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Life During the Great Depression
depictions in children's books
Teaching about life during the Great Depression does not have to be a downer! Most children's books on the era provide a balanced account--portraying the harsh realities and tremendous sacrifices as well as accounts of compassionate and brave individuals who were determined to survive in this harsh time.
None of the children's books listed below
focus entirely on the hardships of the era, and none of the books will leave the
reader with a sense of despair and hopelessness. Instead, these 'best books' convey the reality of life during the Great Depression,
but also leave the reader better for having read it.
Kids Books on Life During the Great Depression
Potato:
A Tale from
the Great Depression
(simple story of life during
the great depression for
a family on a potato farm)
by Kate Lied
Kindergarten - 2nd grade
The Gardener
(Caldecott book set during
the Great Depression about a
girl who brightens the lives
of those around her!)
by Sarah Stewart
Kindergarten - 2nd grade
Sky Boys
(a young boy describes
the building of the Empire
State Building during the
Great Depression)
by Deborah Hopkinson
Kindergarten - 4th grade
Rudy Rides
the Rails
(a teenaged boy rides the
rails looking for work, and
meets many people along
the way -- great snapshot!)
by Dandi Daley Mackall
3rd grade - 6th grade
The Babe and I
(during the great depression,
a boy finds out his dad is
unemployed so he becomes
a news boy at Yankee
Stadium to help his family)
by David Adler
Kindergarten - 3rd grade
Children of the
Great Depression
(a
"stirring photo-essay"
about life during the
great depression, especially
focusing on children)
by Russell Freedman
4th grade - 8th grade
Christmas After All
The Great Depression Diary of
Minnie Swift (Dear America)
by Kathryn Lasky
4th grade - 8th grade
Turtle in Paradise
(Newbery winning book
about life during the great
depression in Key West)
by Jennifer Holm
3rd grade - 5th grade
Moon Over Manifest
(Newbery Medal winner about
a girl's summer spent in her
father's hometown while he
works his new railroad job)
by Clare Vanderpool
5th grade - 8th grade
Long Way from Chicago
(funny story about kids
visiting their cooky grandma
during the Great Depression
in her sleepy Illinois town)
by Richard Peck
4th grade - 8th grade
A Year Down Yonder
(sequel to Long Way from
Chicago--full of more
crazy adventures with
Grandma Dowdell)
by Richard Peck
5th grade - 8th grade
Bud, Not Buddy
(a boy runs away from
his foster home to find his
father. Newbery Award
winning historical fiction)
by Christopher Paul Curtis
5th grade - 8th grade
Six Days
in October
The Stock
Market Crash
of 1929
by Karen Blumenthal
7th grade - 12th grade
other books set during the Great Depression
Here are several other well-recommended children's books about or set during the Great Depression.
- American Girl Kit, 1934 by Valerie (Gr. 3-6)
- Macaroni Boy by Katherine Ayres (Gr. 4-7)
- The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis (Gr. 4-7)
- All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe Lansdale (Gr. 7+)
We don't have dedicated review pages for these books
because we haven't had a chance to read yet, but we wanted to let you
know about them. To learn more about any of these books, check them out on Amazon.
Enjoy the books!
Betsy, Cindy, and Virginia (the teachers/sisters behind this website)
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