about the book
Several specks of dust could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. In other words, they are very, very small! But get millions and billions of them together with a strong wind, and they can cause very big problems.
That is exactly what happened in the “Dirty Thirties” in the United States. We even know the day it started—April 14, 1935, a Sunday, when a strong, wild wind picked up and formed a “duster,” a terrible wind storm on the southern plains of America.
In places the sky turned black. The wind threw sand at high speeds at houses and cars, scraping off their paint. Even trains derailed, and lightning coursed through the dusty air. People report sand and dirt falling out of the sky like rain and snow. People could not see. They got lost. Some suffocated.
That was just the beginning of the terrible American Dust Bowl years.
about the author
Born and raised in Long Island, New York, Don Brown’s love of history stems back to his younger days. He received his Bachelor of Arts in History from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Most of Mr. Brown’s book characters are people who shaped history in some way, but were lesser-known subjects. He often centers a book on a single day and gears the book to readers that can handle more realistic art and text.
Don always keeps a quote in mind as he starts to write and tries to use it in the book. He creates the text for the book first, and only after the text is set thinks of the art. He does feel the text and the art are equally important.
Don has held various careers throughout his lifetime: clam digger, washer-dryer repairman, waiter, and movie theater manager. Currently a full-time author and illustrator, he resides in Merrick, Long Island with his wife, Debra, and their two children.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview
Personal e mail from Mr. Brown
Personal e mail from Lauren Wolh, Roaring Brook Press
Also by Don Brown:
He Has Shot the President! : April 14, 1865 : The Day John Wilkes Booth Killed President Lincoln (Actual Times). Roaring Brook Press. 2014.
America Is Under Attack : September 11, 2001 : The Day the Towers Fell (Actual Times). Roaring Brook Press. 2011.
Gold! Gold from the American River! (Actual Times). Roaring Brook Press. 2011.
All Stations! Distress! : April 15, 1912 : The Day the Titanic Sank (Actual Times). Roaring Brook Press. 2008.
Let It Begin Here! : April 19, 1775 : The Day the American Revolution Began (Actual Times). Roaring Brook Press. 2008.
The Train Jumper. Roaring Brook Press. 2007.
The Notorious Izzy Fink. Roaring Brook Press. 2006.
Our Time on the River. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2003.
read more!
All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale
After his mother dies and his father commits suicide in Depression-Era Oklahoma, Jack and his friends, siblings Jane and Tony, decide to steal a dead neighbor’s car and get out of state. As they go, they meet a gangster and get caught up in several risky adventures involving hobos, gangsters, and con men.
The Dust Bowl Through the Lens by Martin W. Sandler
The 1931-1937 Dust Bowl disaster was devastating. What caused it? Can we prevent it from happening again? Photographers were hired to document effects of the disaster and the harmful farming practices that caused it. These photos brought about social changes as well as new agriculture guidelines.
The Train Jumper by Don Brown
If you are out of work and luck in the Great Depression, where are you to go? For Ed “Collie” Collier, the answer is the train tracks, joining the hobos who hop trains looking for a better life. Collie’s goal is to find his older brother who ran off after their father died. Along the rails he will encounter hunger, hostile characters, and perhaps some new friends also seeking escape.