The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

A homeless man, Armand, heads to his normal winter shelter only to find three young children there instead. They inform Armand that they can no longer afford their home after their father died, and their mother is at work. They adopt him as their grandfather, despite his hesitation. He quickly grows very fond of them, as much as he’d hate to admit it, and tries through the Christmas season to protect and provide for them on the streets. He finally decides to get a job, which he does, and is delighted to find out that it comes with a very special surprise.

This Newbery Honor Book is often on Christmas-time reading lists as well as quick read-a-loud book lists. The writing is well crafted and develops the characters beautifully. Armand is curmudgeonly loveable and we feel deeply for the children. The overall pace of the story is a bit slower than some, being more character driven than plot driven, which may make it more difficult for some children to get invested in the story. However, if they stick with it, I think many children will love the resolution to this seasonal read.

There are quite a few things to be aware of with the title as I will list below, which puts this book in the “some people will love it, others will be a hard pass” category.

Language- Armand is often referred to as “hobo” or “tramp” which obviously would have been used differently in 1958 than presently.
Gay is used in its original meaning.
Stupid, witless, and twittering pests are all used as insults.

Questionable Behaviors- Some boys begin punching each other.
Armand lies to the children several times so they won’t feel bad or to make them happy.
It’s not said explicitly, but Armand steals food. When he suddenly has food in his cart, he says, “Don’t know how that stuff dropped into my buggy.”

Other things of which to be aware- Gypsies play a major role throughout much of the book. There is some talk of them being thieves, but “They don’t know there is a commandment against stealing.” One gypsy offers to tell someone’s fortune. The gypsy children tell stories about gypsies from long ago like, according to them, Saint Sara and one of the Wise Men. Referring to the gypsies and all poor people, Armand says, “Well, we’re all God’s big poor family, so we need to stick together and help each other.”

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