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There Are No Children Here

The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America (Helen Bernstein Book Award)

Author Alex Kotlowitz
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Paperback
$18.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
5.2"W x 8"H x 0.7"D  
On sale Jan 05, 1992 | 336 Pages | 9780385265560
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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A New York Public Library “Book of the Century.” An essential introductory sociology source, There Are No Children Here traces two years in the lives of ten-year-old Lafeyette and seven-year-old Pharoah Rivers as they struggle to beat the odds and grow up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Kotlowitz avoids preachy declarations and sanitized language, instead combining journalistic skill and rigor with basic human empathy to relate the horrors of life in the projects from the perspective of the people who live there.


“This is an excellent book that gives students an up-close and personal understanding of what it's like to live and struggle for one's existence in the projects of Chicago. Student have commented that the book ‘really opened their eyes’ to the effects of racism and poverty; as well as allowing them an insider's view of a mother loving her children desperately and trying to keep them out of gangs and drug activity. This is an excellent supplement to a sociology text; good for introductory sociology, stratification, or race relations classes.”
—Dr. Tanice Foltz, Associate Professor, Indiana University Northwest
© Kevin Horan
Alex Kotlowitz is the author of the national bestseller There Are No Children Here, which the New York Public Library selected as one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. His second book, The Other Side of the River, was awarded the Heartland Prize for Non-Fiction. For his documentary film, The Interrupters, he received an Emmy and a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. Kotlowitz’s work, which has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and on public radio’s This American Life, has been honored with two Peabody awards, two duPont-Columbia University awards, and a George Polk Award. He is a writer in residence at Northwestern University. Kotlowitz lives with his wife, Maria Woltjen, and their two children, Mattie and Lucas, just outside of Chicago. View titles by Alex Kotlowitz
  • WINNER
    ALA Notable Book
  • NOMINEE
    Booklist Editor's Choice for Young Adults
"An extraordinary glimpse into the lives of those struggling for survival and dignity in inner-city America."—Chicago Sun-Times

"Alex Kotlowitz’s story informs the heart. His meticulous portrait of two boys in a Chicago housing project shows how much heroism is required to survive, let alone escape."—The New York Times

"Alex Kotlowitz  joins the ranks of the important few writers on the  subiect of urban poverty."—Chicago Tribune

"Kotlowitz has achieved a triumph of empathy as well as a significant feat of reporting."—Los Angeles Times

"A powerful argument against the politics of inertia, hopelessness, and greed, and for a real war on poverty, violence, and racism in our country."—Tracy Kidder, author of Among the Schoolchildren

About

A New York Public Library “Book of the Century.” An essential introductory sociology source, There Are No Children Here traces two years in the lives of ten-year-old Lafeyette and seven-year-old Pharoah Rivers as they struggle to beat the odds and grow up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Kotlowitz avoids preachy declarations and sanitized language, instead combining journalistic skill and rigor with basic human empathy to relate the horrors of life in the projects from the perspective of the people who live there.


“This is an excellent book that gives students an up-close and personal understanding of what it's like to live and struggle for one's existence in the projects of Chicago. Student have commented that the book ‘really opened their eyes’ to the effects of racism and poverty; as well as allowing them an insider's view of a mother loving her children desperately and trying to keep them out of gangs and drug activity. This is an excellent supplement to a sociology text; good for introductory sociology, stratification, or race relations classes.”
—Dr. Tanice Foltz, Associate Professor, Indiana University Northwest

Author

© Kevin Horan
Alex Kotlowitz is the author of the national bestseller There Are No Children Here, which the New York Public Library selected as one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. His second book, The Other Side of the River, was awarded the Heartland Prize for Non-Fiction. For his documentary film, The Interrupters, he received an Emmy and a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. Kotlowitz’s work, which has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and on public radio’s This American Life, has been honored with two Peabody awards, two duPont-Columbia University awards, and a George Polk Award. He is a writer in residence at Northwestern University. Kotlowitz lives with his wife, Maria Woltjen, and their two children, Mattie and Lucas, just outside of Chicago. View titles by Alex Kotlowitz

Awards

  • WINNER
    ALA Notable Book
  • NOMINEE
    Booklist Editor's Choice for Young Adults

Praise

"An extraordinary glimpse into the lives of those struggling for survival and dignity in inner-city America."—Chicago Sun-Times

"Alex Kotlowitz’s story informs the heart. His meticulous portrait of two boys in a Chicago housing project shows how much heroism is required to survive, let alone escape."—The New York Times

"Alex Kotlowitz  joins the ranks of the important few writers on the  subiect of urban poverty."—Chicago Tribune

"Kotlowitz has achieved a triumph of empathy as well as a significant feat of reporting."—Los Angeles Times

"A powerful argument against the politics of inertia, hopelessness, and greed, and for a real war on poverty, violence, and racism in our country."—Tracy Kidder, author of Among the Schoolchildren

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