It's a No-Money Day: 1

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Recently, T and I read a fantastic picture book by Kate Milner called It’s a No-Money Day. The book tells the story of a single parent and her young daughter struggling financially and having to visit a food bank. Despite the heavy subject matter, the book manages to convey an important message with clarity and hope. Four or five years ago, I was in the supermarket when I noticed a young mother carrying her toddler on her shoulder while she collected her shopping. It was really the toddler I noticed, smiling and sleepy. Like many older women, I am enchanted by young children. I am at the same time deeply nostalgic for the time in my life when I had young children, but also deeply grateful that they are now grown and I no long have to work that hard. In one of the richest societies in human history, such figures should mortify us, yet the Westminster classes take them as unremarkable. They hardly ever trouble TV bulletins or newspaper columns, while Conservative cabinet ministers such as Michael Gove sneer at the impoverished for not being able to “manage their finances”. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood.

They link to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (#1, #2) and The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (#9, #19, #24, #26, #27, #40).Now, Kate Milner has written another powerful picture book about different humanitarian crisis - poverty. The story begins when a young unnamed girl wakes up hungry one morning and all there is for her to eat is a piece of toast, leaving nothing for her mother to have. It is, she explains, a no-money day for her and her mom, which also means it is a no-food-in-the-house day.

Perfect to share with young children to develop empathy and understanding (or to recognise their own situation), this accessible tale invites discussion about what it means to live in poverty, why food banks are needed and who may use them. Shortlisted for CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2021 | Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021 | October 2019 Book of the MonthA little girl finds ways to celebrate everyday with her mom, even a no-money day. The love between the mother, who works hard and still has nothing left for the last day(s) of the month, and her daughter is palpable and no amount of poverty can change that. Their trip to the food bank is a close, still example of the dual narratives at play here in this outwardly simple picture book, the little girl happy to have a bit of an adventure and food for her tummy, and the mom heartbroken and humiliated, yet full of gratitude that there is support for her family. This story shines with positivity and with dignity and articulates an experience which many children have, but which is rarely portrayed in books. This reality must be reflected as a normal part of life, particularly in a book aimed at younger children. Most primary classes contain children who sometimes rely on food banks to eat. Through this story, a way is cleared for children and adults to speak about this kind of experience without shame. Kate Milner studied Illustration at Central St Martin's before completing the MA in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University. Her work has been published in magazines and her illustrations and prints have been shown in London galleries and national touring exhibitions. Kate won the V&A Student Illustration Award in 2016. It’s a No-Money Day is such an important book, and one that I feel passionately should be in every classroom.