The Great American Dust Bowl

The Great American Dust Bowl

Written & Illustrated by Don Brown

Published in 2013 by HMH Books

ISBN: 978-0547815503

Ages 10 - 18

Awards: 2015 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens

Book Review:

The Great American Dust Bowl, written and illustrated by Don Brown, is a graphic novel.  It is non-fiction and gives a historically accurate account of the events leading up to and during the time in America known as “The Great American Dust Bowl.”  It starts with a short description of the beginning of the Dust Bowl period and then takes you back to explore the geological, economic, and cultural history before that time in the 1930s when large dust storms wreaked havoc in the great plains of the United States.  Major events are described in visual detail, such as when it rained mud during rare rainfall events or when millions of grasshoppers appeared and ate everything. The illustrations evoke a feeling of the dreary environment of the times with the use of muted browns and yellows.  With the use of sketch-type drawings, the reader really gets a sense of what it felt like to be there.  The comic-panel style with some pages with small panels and other full page illustrations helps move the narrative along.  I would recommend this title to middle grade students with an interest in the history of the United States. 

Professional Reviews:

Kirkus Review

Teaching Ideas:

English/Writing (VA SOL 8.7): The student will write in a variety of forms, including narration, exposition, persuasion, and informational.

      Students will research the events of the dust bowl. They will choose one significant event and write a newspaper article describing what happened. 

       Students will work in pairs.  One will pretend to be living in the Midwest during the dust bowl period and the other will pretend to be living on the East or West coast.  Students will write a letter to each other describing what is going on in their lives. Things to include are information on economic and familial hardships.

Art (VA SOL 8.6): The student will communicate ideas, experiences, and narratives through the creation of original works of art, using selected media.

      Students will create a comic strip with at least 8 panels depicting the events of the dust bowl. The comic can be modeled after the events shown in The Great American Dust Bowl, but with their own spin.

English/Research (VA SOL 8.9): The student will apply knowledge of appropriate reference materials to produce a research product.

Students will go to the library to research more about the dust bowl using reference materials. Students will create a presentation using PowerPoint, eMaze, Prezi, or equivalent to teach others about the time period.

History (VA SOL US.10): The student will demonstrate knowledge of key domestic events of the 1920s and 1930s by describing how Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal relief, recovery, and reform measures addressed the Great Depression and expanded the government’s role in the economy.

      Students will research the causes of the Great Depression and explore FDR’s New Deal . They will write a short essay that answers the question, “What role should the government play in an economic crisis?”

Book Pairings:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This classic novel makes an excellent pair as it takes place during the same time period in the U.S. and the characters deal with events of the dust bowl.  It is a well-known and highly respected novel that is appropriate for ages 12 and up.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Though this book was published in the late 1990s, it has several positive book reviews indicating its literary merit.  It’s a fiction novel that takes place during the dust bowl.  The reading level is lower, which will help accommodate struggling readers.

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan. This book is fiction graphic novel about the same event. It would be useful in the English curriculum as a comparison text.  It is appropriate for the same age.  The book is positively reviewed by authoritative reviewers, such as School Library Journal.

The worst hard time: the untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl by Timothy Egan. This nonfiction book would be a good choice if using as companion book at higher grade levels. It is an awarding winning look at a difficult time in American history. More appropriate for upper grades or stronger readers in lower grades.

Ashfall by Mike Mullin. Ashfall is a post-apocalyptic young adult novel that deals with struggle and loss, similar to what the people suffered during the dust bowl, but on a grander scale. It was one of Kirkus reviews best books of 2011 and is appropriate for grades 7-12.

Resources:

Part of the PBS website for the Ken Burns documentary series, The Dust Bowl.  A “Choose your own adventure” interactive experience to show students what it was like. http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/interactive/

A collection of interviews with people who lived through the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html

Timeline of events in for the Great American Dust Bowl http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/dustbowl/

The author’s website. http://www.booksbybrown.com/

A collection of poetry about the dust bowl period. http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/211010

Facts and a historical perspective of the events during the Great American Dust Bowl event. Includes video, photographs, and text.

http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl

A collection of information about the Great Depression including original art and photographs.

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm

References:

Brown, D. (2012). Books by Brown. Retrieved from www.booksbybrown.com/

Brown, D. (2013). The great American dust bowl. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers.

Egan, T. (2006). The worst hard time: The untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl. Boston, MA: Mariner Books.

Ganzel, B. (2003). Farming in the 1930s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html

Hesse, K. (2009). Out of the dust. Boston, MA: Great Source.

History.com Staff. (2009). Dust Bowl facts & summary. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl

Kansas Historical Society. (n.d.). Dust storm collection. Retrieved from http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/211010

Kirkus Reviews. (2013, July 7). The great American dust bowl. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/don-brown/the-great-american-dust-bowl/

Mullin, M. (2012). Ashfall. Terre Haute, IN: Tanglewood Press.

Nelson, C. (n.d.). The Great Depression. Retrieved from http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm

PBS. (2012). Interactive dust bowl. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/interactive/

PBS. (n.d.). Timeline: Surviving the Dust Bowl. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/dustbowl/

Phelan, M. (2011). The storm in the barn. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Steinbeck, J. (1996). The grapes of wrath and other writings, 1936-1941. New York: Literary Classics of the United States.