Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman (2 books)

Freedman, Russell. (2005). Children of the Great Depression. New York. Clarion Books.
118 pages. ISBN # 0-618-44630-3

Award/s: Orbus Pictus Winner, 2006
Golden Kite Award, 2005
ALA Notable Book for Children, 2005

Genre: information

Classification: photographic essay

Content area: social studies

Grade level: 4th-8th

Credibility of author: The author sites the sources of all quoted materials. He provides a three page selected bibliography of works from which he consulted while writing this book, including author and sociologist, Glen H. Elder, Jr.

Summary: This book paints a pitiful picture of what life was like for children growing up during America’s Great Depression of the 1930s. By using photographs throughout the book, most of which were made by federal photographers, Freedman is able to inform readers of what the Great Depression meant for different people all across the United States. Quotes from letters written by children to Eleanor Roosevelt are especially revealing about the effects of poverty on children and their families.

Standards: Social Studies II: Time, Continuity, and Change; Social StudiesVII: Production, Distribution, and Consumption

Illustrations: sepia-toned photographs throughout the book

Text structure: descriptive with cause-effect and chronological sequences

Tone: narrative with a serious and empathetic tone

Voice: The author conveys compassion in his voice and a true desire for the reader to feel the impact that the Great Depression had on people’s lives.

Language: The author uses age appropriate, descriptive language integrated with quotes from people who lived through the Great Depression.

Access features: Table of contents, chapter titles, forward, bibliography, photograph sources, subject index, chapter notes indicating the sources of quoted material.

Use: I would use this book primarily for independent reading while studying the Great Depression in American history. I might read some sections of the book aloud to children in order to emphasize a point. I could also see using this book as a reference during a character education lesson.

Response: As when reading Russell Freedman’s book Kids at Work, I felt a deep emotional connection. With all of the social programs available today, I think it’s hard for most people to even imagine what it’s like to go hungry or have no shoes to wear in the winter. The photographs Freedman incorporated do a great job of making it a realization for the reader. While the Great Depression supposedly ended with the onset of World War II, I believe this was mostly for the wealthier Americans. It continued for years to come for others. My grandmother has joked that her family never felt the effects of the Great Depression because nothing changed for them. They were already accustomed to a life of hard work in the fields coupled with poverty and hunger. I think life was like that for a lot of poor Southerners.

Related text:
Children of the Dustbowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp (Stanley)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Freedman)
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from the Children of the Great Depression (Cohen)