Handful of Seeds — Monica Hughes

One sad day, Grandmother died.

"You cannot stay here," said the man who owned the land. "I have a family ready to move in."

Young Concepcion has no choice but to move to the [barrio] of the nearby city. There she meets children who, in order to survive, must steal the food they eat. But Concepcion has a plan. With back-breaking work she plants a garden amid the rubble, using her grandmother's legacy: a handful of chili, corn and bean seeds. But her garden is destroyed. Will she have the strength to begin again?

Monica Hughes's powerful story is complemented perfectly by the paintings of Luis Garay, a young Nicaraguan artist. Sharon, Lois and Bram provide a moving introduction. Published in collaboration with UNICEF Canada, A Handful of Seeds offers a message of hope on behalf of the thirty million children worldwide who live on the streets of their cities.