The House on Dirty-Third Street

by Jo S. Kittinger and Thomas Gonzalez

“Mom said starting over would be an adventure, so I imagined a tropical island... read more

“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)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2013

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