Customer Reviews

Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp

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We don't often think of discrimination being directed against whites in the United States, but that was the case for many "Okies" who migrated to California in the 1920s and 30s. In the community of Weedpatch, CA--a small farm town near Bakersfield--the children of the white migrant farmworkers were not allowed to attend school with the other children in the community.

This book tells the story of the man who fought the community and the powers that be in order to start a school for these kids to make sure they got a decent education. His achievements exceeded his ambitions, as the school was a well deserved success. Many of the students went on to greater things, something that would have been hard to imagine before.

"Children of the Dust Bowl" was written for kids, but anyone interested in this unique time in our country's history would enjoy it.

I had to priviledge of being a student of Jerry Stanley's at Cal State Bakersfield, so I am somewhat biased in my praise for him and his work. This book deserves all of it, though. It is an excellent work in living history and well worth your time

The writing in this book is excellent, flowing evenly from page to page. Many of the photographs within are pure art, having been taken by Russell Lee, Dorothea Lange, and others. These two people are the Pieter Bruegel and Thomas Hart Benton (depicting plain, everyday folk) of American photography. This book relates a small chunk of American history, to be sure, but more than that, it relates universal themes of the human condition. Overall, the book relates the brutal conditions of the dust bowl, the migration over the mountains and desert, taunting and prejudice from settled Californians, and eventual attainment of excellence, as revealed by the construction and maintenance of the Weedpatch School, which eventually became a model school in the community. My 5 1/2 year old enjoyed reading every page, and found particular mirth in the unusual daily chore that the dust bowl children did with their cows. The description of this unusual chore is worth the price of the book. What was this daily chore? One way to find out is to borrow or purchase this book.

this book is an excellent companion to the historical ficiton book "Bud, Not Buddy." By reading aloud sections of Children of the Dustbowl, teachers could build some of the background knowledge that would help children understand how the daily lives of the average person changed as a result of the Great Depression and the 5-year drought in the Midwest.
Given the devastation of Hurriicane Katrina, this book also offers insight on what can happen when large numbers of people must migrate because of weather-related disasters.

In Jerry Stanley's note to his book The Children of the Dust Bowl, he infers that the usage of "Okie" has two meanings: one being a derogatory term used to abuse, and the other a term associated with a people "determination to accept hardship without showing weakness." This small message epitomizes the mood of his book, as it was the migrants who travelled West in the hopes of arriving to California with a better life, and relates many of the hardships and obstacles they faced along the way. Associated with the author's note is the introduction, which speaks of the publicity and coming to be of John Steinbeck's highly successful yet very controversial novel The Grapes of Wrath, a novel which focuses on one of these Okie families, the Joads, as they make their way amid the prospect of better lives. Stanley gives insight into the reaction from those who were depicted in Steinbeck's novel--those who lived in the southern San Joaquin Valley--as well as those came from the many "Dust Bowl" states.

As far as the book itself, it is a testament to this trek west, filled with personal stories and black and white photos depicting the Dust Bowl and its consequences to the southern farmers, the migrant families in their jalopies with all their possessions, their troubles along Mother Road Highway 66 as they head out, the various camps set up for the Okies as they headed west, as well as Weedpatch Camp and school and the activities done there. These pictures capture this era of time during the Depression as well as the story itself. The book concludes with excerpts about the building of Weedpatch School, as well as the adjustments many of the Okies made when they arrived here.

Stanley's book is a powerful story, one which localizes the history of those who made the bold trip out to the West. It also serves as a wonderful resource for anyone studying this time period.

Recommended!

Much has been said about this book. All I can say is, "wow" what a book. I shed bittersweet tears as I read this wonderful book. Although I never lived in Weedpatch, I was born in 1935 to migrant Arkies. We lived in the Linnell Camp near Visalia. This story is my life. Oh how I could relate. This book was like a motion picture, that I was in, and I traveled right down the road with it. I don't know if a person could relate if they haven't lived this life, but, I know that this book is so well written and illustrated that surely a person with a heart and caring spirit should be able to follow this book even if they could never imagine the deep down hardships, how the kids and families stuck together, bonded and had a good time. A lot of us could add our names to the long list of Weedpatch kids that became a success; it only takes hope, dreams, a longing for a better tomorrow, and a can do spirit. It is always an added benefit to have a man like Mr. Hart to believe in you. I loved this man and only wish he were still alive so that I could thank him for caring and acting on those cares.

