Teacher
Buhle, Paul.
FDR and the New Deal for Beginners.Hanover.
New Hampshire: Steerforth Press, 2010. Provides historical background of the FDR administration and the New Deal.
Egan. Timothy.
The Worst Hard Time.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Follows the struggles and endurance of families who suffered and endured the Dust Bowl.
Knepper, Kathy.
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters to Eleanor Roosevelt through Depression and War.
New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004. Collection of letters written the First Lady received from citizens of the United States during the Great Depression and wartime.
Terkel, Studs.
Hard Times: An oral History of the Great Depression.
United States: Pantheon Books, 1970. Hundreds of oral histories of people from a variety of backgrounds who lived through and survived the Great Depression
Student
Atwater, Richard & Florence.
Mr. Poppers Penguins.
Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1938. This classic chapter book written during the depression tells the tale of Mr. Popper poor housepainter who never gives up on his dreams to reach the North Pole.
Burton, Virginia Lee.
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939. Another classic written during the depression era. Great message of hard work and perseverance and coming to age during challenging times.
Curtis, Christopher Paul.
Buddy, Not Buddy
. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999. Award winning book based during the Great Depression in Flint Michigan. This text depicts the journey Bud takes after fleeing his foster home to find his father.
DiCamillo, Kate.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
New York: Random House, 2006.
Foresman, Scott.
The Ultimate Dick and Jane Storybook Collection
. United States: Grosset and Dunlap, 1984. Sample of popular basal readers children learned how to read with beginning in the 1930’s. Lack of diversity and stereotypical characters made them fade out of classrooms by the 1980’s.
Freeman, Russell.
Children of the Great Depression
. New York: Clarion Book Company, 2005. Excellent non-fiction text about the Great Depression with many personal narratives and depictive photographs.
Harper, Jo & Josephine. Finding Daddy: A Story of the Great Depression. New York: Turtle Books, 2005. Narrative text about a young girl who searches for her father when he leaves the family to find work during the Great Depression.
Hurst, Carol Otis.
Rocks in His Head.
Hong Kong: South China Printing Company, 1988. Narrative story about a gas station owner who is only left with his prized rock collection after the economic downturn of the Great Depression forces him to close his station. With his rocks and perseverance new dreams are met.
Koller, Jackie French.
Nothing to Fear.
San Diego: Harcourt Books, 1991. Set in the 1930’s during the Great Depression depicts the challenges a young boy faces after his father leaves the family to find work. Danny perseveres to help his mother and sister survive the difficult times of the Great Depression.
Mitchell, Margaree King.
Uncle Jed’s Barbershop.
New York: First Aladden Paperbacks, 1998. Narrative text based during the depression era which emphasizes hard work and faith pays off.
Moss, Marissa.
Rose’s Journal: The Story of a Girl in the Great Depression
. United States: Harcourt Books, 2003. Fictional journal based on the researched events a girl of the Great Depression would feel and express.
Phelan, Matt.
The Storm in the Barn
. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2009. Graphic novel depicting a young boy’s experiences during the dust bowl. Excellent choice for ELL’s and reluctant readers.
Piper,Watty,
The Little Engine that Could
. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1976. Another classic tale from the 1930’s which value hard work and optimism.
Stanley, Jerry.
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the school at Weedpatch Camp.
New York: Crown Publishers, 1992. Non-fiction text which tells the events challenges of the family victims of the Dust Bowl as they tried to resettle in California.
Stewart, Sarah.
The Gardener
. Canada: Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd, 1997. Set during the Great depression this story provides the message of perseverance and maintaining a positive attitude during difficult times.
Taylor, Mildred D.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
New York: Dial Books, 1976. San Diego: Harcourt Books, 1991. This Newbery Medal book depicts the African American experience in the Deep South during the Great Depression. Shows the struggle of the Logan family as they are faced with racism and injustice and how they endure with integrity and pride.
Turner, Ann.
Dust for Dinner
. United States: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc, 1995. An easy reader which tells the story of a family during the Dust Bowl.
