No Place

By Kay Haugaard

Book Overview

A moving story of building hope, inspired by the true story of Estrella Children's Park in central Los Angeles, where kids created the destination they dreamed of.

Having no place to play in their run-down inner city neighborhood, twelve-year-old Arturo and the other kids in his sixth-grade class decide to turn a vacant lot into a playground. At first Arturo thinks his idea might be foolish. Not only do his brother and the other gang members in Los Vatos Locos make fun of him, but even school officials are skeptical of the plan. With their somewhat loopy teacher's help, however, the kids begin to build community support for the park.

No Place offers inspiration for children--along with good advice about how to take an idea and make it a reality.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571316167
• ISBN13: 9781571316165
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 9

Customer Reviews

Citizen activism at any age

I received a copy of this book at the MayDay parade in Minneapolis in 2007, and I finally read it last winter. It brought tears to my eyes - the idea that a group of children could make such a profound change in their own community even while facing very real setbacks from their family and community is a message more people of all ages need to know about. Citizens taking control of their communities and making them places for themselves and their families to live is becoming increasingly important, and this book in its way tells you how, and tells you the emotional situations you're likely to encounter while doing it.

No Place

As a teenager in a small town in suburban Minnesota, a novel that portrays life for a Hispanic-American in LosAngeles, opens my eyes to the "outside world", so to speak. It really influenced me, in the sense that, like Arturo Morales, the young boy, I am looked upon as small and insignificant. Another factor against Arturo and his aspiring friends is the fact that he is hispanic. As the story progresses, Arturo realizes that he has the power and courage to make a difference! By reading this book, I too realize that the people who look at me as insignificant, are totally wrong. I can make a positive impact on lives if I set my mind to it. This is a wonderful book that will open the eyes of many teens! Haugaard does a wonderful inspiring job in her novel, No Place!