So What Do You Do? - Hardcover

Douglas Evans is the author of MVP*, Apple Island, and the previous collections of classroom tales: Math Rashes and The Classroom at the End of the Hall. He has a master's degree in education and has taught for fifteen years in settings ranging from a small logging town in Oregon to international schools in Helsinki and London. He currently lives in Berkeley, California.

Grade 5-8?In this overly optimistic look at homelessness, sixth-grader Charlie Fuller is shocked to discover his beloved third-grade teacher living on the streets of his California town. Though Mr. Adams does not initially acknowledge their past connection, Charlie and his friend Colleen try to improve their former teacher's situation. They take him gifts and food and clean his cardboard house. More importantly, they tell him how he changed their lives. Over the months, the man pulls himself out of the alcoholic haze that has trapped him. When some rampaging teens tear up the homeless encampment, the children take the injured Mr. Adams back to his former classroom and, with the help of the school custodian and a local policeman, care for him. Plans are formed to get their friend an apartment, help him get started on a hoped-for career as a writer, and celebrate his years as a teacher. This is a worthy book, putting a face on a problem that many people try to ignore. By detailing the steps that can lead a successful person to homelessness, Evans creates empathy for the individuals caught in its trap. Most of the homeless people are positively portrayed. While the violence and hardship of the encampment are mentioned, they are seemingly not dangerous enough to intimidate two sheltered, rich children who visit there every day. The inherent question posed throughout is, "So What Do You Do?" when faced with an unsolvable problem. Personal action and commitment may help, but how realistic, not to mention safe, is the action outlined here? Not very.?Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
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