Children of the Great Depression

Accompanied by the powerful photographs of Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and others, Russell Freedman takes the young reader on a journey through a poverty-stricken 1930s America. He includes countless quotes and other first-hand information (like grocery lists, journal entries and hit tunes of the era) to season his hearty account of this tough time in our country. He covers all areas of the country, coast to coast, and all walks of life. The blacks, whites, farmers, city-dwellers, "Okie's", boxcar kids, Hooverville residents and more. Freedman offers so much information, yet blends it with incredibly touching personal stories that will pull on your heart strings. One boy tells about his father crying in the empty coal bin. Many kids show more wonder how they will get back to school and lament their inability to help their parents. Hundreds of thousands of kids write letters to Eleanor Roosevelt, asking for help. Kids share their embarrassment at their ill-fitting clothes. One girl says, "I look at the older people and wonder if they, too, feel the resentment every morning that I do, or if as the years go by their spirits are deadened". A boxcar youth recalls an experience he had when they stopped in the darkness of night, and another boxcar passenger climbed aboard. The two talked late into the night, and he says, "It was only at dawn that I discovered my traveling companion was black. It was surprising and enlightening for a boy who had been brought up in a white community".
This is a fantastic, informative, touching, thoughtfully executed book. show less

This book is powerful because of its use of firsthand accounts of the Great Depression from children who lived through it. Some of the passages are particularly moving. For example, I read that many children wrote to Mrs. Roosevelt to ask her for loans to buy food or pay bills or even for presents at Christmas. This was touching to me because it illustrates how the lives of these children were profoundly affected. Another powerful aspect of this book is its use of photography. The images of poor and desperate children will not be soon forgotten by either young or old readers alike. Despite all of the hardship, the book also emphasizes that children found happiness where they could through play or favorite radio shows. This conveys the show more message that there is hope even in the darkest of situations. show less

I simply couldn't put this book down. I found myself becoming more enthralled with this chapter in history with each page I read. I was highly impressed by the documented photographs that filled the book. A wonderful book to share within the classroom for students to see what occurred not too long ago in American History.

This book is a heart wrenching story from the start! It is a photographic essay of the lives of children growing up in poverty during The Great Depression. This book really puts The Great Depression into perspective and humanizes the history of this time period with poignant efficiency. There are detailed charts, including a shopping list from The Great Depression compared to annual salaries from the time period. The photos really bring the horror into focus. From the "Hooverville shanties to the stories of children forced to migrate from camp to camp just to get a meal the reader is slowly educated about the painful existence of these youth of The Great Depression.
Freedman, who was a journalist for the Associated Press during the show more 1950's has written at least 25 books and I have little doubt as to the accuracy of the accounts he has placed in this book.
The book is accessible in that the Index passed with 4/4 of all items I wished to look up being there. The bibliography is sparse only because, surprisingly, there has been little scholarly research and writing on the subject of The Great Depression with regard to its effects on the lives of children. There are effective notes on each chapter which in the absence of a glossary is a welcome addition. The photos are as relevant and timely as they are well placed with respect to the narrative.
Teachers: This will make an excellent source book and companion to any study of people (children in particular) who lived during The Great Depression. Its outline and notes will make it very useful for your students to use
Students: As mentioned above, you will find this book very accessible as well as useful in any report or research paper about The Great Depression. It is also an easy, fast flowing read. However, be ready to feel heartbroken for these children. show less

This book reads as if it is for an older crowd, but uses simple language. It is almost as if it were a non fiction novel about the great depression with pictures included. The text includes multiple quotes and personal accounts from men, women and teens who lived through the time period, which gives the text a more story-like feel but also makes the information more personal. The author also includes solid data from the time period, such as "42% of city homes and apartments and 92% of farms had no central heating..." to emphasize the dire situation. The text is accompanied by exquisite black and white photos taken during the great depression which capture the emotion and desperateness many felt during this time. The pictures correspond show more nicely with topics discussed at different points in the text. I really enjoyed reading this book, although it was meant for children, and found it captivating and informative. show less

Freedman uses the photographs of the Farm Security Administration, which were snapped by renowned photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Walker Evens, and Arthur Rothstein (among others), to show twenty-first century children what it looked like to be young and dirt poor during the Great Depression. It is one thing to teach children in social studies that millions of Americans struggled through grinding privation, but Freedman shows them and supports the photographs with an informative and beautifully written narrative.

I misunderstood one of the assignments and ended up reading two different nonfiction books, this one was enjoyable though. This book is made up of mainly pictures which I loved. Photos have such an amazing way of taking you back to a different time period, you can study so many different aspects of one photo which you can't always do with a drawing. I think this book would be great for students to be able to see with their own eyes what this time period was like and have it supported with great text.