The Snack Stash: A Dante Story

Dante has a system.At the bottom of his backpack, underneath the folders where nobody looks, he keeps a secret stash of snacks. Granola bars. Crackers. Pretzels. Always enough for later.Because at Dante's house, the last week before Mom gets paid can get a little thin.Dante knows Mom has a plan. He knows she always figures things out. But knowing there are snacks tucked safely inside his backpack makes the worried feeling smaller-and gives him something he can control.Then a teacher notices.Suddenly Dante has to decide how much of his secret he is willing to share, and whether accepting help means something is wrong with his family.With a funny little sister, one very observant friend, a counselor with an endless supply of pretzels, and a mom who understands more than Dante expects, he begins to discover that having a backup plan was never the problem.He just needed more than one.Warm, funny, and deeply compassionate, The Snack Stash is an illustrated chapter book about food insecurity, family, friendship, asking for help, and discovering that sometimes "enough" can mean more than what fits inside a backpack.