A PLACE TO STAY

A woman and her young child try to make the best of things when they enter a homeless shelter.

The young narrator is understandably wary. Mama, attempting to allay her child’s anxiety and demonstrating a coping strategy, pretends it’s a royal abode. Inside, an administrator guides them to their bedroom; Mama offers up more playful scenarios to find fun amid new surroundings. Later, the two join other mothers and children of various ages and with different skin and hair colors in the communal dining room; one smiling girl wears the hijab and another, glasses. (The protagonist and Mama present white.) By shower time, the narrator feels acclimated enough to be the one to invite Mama to join an imaginative game, though this scene feels rushed. This gently told tale aims to reassure. It evokes a sense of immediacy, though the decision not to name the narrator may distance readers. There’s no explanation for why there are no adult men here, nor does anyone mention the absence of fathers. The flat, bright pencil-and-acrylic naïve-style illustrations succeed, with charming make-believe sequences and wide-eyed characters exuding hope. Except for a tearful woman shown on one page, readers could infer that residents feel welcomed and safe. Youngsters believing shelters are cheerless and impersonal may be comforted by the clean, colorful, and cozy facility. The backmatter offers lucid information about homelessness and shelters.

A comforting, accessible introduction to a not often discussed subject.