelter folks" are a community that cares about her.

This storybook for elementary-school-aged readers was published just in time for the winter storms of 1995, and no doubt many of its child readers will be snuggled in front of a fireplace, or bundled up in a comforter, as they read it. The book serves as an important reminder to children who are in more fortunate straits than Joelle to think about, and feel charitable towards, other children who may not share their comfortable circumstances. It would be a good story to read with a child before doing something such as helping out at a mission, or donating some change to a Salvation Army bell-ringer, or taking a less-fortunate friend of the child's out to a warm dinner. It is also an important book for children who may have spent some time in a shelter, or who otherwise live less comfortable lives, to see their experiences shared and validated in a storybook.

The author, Virginia Kroll, a recent winner of the Publisher's Weekly Cuffie Award for most promising new author, has a fine eye for detail and description of movement:

"Get going," Mama sighed.
Two brown plastic bags were on my bed. I slapped them off. They flew across the floor and lay there like shiny rectangular snakes.

The trash bags that Joelle's family uses to pack up their belongings are symbolic of Joelle's low self-esteem during the change of circumstance her single-parent household faces. No doubt many children of various backgrounds can identify with the girl's feelings of disappointment and shame at her family's lowered socioeconomic status.

Illustration by Jan Naimo Jones. Not to be reproduced without permission.
The illustrations, by Jan Naimo Jones, are realistic pen-and-ink drawings that clearly capture the personalities of the various characters, who come from various ethnic backgrounds. Some color would have been nice, but the black and white, low-contrast drawings complement Joelle's gray mood, especially at the beginning of the story.

The main criticism that could be levelled at this story is that it suffers from what might be termed the "sit com" syndrome: that is, the appreciation that the book earns for bringing up a difficult and often ignored subject is a bit diminished by the fact that the realities of the subject are somewhat glossed over or 'white-washed'. The shelter is far from the typical picture one has of these places, with row upon row of bunks, but instead is an old hotel, with separate bedrooms and baths for every family. And the community of the "shelter folks" is almost unbelievably friendly and well-mannered. No one swears or drinks or is bitter about their situation. In fact, Joelle's situation almost seems improved, as the author points out that her old neighborhood was a very isolated and unneighborly place: "A few other people I knew by sight but not by name. Everybody kept to his or her own self there." The shelter almost seems like a kind of summer camp, which isn't necessarily bad, and could be very comforting for a child confronting a move to a shelter, but this may not be typical of shelter life across the country.

Overall, though, this is a very interesting and entertaining book on a subject that needs to be explored more often in children's fiction. The characters are distinct and easily empathized with, and the drawings are well-crafted and vivid.

PCTO Rating: (4 of 5 stars)