Children of the dust days

Karen Mueller Coombs, 1947-

Book - 2000

Focuses on the experiences of children during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, when prolonged drought, coupled with farming techniques, caused massive erosion from Texas to Canada's wheat fields.

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j973.916/Coombs
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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room j973.916/Coombs Due Apr 14, 2024
Subjects
Published
Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books c2000.
Language
English
Main Author
Karen Mueller Coombs, 1947- (-)
Item Description
"1931 to 1937" --Cover.
Physical Description
48 p. : ill., map ; 20 x 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 46) and index.
ISBN
9781575053608
  • Chapter 1. Black Blizzards
  • Chapter 2. Dreams Turn to Dust
  • Chapter 3. New Land, New Dreams
  • Afterword
  • Dust Days Clothing: How to Make a Burlap Shirt
  • Note to Teachers and Adults
  • Resources on the Dust Days
  • New Words
  • Index
  • Time Line
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Booklist Review

Gr. 3^-6. With spare text and photos on every page, Coombs brings the dust and drought of the 1930s to life for middle readers in this entry in the Picture the American Past series. Simple, straightforward paragraphs describe the "black blizzards," the economic toll, and the journey to find a better life in California. Occasional quotations from children's recollections of the period make the text more immediate, and sepia photos capture details that will help children understand how the dust and drought impacted every aspect of life--from corn decimated by grasshoppers and jalopies piled high with household goods to a family dressed in feed sacks and rags. Directions for making a burlap shirt are included, as are notes to teachers and adults. An exceptional introduction to this era in North American history. Resources and a brief glossary are appended. --Karen Hutt

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-6-A concise and informative overview. An introductory map shows where the dust fell-from Texas to Alberta, Canada. A period photograph on every page captures the feelings of misery and despair. One picture shows a huge wall of dark dust approaching a town in Alberta like a gigantic tidal wave. Throughout the book, children and their parents are shown coping with the problems of dust, grasshoppers, crop failure, drought, starving farm animals, rationed water, and, finally, abandoning their homes for better prospects in other places. Lyrics by Woody Guthrie, spokespoet for the period, open several chapters. In an afterword, students are reassured that, due to improved farming techniques, it is unlikely that the "sad times of the dust days" will happen again. Several activities are appended. Milton Meltzer's excellent Driven from the Land (Benchmark, 1999) is for a slightly older audience.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Short, factual texts and archival duotone photos highlight four groups of children: freed slaves after the Civil War, immigrants at the turn of the century, Dust Bowl victims in the 1930s, and Japanese Americans during World War II. Readers will need additional background knowledge to understand the significance of the historic periods, but these are adequate introductions. Notes to teachers and parents are appended. Bib., glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.