“Mom said starting over would be an adventure, so I imagined a tropical island with palm trees and buried treasure. Not this.” The house her mom has bought is on a block in such bad shape that the child narrator of this story calls it “Dirty-Third Street” instead of Thirty-Third Street. And their place is the worst, not only run down, but full of trash and old furniture. Still, it’s all they can afford. The job of cleaning and fixing it up is huge, and the neighbors initially seem more guarded than friendly. After a Saturday of hard, heavy work that seems to get them nowhere, the girl’s mom is dejected. The next day, when they visit a nearby church, the girl shares their story with the Sunday School class. Within hours, people begin arriving to help them work in Jo S. Kittinger’s authentic, feel-good story that features a strong, realistic mother-daughter duo at its core. (Ages 6–9)

A mother and daughter turn a hopeless old house into a loving family home with faith, hard work, and the support of their community.

When a girl and her mother are forced to start over, they find themselves feeling isolated and defeated. Longing for their former neighborhood and friends, and overwhelmed by the repairs their new house needs, they finally realize they can't do everything alone. The only way to make things better is to ask for help. They both learn that when you reach out to the community, people answer with kindness. As the house gets rebuilt, so does their sense of belonging.

Stunning artwork from New York Times best-selling illustrator Thomas Gonzalez provide a moving backdrop to Jo Kittinger's inspiring story that reveals how communities are created—or recreated—when people work together. The House on Dirty-Third Street will touch the heart of anyone who has faced starting over in difficult circumstances.