Valerie Polakow
Teachers College Press
240 pages, $19.95.
A careful, provocative analysis of the heartbreaking trials of low-income families in need of adequate child care. Firsthand accounts, both alarming and gripping, underscore the struggles of families living beneath the poverty line, single mothers trying to get an education, immigrant mothers and “difficult” children. Although much of the book details the hardships faced by the families of the nearly 43 million children living in poverty, Polakow offers hope with the stories of five determined low-income mothers who were able to stabilize their families’ lives by getting access to high-quality child care. (800) 575-6566, http://www.tcpress.com.