The Lady in the Box

by Ann McGovern

Summary

When Lizzie and Ben discover a homeless lady living in their neighborhood, they must reconcile their desire to help her with their mother’s admonition not to talk to strangers.

Questions

1) How do you think someone would feel by sleeping in a box out on the street? Cold? Safe? Comfortable? Relaxing?

2) (page 4-5) How could you tell if someone was hungry?

3) (page 6-7) How could you tell if someone was cold?

4) (page 16) How did Dorrie end up living on the street? Can you think of other reasons that would force someone to experience homeless? What kind of problems do people run into when living in a shelter (hint: the reason why she didn’t want to sleep in the shelter anymor 5)?

5) (page 19) “Dorrie smiled a big smile”, not just because she could finally move to a warmer spot, but also because someone cared enough to help her! What other ways did the kids show Dorrie they cared?