Customer Reviews

The Green Coat: A Tale from the Dust Bowl Years

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One of the most fantastic ways to teach children about history is through the art of storytelling. Topics which may appear dry and uninteresting in a textbook can truly come to life if they are conveyed with character and style.

The Green Coat: A Tale from the Dust Bowl Years is doubly successful as a work of fiction in that it instructs about an important period in our country's history while sharing a story that is both heartwarming and inspirational. This novel by first time author and Michigan educator Rosemary McDunn will appeal to a broad audience ranging from middle school readers to adults.

Set in the 1930s in the Great Plains state of North Dakota, The Green Coat introduces us in its earliest pages to twelve year old Tressa Bauer. Hailing from the humble farming town of Dazey, Tressa appears to be a bit of a "Daddy's girl". What her family lacks in financial resources, they seem to make up for in familial bonds.

But shortly after the celebration of her twelfth birthday, Tressa is forced to deal with some very grown up news - owing to losses suffered from a lingering drought, her parents are on the verge of losing the family farm. As auctioneers eventually sell all of their land and property, Tressa's parents are forced to make a horrible decision in order to survive.

Tressa and her older brother Will, the two youngest of the four Bauer siblings, are sent to live in the home of Doctor Heileman near Fargo, ninety miles from the place her parents have found jobs and temporary shelter. Upon her arrival in the Heileman home, Tressa must deal with her new reality. In exchange for their room and board, Tressa and Will become domestic servants in a formerly genteel home that has been ravaged by dust storms. Tressa quickly realizes that the mentally ill Mrs. Heileman is unable to cope with her domestic duties or care for her two year old son, Ben. In addition, Tressa must contend with Claire, the Heileman's daughter who is near Tressa's age but is unkind to her from the start. Tressa longs for nothing more than to leave this place and be reunited with her parents.

"I didn't sleep that night. I swayed between silent fits of rage and fear gripped me so hard that my breathing became labored. Why would God do this to us? I wondered. Ma always said God had a plan. What kind of cruel plan is this?"

While readers of all ages will be drawn to the storyline and personalities presented in The Green Coat, teachers of middle school readers should specifically consider using the text to compliment language arts and social studies curricula. Author McDunn, an experienced educator, has provided an excellent educational resource at the conclusion of the book. For each chapter, a broad cross section of vocabulary words and relevant reflection and discussion questions are provided. An additional section looks at effective tools of figurative language and provides a "treasure hunt" for young readers to spot examples of this literary technique.

A quite stream of spirituality runs throughout The Green Coat as Tressa develops an active prayer life, calling on God to help her overcome what she feels are insurmountable obstacles. Ultimately, Tressa learns to draw on her own reserves of strength to endure and ultimately triumph in her newfound circumstances. What follows is a wonderful coming of age tale where life lessons are learned, tragedies are overcome, and lifelong friendships are forged. The relationships at the center of The Green Coat, those between Tressa and her brother Will and between the two siblings and a young married couple also in great need of healing, make this book a wonderful journey. Along the way, readers young and old will learn about customs and circumstances in a part of our history that differ greatly from today's world. For its wonderful character development, compelling plot, and attention to historical detail, I give The Green Coat my highest recommendation.

History comes alive and captures our hearts in Rosemary McDunn's novel, The Green Coat. Glimpses of life during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930's are skillfully woven into the tale of a family devastated by its fury. The reader journeys with twelve year old Tressa, who, along with her brother, are forced to be separated from their parents. Though struggling with fear and loneliness, Tressa finds a deep inner strength to meet the many challenges she faces at a young age. The story is colored with wonderful detail and descriptive language that make it educational and inspiring. Readers of all ages will truly enjoy this heartwarming story, and find it to be a tribute to the power of the human spirit.

Ms. McDunn's wonderful tale of a young brother and sister that were sent away from home for financial reasons tugs at the heart. Ms. McDunn's literary style creates vivid images of life during the most trying times in midwest American history and re-ignites a yearning for the family values of self-sacrifice and action for the common good that are often missing in modern families. This book is an excellent read for both middle school readers and adults. Ms. McDunn, please tell us more about these remarkable siblings.

In her first novel, The Green Coat, Rosemary McDunn captures the struggles of a typical family during the tumultuous Dust Bowl period of American history. Through the eyes of Tressa, a twelve year old girl, the reader feels the anguish of a family separated in their quest for survival during this historical event. With her rich use of figurative language Mrs. McDunn helps her reader to understand the joys, sufferings, faith and determination of a people trying to cope and make sense of nature's fury. Children and adults will enjoy this story that celebrates the human condition. Hopefully this book will be one of many novels by Mrs. McDunn about this engaging character and her family.

The first word that came to mind when I reached the end of her book was 'wonderful' !!!
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I began to read the story. Perhaps, I was thinking that it would be more of a historical summary of the Dust Bowl years. The story did educate us on the facts, but it did it in a way that was entertaining and enjoyable.
As I read about Tressa and the hardships that her family endured, I felt as if I were there with them. Rosemary has a way of writing that draws her audience into the story. The characters in "The Green Coat" emphasize the courage and determination that is deep inside most people; an inner strength that can rise up and be held like an unbreakable shield when things seem almost unbearable. I applaud the way that Rosemary emphasized the undying faith that Tressa had by weaving it throughout the story. I will never be able to make a pot of homemade soup again without remembering the 'prayer pot'. "The Green Coat" is well written, educational, and entertaining.

