The was a story about people coming from all walks of live. They cam go live in what is called a settlement houses. This is were people lived that had little to no money and kids had things to do to stay busy. This is a great story of how life is and not giving up you can go places. Students of all ages and grade should read this book for life lessons.

While this book does offer an overview of settlement houses, why they sprang up, and the activities children would have done at them, it was more of a dry narrative than something that was personal and touching. By taking a slightly different approach to the book and incorporating a more personal approach, the author could have incorporated all that and made it a reading experience that would linger with her readers. There are not, however, a lot of books that address the topic, so it is still a useful book to use with children whose urban immigrant ancestor might have enjoyed some of the activities at these homes. The book is illustrated by black and white photographs depicting persons who were a part of these homes. ( )