There Are No Children Here

“The devastating story of brothers Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers, children of the Chicago ghetto, is powerfully told.”

Publishers Weekly

“[A] powerful and moving book…Unless they have hearts of stone, few readers will fail to become emotionally involved with these boys, as Kotlowitz did…Highly recommended.”

Library Journal

“Narrator Dion Graham’s even pacing and understated intensity lend sensitivity and immediacy to Kotlowitz’s chronicle of his three years of observing the impoverished Rivers family as it struggles with poverty, drugs, gangs, and indifference. Graham’s transitions from straight narration to convincing dialogue are seamless and combine with the subject matter to grip the listener and make turning away impossible. Both author and narrator wisely avoid slipping into dramatics, letting events and participants speak for themselves. Although it’s more than twenty years old, this powerful account, sadly, is still current and will leave the listener wishing Kotlowitz had written a follow-up.”

AudioFile

“There Are No Children Here, the true story of brothers Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, ages eleven and nine at the start, brings home the horror of trying to make it in a violence-ridden public housing project…This book humanizes the problem of inner-city pathology, makes readers care about Lafeyette and Pharoah more than they may expect to, and offers a sliver of hope buried deep within a world of chaos.”

Amazon.com editorial review

“Through his extensive research and his intimate friendship with the Rivers family, Kotlowitz paints a poignant, heartbreaking picture of life in the inner-city ghetto and the overwhelming odds children must overcome to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty and crime. A must-read for everyone.”

School Library Journal