Sincerely,

Joan L. Kelly

I read "The Green Coat" in a couple of tear filled hours. While it is not a lengthily book it says more in it's few pages about real faith in action then we could glean from many weeks of a Bible study about faith. In the midst of a crisis many people can not get beyond asking 'Why would God allow this to happen?' The answer is on page 104 of this book (or 105 of the revised version).

We were never promised life would be easy but we have been promised that faith in God will see us through, bring comfort and work to our good. This book shows how faith in God did exactly that for seven real people through their different heart wrenching situations. This story based on a time in the life of the author's Mother is real life faith in action.

We think we have gained so much today with our modern advances, technology, knowledge and "stuff" but in reading this book about real people in extremely tough times I see clearly how much we have lost. The author helps the reader understand that time of our country's history without going into a long description. We see so clearly through this great story how important relationships are for everyone's good. Unfortunately we are too busy to support, nurture and enjoy other people as we should.

Another truth seen clearly is that we are not training our children from a young age about the importance of hard work and skills they will need as adults to care for themselves and others. Instead they are learning that life is meant to be about fun, sports and tv. What will become of them if life gets very hard in the future as so many times in history it has?

"The Green Coat", by Rosemary McDunn, is an inspiring, heartwarming story that takes place during the Dust Bowl era. The reader automatically falls in love with twelve year-old Tressa, who struggles to understand and cope with the devastation that has separated her from her family and the place she calls home. During her journey, she learns to appreciate the simple pleasures of life and embrace the unexpected friendships she encounters along the way. McDunn's vivid descriptions and imaginative language allow the reader to accompany Tressa through these unforgettable times of hope and hardship. "The Green Coat" is truly sensational; a definite must-read to be enjoyed by all ages.

I just finished reading this lovely book and feel sad to have the story end; it was that enjoyable! Rosemary McDunn's main character, twelve-year-old Tressa, is real and engaging; a true role model for young girls. The descriptions of the treacherous weather conditions in North Dakota were so real that I felt I was right there with Tressa, battling the heat and drought, as well being inisde the cozy kitchen in the middle of a raging blizzard. The bravery of this young heroine who was forced to leave her childhood abruptly behind during the Dust Bowl years is remarkable. McDunn's writing talent shines on every page with true-to-life dialogue and exquisite details of the pain and hardship people had to endure during this time in American history.

"I was beginning to understand with tremendous clarity that success in life comes from the ability to accept change," says young Tressa. A poignant sentiment, and one for all ages.

I highly recommend this novel for classrooms and libraries, and encourage educators to consider this fine work of historical fiction for their students. There are even lessons in the back of the book for teachers and parents.

Well done!

Nancy Carabio Belanger, author of
Olivia and the Little Way
and
Olivia's Gift

I chose to read this book after finding it in a homeschool catalog where it advertised the character's faith and tenacity, but I really chose it because it takes place in my home state of North Dakota, and during the time of the 1920 great dust bowl. I had hoped that this book would add to my students understanding of what it was like to live through the dust bowl, the time of history we are studying. We had just watched the movie "Black Blizzard," a History Channel documentary on the dust bowl. (highly recommended by the way) But I found that this book did not describe living through the dust storms very well, as only one storm was included in the story. It did briefly talk about families loosing their farms to bankruptcy, which did happen to the main character's family, and about children and elderly dying from dust pneumonia, but the topic seems to be glossed over and was more of a sub-theme of the book. I do praise the book for what seemed to be the main theme of a young 12 yr old girl, forced by unfortunate circumstances, to grow up before her time. She realizes throughout the book that life doesn't always turn out the way you want it to, and there are many things out of one's control. One needs to learn to adapt to change, and the main character, Tressa, learns this lesson in the midst of her sufferings and surprise joys. My favorite quote is at the end of the book: "Ma always said that nothing ever stayed the same. Ma seemed to be right about a lot of things. I was beginning to understand with tremendous clarity that success in life comes from the ability to accept change. It holds no promise of being easy. In fact, at times it is downright challenging and painfully hard to bear. But that's what life was all about... change."

At the end of the book there are a few pictures of the dust storms, but again, I found that theme to be small. There is also a chapter by chapter glossary and discussion questions at the end of the book. Each glossary word has a definition and the page number where the word appeared in the story, so it can be seen in context. There's also one page at the end that describes "effective tools of figurative language": metaphors, smilies, and personification. Then, there is a treasure hunt where one can search the story for metaphors, similes, and personification. The page number for each is listed for easy hunting.

I assume this book is targeted to young girls who are fairly religious. That being said, I'm a 68 year-old guy who can't remember the last time I went to church...yet I thought this book was great! I only wish it had more than 176 pages. I'll be passing it along to my Grandkids.