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Picture Books:
The Babe and I by David A. Adler
PreS-Grade 2. The young narrator of Adler's story knows he shouldn't be disappointed with his humble birthday gift because he is quite lucky his father has a job during the Great Depression. Then he discovers that his father is actually unemployed and sells apples on the street, so the boy decides to contribute to the family's earnings by selling newspapers outside Yankee Stadium. When Babe Ruth buys a paper from the boy, he leaves a tip big enough to make a dream come true.
Finding a Job for Daddy by Evelyn Maslac
PreS-Grade 2. Laura's daddy is looking for a job and Laura helps him by circling the newspaper want ads with her crayons. Her parents help her understand why he does not have a job and how the job-search process works. Watercolor illustrations add warmth to this story about the feelings parents have and the adjustments they must make when one of them is out of work. Laura's parents reassure her that no matter what her daddy will always be her daddy.
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
PreS-Grade 2. It is 1935 and Uncle Jim's niece has moved to the big city to help him with his bakery while her unemployed parents look for work. A passionate gardener, Lydia Grace plants flowers and vegetables wherever she can, and after many months, she surprises Uncle Jim with a delightful rooftop garden. In turn, he surprises her with the happy news that her father has found work and she can return home. Illustrations in this Caldecott Honor Book depict the time and setting with the use of subdued watercolors and period details.
Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen
PreS-Grade 3. Black-and-white line drawings offer children of diverse backgrounds the possibility of seeing themselves in this powerful story of a father's job loss. Told in the first person, this touching story reveals a young child's confusion over and eventual understanding of his family's tight times. Scenes reveal parent emotions and struggles. The young child's wish for a pet and the parents' refusal eventually lead to a creative, uplifting solution.
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Grades 1-5. A visit to the park is told from four points of view: a haughty mother, an unemployed father, the woman's son, and the man's daughter (all shown as gorillas). The surreal illustrations and simple text hint at the depression felt by many unemployed people and the disdain that some feel toward them. Despite their sensitivity to their respective parents' feelings, the children enjoy playing together. The joy and support that many children give to an unemployed parent is evident throughout.
Novels:
Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal
Grades 4-6. Things are up and down for fifth-grader Harper Lee Morgan. Her father and his drinking are gone, but the rent is past due, and their landlady, Mrs. Early, is out of patience. Harper is focused on readying her poetry for a school contest, but when her mother loses her job and Harper has to stay home with her younger brother, her hopes for the contest fade away.
Candyfloss by Jacqueline Wilson
Grades 5-8. Faced with the choice of staying with her father or relocating with her mother, baby brother, and stepfather to Australia, Floss chooses to stay with her father, not realizing that he faces eviction. As Floss and her father struggle to make ends meet, she turns to her new classmate Susan and their teacher, Mrs. Horsefield, for help and support. The British words and phrases are explained in an appended glossary.
Meet Kit: An American Girl by Valerie Tripp
Grades 3-4. Although it's 1934 and the country is in the throes of the Great Depression, Kit Kittredge and her family live a comfortable life. When some friends lose their home, Kit's mother invites them to stay with the Kittredges. Soon afterward Kit's father loses his business and the family decides to rent out rooms in their home to make ends meet. At first Kit is upset that she must give up her room, but then she turns the attic into a special place of her own, discovering that "changes can be good."
The Noonday Friends by Mary Stolz
Grades 4-7. In this Newbery Honor Book set in the early 1960s, Franny Davis' father can't keep a job. His wife, their 11-year-old twins, and 5-year-old son respond in different ways to his unemployment. Bright, responsible Franny struggles to keep her friendship with Simone Orella. Simone's cousin, recently arrived from Puerto Rico, has difficulty finding a job because of his accent. The ways in which each family resolves their problems makes for a touching story about tight times, friendship, and fear.
P.S. Longer Letter Later: A Novel in Letters by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin
Grades 5-8. This collection of chatty yet poignant letters exchanged between best friends Tara*Starr and Elizabeth reveal Elizabeth's father's job loss, depression, and descent into alcoholism. The middle-school friends, separated when Tara*Starr's family moves away, struggle to maintain their friendship through letter writing. The sequel to this epistolary novel, Snail Mail No More (2000), is a series of e-mail exchanges between these two faithful friends.
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
Grades 4-6. Ramona's feelings of fear, sadness, and loneliness, resulting from her father's job loss are clearly depicted in this Newbery Honor Book. Mr. and Mrs. Quimby's conversations about house and car payments, unemployment insurance, taxes, and shopping make this an extremely realistic portrayal of tight times for this middle-class family. Ramona and Beezus challenge their father's smoking habit with, "How come Daddy can afford to smoke?" The children's provocative anti-smoking campaign leads to important conversations about health, savings, and family priorities.
Saving Grace by Priscilla Cummings
Grades 5-8. Grace's family is evicted from their apartment just before Christmas in 1932. With no place to go, their older son gravely ill, and a baby on the way, her parents have little alternative but to leave Grace and her two younger brothers at a mission. Invited to spend the holidays with a family who can give her regular meals, new clothes, and other amenities, Grace feels guilty about having so much when her parents have so little. This is a vivid story of the difficult decisions that poor families may be forced to make to survive.
Trading Places by Claudia Mills
Grades 5-7. Although fifth-graders Amy and Todd are twins, they are very different. Todd is organized and likes to build things; Amy is messy and likes to write poems. Told from their respective points of view, this story chronicles the changes in Todd and Amy's lives when their stay-at-home mom starts working and their engineer father becomes depressed over his unemployment. Gradually, the entire family pulls itself together and discovers hidden talents that help them through a challenging period.
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
Grades 4-7. When her father loses his job, Mary Alice, 15, rides the train alone from Chicago to her grandma Dowdel's small Illinois town. There she attends the local 25-student high school, struggling to make friends, and spends the year learning her grandma's tricks, including protecting the outside privy from Halloweeners, catching a fox, and baking flaky pie crusts. Filled with one adventure after another and a bit of romance, this sequel to A Long Way from Chicago (1998) is a Newbery Medal winner that gives readers an understanding of small-town life during the Great Depression.
Poetry:
Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli
PreS-Grade 3. This Newbery Honor Book is a collection of poems written by Diana, a precocious, curious girl who loves the night sky, her friend Rosa, and poetry writing. Diana is happy with life until her father loses his job. She wrestles with a variety of emotions that her teacher helps her to identify: sadness, anger, confusion, and, finally, comfort. Eventually Diana and her family relocate six hours away to live with Grandpa, and she soon discovers joys in this new setting that she grows to love.
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