GOAL 1 – NO POVERTY
Everyone deserves to live a life free from poverty and a chance to thrive. Millions of people around the world don’t have enough money to pay for food, a house, comfortable beds to sleep in, clean water, access to medical care or schools.
There are many reasons why people are poor including unemployment, natural disasters, social and economic changes, and lack of access to basic services. Sustainable Development Goal 1, No Poverty aims to help people who are suffering and lack the means to prosper.
We encourage you to read these books and hope they will inspire you to take action and help us to make this world a better place for everyone.
The SDG Book Club makes content available in the six official languages of the United Nations – please see our other pages for more recommendations in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.
Special message from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed
Serafina’s Promise
This tale of one girl’s aspirations to be a doctor is a sad and unflinching depiction of poverty in Haiti but also an uplifting story about the power of love. Serafina both gives to and receives from her parents an understanding and fervent love. It’s this nucleus of her family which supports her through all hardships. This is a thoroughly engrossing piece of imagined reality, guaranteed to whet the appetite for more such literature. It is also saturated with warmth in its tales of friendship, experiences that buoy the narrator even as she watches a baby brother fade into nothingness, blighting her faith in humanity.
Author: Ann E. Burg | Illustrator: Sean Qualls | ISBN: 978-0545535670 | Publisher: Scholastic Press
Last Stop on Market Street
A beautifully illustrated book that looks at material poverty through the eyes of a young boy who rides on a bus with his grandmother across town. As CJ points out the things that other people have that he doesn’t, his grandmother responds with a positive and hopeful answer to show the beauty of life’s simpler things, the wonderful people who they know and meet on their ride through the city, and how rich their lives already are.
Author: Matt de la Pena | Illustrator: Christian Robinson | ISBN: 978-0399257742 | Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Reader
A Chair For My Mother
This book describes the dedication in restoring and rebuilding your life after a devastating fire. The fear and uncertainty are real for so many people around the world living in poverty. This book gives hope and is the perfect example of giving to those in need. The little girl focuses on the important things in life and the importance of giving and doing something for others. This story also shows how three strong women overcome hardship and restore their lives.
Author: Vera B Williams | Illustrator: Vera B Williams | ISBN: 978-0688040741 | Publisher: Greenwillow Books
The Happy Prince
High above a city stands a gilded statue of the Happy Prince and a swallow who both witness the suffering, injustice and poverty of the people below. At the behest of the Happy Prince, the swallow begins to strip the statue of its jewels and gold leaf to give to the city’s poor. A poignant story by Oscar Wilde about compassion, charity, and selflessness.
Author: Oscar Wilde | Illustrator: Maisie Paradise Shearring | ISBN: 978-0500651117 | Publisher: Thames & Hudson
We encourage you to host book club meetings around the world and share your photos via hashtag #SDGBookClub. If you would like to organize a public book club meeting, we recommend contacting your local book store, library or school and set it up with them. Please share the planned event on social media using #SDGBookClub and we will add it to the list of events. Click the button below to download our tips to organize a successful event!
Help us spread the word by downloading our promotional materials. You will find a horizontal banner, bookmark, placard and easy-to-print sign-up sheet for your friends, family and community to join the SDG Book Club!
The International Publishers Association (IPA) is a federation of publishing associations from around the world. The main mandate of the IPA is to promote and defend copyright, support the freedom to publish, promote literacy and reading. IPA is an accredited NGO in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN. IPA supports the SDGs and works particularly closely with WIPO and UNESCO.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. Founded in 1927 in Edinburgh, Scotland at an international conference, we celebrated our 90th birthday in 2017. We now have more than 1,300 Members in nearly 150 countries around the world. IFLA was registered in the Netherlands in 1971.
The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is a non-profit organization that represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together. Today IBBY comprises 79 National Sections worldwide.
The European & International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) represents national booksellers associations in the European Union and beyond. EIBF Members in turn have in membership booksellers of all kinds: brick and mortar bookshops, online bookshops, independents, chains.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) is the most important international trade fair of the children’s publishing industry. With over 50 years of experience, BCBF has succeeded in bringing together a unique and diverse global audience: the result is the world’s premium copyright business hub when it comes to publishing with an extra core that extends to all multi-media content for children.