The Queen On Our Corner

A little girl notices a homeless woman and her dog living on the corner of her street in the space where a house used to stand, and decides she is a Queen: one who has had a busy life fighting many battles, who has come to rest here with her dog. Many of the other people in the community don’t see the woman as a Queen, and in fact, some of them wish she’d go away. Yet, the kind little girl makes sure that she and her mum always bring the Queen food to eat and blankets to keep her warm.

However, one night, when a house on the street catches fire, it’s the Queen on the Corner who calls the alarm and wakes everyone up to help. The little girl makes sure that everyone knows that without the Queen’s help, the fire would have been much worse, and people realise they’ve been wrong to judge her. Even better, the community work together to make sure that the Queen on the Corner has a real home to keep her warm and dry.

This marvellous picture book with stunning artwork from Nia Tudor will quite possibly provide an introduction to young children about the concept of homelessness, and it does so in a gentle but still realistic way. There’s a happy ending for the Queen, and a note from author Lucy Christopher at the end which talks about her inspiration for the book and may inspire children to think about kind things they can do for the homeless in their area, too.