I'll admit that I didn't know a lot about the Dust Bowl before reading the historical romance novel, The Happy Immortals, that was set back then and also in 1949. Since falling in love with that book, I've become a voracious reader of anything I can get my hands on relating to the Dust Bowl, the Panhandle, etc.

Children of the Dust Bowl is such a powerful book. Though focused on children who went through those horribly hard times (as did the character of Tom Bristow in the novel I mentioned previously), it's a must-read for adults, too.

What happened during the 1930s during the "dusters" is a very important part of our country's history, and the more we understand about the bittersweet blend of hope, despair, and courage that came from the experiences of those years--all is vital to discovering what led to the 1940s and beyond.

Reason for Reading: Read aloud to my son for our history curriculum.

This is the story of a group of people who called themselves "Okies", having come from the Oklahoma region, who migrated to California from the Dust Bowl area during the Depression of the 1930's. Through extensive photographs and quotes from those who were youngsters at the time we get an insider's look at the Dust Bowl and what it was like to live there at the time. We are taken along for the ride as jalopies laden down with a family's worldly goods headed west for migrant farm work in the San Joaquin Valley area of California. Then the book focuses on life there for the "Okies" They met terrible opposition from the people already living there and prejudice became rampant. The "Okies" lived a bedraggled life in tents, with rags for clothing and children who were not wanted in the schools. Children would taunt them and teachers would ignore them. The prejudice they faced was almost unbelievable that it resembled racism. One person is quoted as comparing them to "white folks". How are people from Oklahoma less white than those from California?!?! My son and I were amazed and shook our heads at how little it can take for prejudice and racism to rise from the smallest of differences between people.

Then comes along Leo Hart, a high school counselor who saw the need for these children to be educated and through sheer determination and wits he began to build a school for them. He easily raised money from the Californians when they learnt the money was to build a separate school for the "Okie" children and he scoured the universities looking for like-minded graduate teachers to come teach at his school. Together, Leo, the children, staff and parents built the school and as soon as possible classes started taking place. There were two rotations where half the school would work on academics in the am and work on building in the pm and then they'd switch at lunchtime. Little did they know that the Weedpatch School would become such a success. Leo was ahead of his times in wanting to create a diverse education for his students which not only included the academics but also included animal husbandry, carpentry, plumbing, agriculture (growing their own food for their cafeteria), kitchen skills, (the cafeteria meal was prepared by teachers and students together). One of the teachers who taught typing and stenography was also the chemistry teacher and she taught the girls how to make their own face cream and cosmetics! The school also had its own C-46 where they were taught aircraft mechanics and any students earning marks over 90% in math were allowed to drive the plane up and down the runway!

This book is suitable for middle grade to young teen readers and as a read aloud to younger students. The writing isn't exactly the most compelling narrative, but the story itself is so interesting that with the photographs and quotes from the surviving children make it a powerful read despite any dryness in the writing. A great book for getting a feel for the Dust Bowl, and the resulting migrant workers and their hardships. The story has ties to Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath which are discussed in the text and the two would make a good read together for older students.

Being an Okie I had heard stories from my grandparents about the dust bowl when I was a child. This book is a wonderful look at the past and how children and adults struggled during the dust bowl. These were displaced people hoping to survive in a state that didn't want them. Much to my surprise I found a cousin of mine in this book, Willard Melton. I highly recommend this book for all ages.

My 10 year old daughter was required to read a non-fiction book and create a project for her 5th grade English class. She is an avid reader of fiction, but was not enthusiastic about reading non-fiction. This marvelous book by Jerry Stanley has changed my daughter and her reluctance in this area. She was moved by the story of these Dust Bowl migrants who came to California to find a better life and their struggle to move forward from adversity. Mr. Stanley's book is excellent. While written for young readers, he does not write down to them. Instead he brings the young reader to his level. The photographs by noted artists bring further dimension to this stellar work. My daughter could not put it down.

This book is a beautiful testiment to the human spirit, and the resilancy of the American spirit.
It is also the story of taking a chance on people that other's find useless.
A beautiful book and a beautiful story.