The Family Under the Bridge
Recommended. Age: 9+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Armand is an old man in Paris who lives under a bridge and wants nothing to do with children. Then he finds a mother and three kids living in his spot at Christmas. Little by little he starts to love them, and he works hard to find them a real home. This is a Christmas story about a man who is changed by loving someone. Armand begs and tells fibs at the start. By the end he prays at Mass for the family, gives up begging and takes honest work for their sake. The content is clean. The lying and the hard look at homelessness want a parent nearby.
For parents
Read aloud from seven. Independent reading from nine. Ask: why does Armand stop begging and get a job? Love makes him want to give, not just take. Talk about his fibs to the children and to people on the street. He means well, but a lie is still a lie, and the story itself moves him toward honest work. Read his prayer at Mass together and ask what your child would beg God for. Explain that 'gypsies' is an old word for the Roma people, and that the mother's distrust of them is shown to be wrong. Ask how your family can help people with no home.