The plight of the homeless

Runaway by Wendelin van Draanen (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.)


Winner: Sequoyah Book Award 2009, Sunshine State Young Reader's Book Award, 2009

12 year old Holly is on the streets after running from her fifth foster home.  Preferable to living with abuse, she shares with us by her diary entries, her daily struggle to find food, shelter and safety. Holly is accustomed to living on the streets; she did so with her mum before she died of a drug overdose leaving Holly to a life of abuse in foster homes.


This serious and powerful story ends with hope for the future.  Readers will be drawn to Holly and her circumstances and won't look at homeless people in the same way afterwards. For ages 10 and up. 

A habitat after war - how do we restore it?

The bomb by Theodore Taylor (San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1995.)


Winner: Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award 1996

Teen readers will realise that our habitat has been at risk long before global warming and climate change became catch phrases.  The Bomb tells of Sorry, a young islander on the Bikini Atoll after WWII.  The Americans, who liberate the island from the Japanese, decide that it would be a good place to further test their new weapon, the atom bomb. The islanders agree to temporarily move to another island while the Americans prepare, but Sorry and his uncle aren't convinced that the move will be a temporary one.  When Sorry's uncle dies, it is left to him to carry out his plan to stop the bombing.  Tension builds throughout the book, with the author presenting historical facts side by side with the fictional story until the books tragic conclusion. The books also brings home the fact that the islanders were ordinary people who had their home and heritage taken away from them, a basic right that was taken away from so many during and after the war.  Readers will be left with much to think about.

Written for children ages 10 and up.

A futuristic existence?

Ship breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (New York: Little, Brown and Co, 2010.)


Winner: Michael L. Printz Award 2011, Locus Young Adult Book Award 2011, Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan) 2011
ALA Notable Children's Book: Older Readers 2011

In this futuristic dystopian novel, teenager Nailer scavenges beached tankers for scrap metals in order to survive and avoid his violent, drug-addicted father. After another violent storm, Nailer finds a modern clipper ship washed up on the beach and thinks his fortune has been made and all his problems will disappear.  Not so, as he discovers a survivor in the wreckage, the daughter of a shipping company owner who swears she will show Nailer and his friend Pima a better life if they help her. The characters in this fast paced and bleak story make it memorable and the stark surreal story will remind teens to heed the warning signs of climate change or suffer a similar fate. For teens aged 12 and up.

See also by Paolo Bacigalupi, The Drowned Cities that further depicts the world described in Ship Breaker.

Water sustains us - keep it clean!

Flush by Carl Hiaasen (Australia: Random House, 2005.)


Winner: Georgia Children's Book Award 2007, ALA Notable Children's Books - Older Readers category 2006, Agatha Awards: Best children's or Young Adult mystery 2005

This hilarious action packed read features Noah and his sister Abbey, trying to vindicate their Dad's actions that have led to him being arrested.  Dad has sunk a floating casino boat that has been illegally dumping raw sewage into local waters. Noah and Abbey, together with a colourful cast of characters including Lice, a drunken lout and his girlfriend Shelly and the children's long lost grandfather, have all kinds of adventures and misadventures whiltst 'flushing' out the truth. Children and teens will both love the fast pace, humour and attention grabbing style of Hiaasens writing, where the environmental issue of dumping sewage is centre stage.

Hiaasen has written several ecologically themed books for children, all where an environmental issue is left to the kids to right, and amateur sleuthing saves the day.  Visit 

 http://www.carlhiaasen.com/young.html  for more titles, including the popular Hoot and the recently published Scat and Chomp.

The impact of mass population

The Rabbits by John Marsden, illustrated by Shaun Tan. (Port Melbourne: Lothian, 1998.)


Winner: Children's Book Council of Australia: Children's Book of the Year Awards: Picture Book of the Year 1999.

This beautifully illustrated picture book tells of the arrival of technologically proficient "Rabbits" to a new land that leads to conflict with the indigenous residents, overcrowded cities and devastation of the natural environment. The rabbits are a metaphor for the white settlers of Australia and the story focuses on the impact of their arrival on the aboriginal people.  Whilst the story can be seen to be one sided (that of the indigenous), the bold and creative illustrations have powerful visual impact. Readers will come away thinking about the effects on habitat when little respect is shown for the natural environment.


Whilst categorised as a book for 9-12 year olds, teenagers will also appreciate the message being conveyed.

Our habitat 'The Big Picture'

Saving the planet and stuff by Gail Gauthier (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2003.)

16 year old  under-motivated and underachieving Michael, takes advantage of an offer from his grandparents friends to work as an intern at their ecologically oriented magazine during the summer holidays.  Without much thought, Michael accepts the offer of living away from home with Walt and Nora, with their pro-environment beliefs and finds himself 'freaked out' by the composting toilets, lack of air conditioning and piles of junk in his bedroom that Walt and Nora refuse to take to the overflowing rubbish tip. Whilst answering e-mails at the magazine, he stumbles across a plot to take over the magazine, and a refusal by the managing director to expose a well-known company for knowingly producing defective material.

Set in the here and now in the US, this story is funny, nice and pacy with lots of reference to appealing themes for teens, such as mass consumerism and ecological issues. There are lots of references to pop culture and even a romance on the side for Michael. Will appeal to ages 10 and up. 

The predicaments facing migrants and refugees

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Melbourne: Lothian, 2006.)


Winner: NSW Premier's Literary Awards: Book of the Year, 2007; Winner, Scholastic Australia Best Designed Children's Picture Book, APA Book Design Award, 2007; Silver Award Spectrum Art Award, 2007; Australian Book of the Year for Older Children 2007 (Australian Book Industry Awards); Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year 2007; Winner Premier's Prize 2006, and WA Premier's Book Awards, 2006 [Children's Books]; Winner Golden Aurealis and Young Adult Short Story, Aurealis Awards, 2006.

A graphic novel/picture book where the issue of dislocation is explored, what it means to be uprooted from familiar surroundings and come to a distant land as millions have done in the past century. Readers journey with a nameless man who leaves his homeland and family to forge a future in a bewildering unfamiliar landscape full of indecipherable signs and strange creatures. The historical imagery and science fiction elements add to the effect and will fascinate young readers.  Older readers will be affected by the man's experiences and will appreciate the difficulties of starting over, whether it be in another country, city or community.  The importance of belonging to a community where all human rights are rightly respected is a feature, while also alerting us to the dilemmas faced by immigrants and refugees.