Katelan Janke

The Dear America books offer a wonderful way to teach children American history. I thoroughly enjoy reading them myself.... and as a homeschooling Mom, I consider them a very valuable educational resource.

I found this one particularly interesting... I have family in TX, but never even knew about the "Dust Bowl era". I was blown away upon finding out the author of this book was 15....the writing skill and mental maturity displayed here are on par with experienced adult writers. Well done show more Katelan!! show less

Grace Edwards is a little girl growing up in the heart of the Texas panhandle in the midst of the Dust Bowl. Fierce, dust-filled winds ravage the plains and threaten the town's agricultural livelihood. Will Grace's family's farm survive?

very strong w historical content but unfortunately does not read like a journal to me more like it could've just been a regular hist fic :( v impressed a 16 year old wrote this don't get me wrong it's just. not my favorite DA book. did learn quite a lot tho. absolutely bonkers we just had... years of insane dust storms. anne of green gables win.

At first I wasn't sure how good this new Dear America book would be, since Katelan Janke, the author, is just fifteen years old. But I was pleasantly surprised, since she has written a book just as good as many of the Dear America books written by adult authors. Katelan Janke has written a fictional diary of a young girl living in Katelan's own hometown during the Great Depression. Twelve-year-old Grace Edwards has lived on a farm near Dalhart, Texas for her whole life. But it's 1935, and show more the region is suffering from a terrible drought as the entire country is devastated by the effects of the Great Depression. Grace describes her daily life in a diary as her family faces hardship and sorrow. She describes their determination to hold on and to never give up hope, even as many of their friends and neighbors abandon their homes in the hopes of finding a better life elsewhere. If you have doubts about reading this book because of the author's age, you shouldn't. Katelan Janke is a good writer and has written a good book for the Dear America series. show less