Children of the Sun

Children of the Sun: an Ethnographic Study of the Street Children of Latin America is a book that describes the subculture of street children inside Latin America, specifically in Mexico and Peru. It is an in-depth look at such topics as socialization, illegal drug use by children, criminal behaviors, and the lack of education or playtime, and how it may be affecting the social and cognitive development of those children who are forced into living and working on the streets. The author lived with a Mexican family in the city of Cuernevaca, 50 miles South of Mexico City, and observed and described the life of street children in Mexico who were living in abandoned buildings, parks and sewers. The author also worked as a volunteer teacher and social worker for a Non Governmental Organization in Lima, Peru in order to gain firsthand knowledge of the lives of poor children who lived in two shanty towns on the outskirts of Lima's poorest neighborhoods.