It's Expensive To Be Poor
It's Expensive to Be Poor
A beautifully illustrated children's book that teaches fairness, empathy, and awareness - not pity.
When a curious child overhears a grown-up whisper, "It's expensive to be poor," they set out to understand what that really means. What follows is a journey through everyday moments - shoes that wear too soon, heaters that waste too much, groceries that cost more in smaller packs, and dreams that stretch far beyond budgets.
Through the eyes of different children - Jill, Keith, Matt, Nancy, Tasha, Jamie, Tommy, Lisa, Penny, and Josh - readers discover how unfair systems make life harder for families who are already doing their best. But they also discover something powerful: dignity, creativity, and community can grow anywhere fairness is planted.
Each page pairs simple rhyming verse with vivid, empathetic illustrations that bring these truths to life - not to make readers sad, but to help them see. It's a story about noticing. About asking why things are the way they are - and imagining how we can build something better.
What Readers Will Discover
- Why "poor" doesn't mean lazy - and why fairness is about systems, not judgment.
- How children can recognize inequality with compassion and critical thinking.
- How families and communities help each other survive unfair rules.
- How awareness can lead to advocacy - even in small, everyday acts.
This isn't a book about giving charity; it's about building understanding. It helps readers - children and adults alike - see the invisible costs that come from poverty, and how awareness can become the first step toward change.
Recommended Reading Age
Ages 6-11 (Grades 1-5)
Ages 6-8 - Enjoy it as a storybook read-aloud: helps children understand empathy, fairness, and community in simple, concrete ways.
Ages 9-11 - Use it for discussion and reflection: older readers connect with the deeper meaning - systemic inequality, compassion, and cause and effect.
Reading Level
Lexile roughly 500L-700L (independent reading for grades 3-4, shared reading for younger).
Simple rhythm and rhyme make it accessible, yet layered enough for classroom and SEL discussion.
Best Uses
- Social-emotional learning (SEL)
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion lessons
- Poverty and fairness awareness
- Classroom empathy projects
- Family and community reading nights
Why This Book Matters
It's Expensive to Be Poor challenges one of the most harmful myths in society - that poverty is a personal failure. Instead, it shows how small, unfair differences add up to large, invisible barriers. Through children's eyes, readers see what adults often overlook: the hidden costs of survival and the quiet defiance of those who keep going anyway.
The story ends with hope and solidarity - not pity.
"The only way to conquer poor
is standing up for each other."
That's what makes this book so special - it turns awareness into action, compassion into courage, and learning into change.
From the Advo Cat Kids Collection
Created by Advo Cat Publishing, The Advo Cat Kids Collection helps children explore big ideas - fairness, empathy, identity, and courage - through storytelling that empowers rather than pathologizes.
Other titles include:
- Label Stuck on Me - Understanding labels and perspective.
- In His Shoes - Seeing the world through empathy and respect.
- The Monster in Me - Understanding how feelings grow or shrink depending on what we feed them.
Each book sparks reflection, not lecture - opening hearts and minds to the ways we can make the world a little fairer.
Customer Reviews
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