Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932

Dear America epilogues are just whiplash after whiplash lmao
fascinating this was based off the author's family.
She nailed the 11 year old journal voice I also just ... there's a tendency of DA books to look in from the outside and this is no exception I have no idea how the Swifts are affording everything they still are even with scrimping & saving and in truth they're not in such dire straits (Lady still going to a private girls' school even though Gwen had to leave Wellesley??) but it is for children so. oh well. Willie Faye was a nice way to bring the Dust Bowl into the Great Depression if anything.

It's late November, 1932, and the entire nation is feeling the effects of the Great Depression. Christmas is nearing, but for many families, it will be a joyless holiday. Eleven-year-old Minnie Swift fears that will be the case for her family. Although her father still has a job, he hasn't been making much money. Life changes for the whole family, however, when Minnie's orphaned cousin, Willie Faye, comes to live with the family. Eleven-year-old Willie Faye is the same age as Minnie, but she is very different. Having grown up in the dust bowl of Texas, she's had an even harder life than Minnie. Minnie and her older sisters, and even her pesky younger brother, welcome Willie Faye into their family. But when her father loses his job, show more Minnie fears that her family will soon be joining the homeless. This wonderful new Dear America book, told through Minnie's diary entries over the month from Thanksgiving to Christmas, showed how the love in a family could help make the worst of times bearable. All fans of the series will want to read this book. show less

At the age of twelve, Minnie Swift is living through one of toughest times in America's history, The Great Depression. She keeps a detailed diary over the span of one Christmas month. Reflecting the sadness -- but also the optimism -- that characterized that time, this is an intimate portrait of a midwestern family's days and nights, ups and downs, triumphs and losses. It is the story of one family's persevering spirit. The Christmas Spirit.

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

In her fictionalized journal, eleven-year-old Minnie Swift recounts how her family dealt with the difficult times during the Depression and how an orphan from Texas changed their lives in Indianapolis just before Christmas 1932.

In her fictionalized journal, eleven-year-old Minnie Swift recounts how her family dealt with the difficult times during the Depression and how the arrival of an orphan from Texas changed their lives in Indianapolis just before Christmas 1932.

Summary: This is a great book that demonstrates the struggles a young girl and her family face during the Great Depression and through the holidays. Through their efforts, they still find happiness even in the hardest of times.

Personal Reaction: I think this is a great demonstration of how things were during the Great Depression. I think there is so much in the struggle and challenges, that this story shows that love and commitment in family really did help people pull through some of the darkest times in our history.

Classroom extensions: I think it would be great for students to look on a map and see where cities grew due to the Great Depression. I think the Dust Bowl would be a great area to show students in Oklahoma due to their show more connection to the history to get them more interested in this time period. show less