This book went really well with the human rights unit I'm teaching for my 6th graders. They have a hard time grasping human rights issues so this really illustrated living conditions for kids in other parts of the world- that way my students could see how access to food/clothing/shelter/ jobs / education all come together for the lives of these children. ( )

This photographic essay accompanied by poems is product of a project started in 1991 by photographer Nancy McGirr. McGirr was in Guatemela City when she encountered the children and families who lived in dumps and their fascination with her camera. She soon offered the children cameras to begin photographing their home life, family, and friends. The children wrote poems about their lives or the subjects of their photos. The phographs and poems combined provide the reader with a meaningful glimpse into the harsh, yet loving conditions of living in severe poverty in South America.

In the classroom: children authors, photographic essay, poetry, South American studies and authors, poverty, homelessness ( )

Age Appropriateness: Intermediate and Middle School
Genre: Poetry
Media: Photographs
Review:
This story is a collection of little poetical compositions by children in poverty in Guatemala, who write about their homes and all that goes on in their daily lives. This makes the story a wonderful window into Guatemala and the injustice, and tragedies that occur. A photographer once went to Guatemala to document poverty, and he ended up getting attached to the children so he set up a program where the students could take pictures, sell them, and make enough profit to attend school.
The poetry is not as sound as that of a famous poet, but one cannot expect perfection from children who have had little schooling. These children have taken pictures and were able to put their thoughts,ideas and feelings to paper. They were expressing themselves: both their triumphs and struggles.

Point of View:
The point of view is first person because the children are writing stories about their lives in Guatemala. This allows the development of feelings to fester for the children, and the reader can feel the emotions flowing as well.

Genre: Informational; poetry
Age Appropriateness: Intermediate
Review: This picture book is a collection of photos that children living in the dump in Guatemala have taken of their own lives. The children have also written poems about each of the pictures. The pictures and words convey the conditions of these children's lives and will help readers understand a world they will likely never experience.

Media: photographs ( )