The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster
Starred Review. Grade 4–8—This excellent photo-essay traces the history of the Dust Bowl from its causes to its resolution. In tandem, Sandler treats the role of the budding field of photojournalism. Forty-four spreads feature a page of clear, direct text with a large, well-reproduced image, many of which are set on color pages. Many of these, such as Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" and Arthur Rothstein's "Fleeing a Dust Storm," have become iconic. The author repeatedly makes the point that it was in large part the force of these pictures that motivated the Roosevelt administration to take action in aid of both Dust Bowl farmers and migrant workers. Seldom has the connection between the arts and the general quality of life been made so clear. The text deals equally with those who fled the decimated Bread Basket for California and those who waited out the devastation and dust. Throughout, the use of primary sources is superb, with quotations from affected citizens, the photojournalists themselves, political and entertainment figures, and writers, giving a multifaceted picture of a seminal time in United States history. This book gives a more general picture of the time than Jerry Stanley'sChildren of the Dust Bowl(Crown, 1993) and is focused more specifically than Russell Freedman'sChildren of the Great Depression(Clarion, 2005). It provides a lesson in strength and perseverance that is certainly applicable today.—Ann Welton, Helen B. Stafford Elementary, Tacoma, WAEND