( From CLCD )
Stephanie Zvirin (Booklist, Sept. 1, 1992 (Vol. 89, No. 1))
Not all of the 50 period photographs were available at the time of this review, but Stanley's text is a compelling document all by itself, supplying much more than the history of the construction of Weedpatch School that the subtitle implies. The book begins with a vivid account of the "Dirty Thirties," picturing Dust Bowl farmers driven from their homes by "the winds of despair." The first part of the text records the enormity of the Dust Bowl exodus and the migrants' desperate, dangerous journey, with the remainder of the book focusing on the efforts of Leo Hart, who founded Arvin Federal Emergency (Weedpatch) School, and on the group of Okie children who actually built it. Throughout are songs, stories, and comments from individuals who survived to tell of the filth and heat and dust, of the meals of coffee grounds and apple pits, and of the prejudice and poverty encountered in the California promised land. The story is inspiring and disturbing, and Stanley has recorded the details with passion and dignity. An excellent curriculum item. Category: Middle Readers. 1992, Crown, $15 and $15.99. Gr. 4-8. Starred Review.

Awards, Honors, Prizes:

Friends of Children and Literature (FOCAL) Award Winner 1993 United States
Jefferson Cup Award Winner 1993 United States
John and Patricia Beatty Award Winner 1993 United States
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Winner 1993 United States
Western Writers of America Spur Awards Winner 1992 Nonfiction United States