Children of the Great Depression
Starred Review.Grade 4-8–Few authors are as well suited as Freedman to present a clear and understandable outline of this period. His prose is straightforward and easily comprehensible, making sense of even the complexities of the stock-market crash. The use of primary sources is outstanding. This is a book told by chorus, featuring the voices of those who endured the Depression, and is embellished with black-and-white photos by such luminaries as Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn, Walker Evans, and Russell Lee. Eight chapters cover the causes of the Great Depression, schooling, work life, migrant work, the lives of children who rode the rails, entertainment, and the economic resurgence of the early '40s. Chapter notes and an excellent bibliography round out another superb photo-essay by a veteran author. A wonderful, informed, and sympathetic overview that perfectly complements Jerry Stanley'sChildren of the Dust Bowl(Random, 1992).–Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.