Synopsis
It is wintertime in the city and freezing cold, but not everyone is inside and warm. Ben and his sister Lizzie know that there is a lady who lives outside in a box over a warm air vent. The children worry about the kind-looking lady, and begin sneaking food and clothes out of their apartment for her. Gently told and powerfully illustrated in rich hues, The Lady in the Box deals candidly with the issue of homelessness.
Publishers Weekly
McGovern (Playing with Penguins) writes a touching story from the perspective of Ben, a boy who, with his older sister, brings food and a warm scarf to Dorrie, a homeless woman living in a box outside their neighborhood deli. When the store's owner bans Dorrie from the sidewalk, the children's mother convinces him to let the woman return to her space by a heat grate. Ben convincingly shares his thoughts and observations, as when he smiles at Dorrie: "I thought she smiled back. Maybe she didn't. Maybe I just wished she had." While some of the portraits of the children and their new friend are affecting, Backer's (Emma and the Night Dogs) textured oil paintings are inconsistent. On some pages, images and characters' faces are sharp and lifelike, on others they appear blurry and undefined. Still, this is a worthy collaboration that illuminates the realities of homeless life and offers no happy, pat conclusion. Ben sounds the heartening note that the smallest kindnesses can make a difference. Ages 4-up. (Sept.) FYI: The book is also available in a Spanish hardcover edition, La seora de la caja de cartn.