"Heart-breaking child’s eye view of life below the poverty line"
Shortlisted for CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2021 | Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | October 2019 Book of the Month
Kate Milner, winner of the 2018 Klaus Flugge Award for most promising newcomer to children’s book illustration has certainly lived up to her laurels with this delicate and subtle picturebook, which packs a real emotional and political punch. It is a cause of great shame to many, in this country and in the 21st century, that more children than ever are living in poverty and that there has been a huge expansion in the use of foodbanks. Mum works really hard and watches every penny, but today is a no money day. Her little girl, who tells the story, takes great pleasure in life from the simple, free activities they share- visits to the library and dressing up in the charity shops. Unlike her humiliated Mum, she loves the visits to the food bank for the drink and biscuits and the kind ladies to talk to. On the way home they play the maybe one day game- dreaming of pets and washing machines and new warm clothes. They go to bed and “because of kind people our tummies are full”. Nothing is laboured in text or image- the colours are subdued but still there. The despair and tiredness of the mother is evident in every expression and nuance of body language, but so is the warmth and love between them and so is the irrepressible spirit of a child who knows they are loved even if as the pictures subtly show us, she is clearly malnourished. This is a book which can be used with a very wide range of children and will encourage empathy and discussion of a very current and appalling crisis in our society.
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Mum works really hard, but today there is no money left and no food in the cupboards. Forced to visit the local foodbank, Mum feels ashamed that they have to rely on the kindness of others, but her young daughter can still see all the good in her day like reading and drawing, and even the foodbank. Maybe one day things will be different but for now together they brighten up even the darkest of days.
A moving insight into the sad rise and necessity of foodbanks from the perspective of society's most vulnerable, and an essential book to help develop empathy in younger readers.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed It's a No-Money Day and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-6 years old
It's a No-Money Day features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 3+ readers, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s, Teenage and Educational, PSHE: Family Issues, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Featured Books for 5+ readers
It's a No-Money Day is available in Paperback
It's a No-Money Day was written by Kate Milner and published by Barrington Stoke Ltd
It's a No-Money Day has 32 pages
£7.19
