Customer Reviews

Treasures in the Dust

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This period novel follows the friendship of 11-year-old Annie and Violet, who are growing up and growing weary during the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the Great Depression.

Annie's family stays on their farm, eking out an existence from the barren soil that can barely sustain a few cows and chickens. Violet's family is forced to move to California, as so many other Dust Bowl families had to do. They went expecting to find a land of milk and honey, but instead end up as migrant farm workers. Porter, a middle school English teacher, has done a good job researching this, her first novel. From the first page, her writing aptly evokes the grim and gritty reality of living in a land that's ankle deep in dust.

The book alternates chapters between the two girls, with each telling her part of the story in first-person narrative and later on in epistle form. Porter does a good job of giving each girl her own distinct voice, and of dropping names every so often so you can keep track of who is narrating each chapter.

A good story on friendship in general and on the Dust Bowl in particular. The book would be a good early introduction to Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."

i loved this book because it can teach you life lessons.The life lesson that it tought me was that you should not look at the worst in people ans that there is always some good.I think that you should read this book becausee if you love a good thrilling books that if filled with adventures then this is the book for you.

This book is about two girls trying to fight the brutal drought and depression in Oklahoma. I really enjoyed this book because it is Historical-Fiction. I like to learn about what happen in America in the past! I enjoyed that they are best friends and are actually fighting through the depression. This book almost made me cry at some points. The way they lived and how the dust could kill them made me horrified. I think this book was excellent! I think anyone would like this book.

I am not done reading the book treasures in the dust yet. It takes place derying the great depression in cimarron country in the 1930's. The aurther is tracey porter. Thehe book is about these two girls named annie and violet. They are best friends. They have always been friends sence they where little. Annie lives with her mom,dad,and her brother liam. Violet lives with her mom,dad,her two little twins,and her little brother josh. Annie is not having a bad time in the dust storms. Violet is the one that is haveing the bad times. She only has one cow and it is going to have a baby and her ant mircle is not getting along with the dust she is geting alot of dust in her lungs. You will have to read ythe rest of the book to find out if the cow has the baby or not. And if ant mirclre lives or not.

How corny sounding can you get?! This is a great book that wiil make you long for more. Read it and INDULGE YOURSELF.

It is during the dust bowl days of the Great Depression, and Annie May Weightman lives on a farm near Boise City in rural Cimarron County, OK, with her parents and her older brother Liam. Her neighbor and best friend is Violet Cobble who lives with her parents, her four-year-old twin siblings, her baby brother Joseph, and her aged Aunt Miracle. Both girls are eleven. Annie is happiest on the ground, sifting through the dust for traces of the past such as arrowheads, and wants to be an archaeologist. But Violet is a dreamer always playing make-believe to escape, hoping to fly away from the dusty land and become an actress or a dancer.
When Aunt Miracle dies, the Cobbles, who are in danger of losing their farm, pack up and leave to find work in California with the intention of making enough money to pay off their debts and then returning home. How will Annie get along without her best friend? And will the Cobbles ever make it back to Cimarron County? The story is told by each of the girls in alternating chapters by first-person narratives and then letters which they write to one another during the Cobbles' absence. There is the important lesson that people don't have to be the same to be best friends. And there is historical value in the description of life during a time when thousands fled their prairie homes in search of work, food, and shelter. One reviewer said, "This could prepare kids for Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath," but why anyone would even want to prepare kids for that grisly and gruesome work is beyond me. I'd just stick with books like Treasures in the Dust.
Young readers will learn about gathering weeds and cactus for the cows' food, making corncob dolls with wire arms for posing, helping to birth a calf even though it's usually a boy's job, walking while holding onto the wire tied from the windmill to the chicken coop to avoid getting lost in a dust storm, and other daily particulars of the struggle to keep going when dunes shift and change every day and dust seeps through cracks in the window and covers everything. Violet's letters about the struggle in California are just as detailed, including the exploitation and prejudice and the days when her shoulders ached so much from working fields that she couldn't bear lifting her hands to wash her face. So far as language is concerned, the euphemistic "heck" appears a couple of times and the word "Lord" is used once as an interjection. There is also a reference about how the girls learned in school that the obsidian of Annie's latest arrowhead was formed millions of years ago. Otherwise, it is a beautifully crafted book.

This book is about a girl that lives on a farm and they have to use rags to cover up their windows so the dust will not come in.Her friend has to take care of their aunt and they are about to move because they can"t grow any thing on their farm and They got to wait till their aunt dies because she is really sick.This book is good because it is based on the great deppresion.the setting takes place in a dust stoirm and on a farm.

Treasures in the Dust is an exeptional book about two best friends living in the hardships of the Great Depression. They aren't at all the same. Annie wants to stay in Oklahoma and become an archeaoligist and Violet wants to go to Hollywood to become a movie star and learn to dance like Shirley Timple. Suddenly when Violet's Aunt Miracle dies unexpectedly they are forced to head to California. They have to look for work and can't wait to get there for their dreams of orchard feilds and big dream houses. California doesn't turn out to be all it's said to be and Violet and Annie must learn to live apart. You'll have to read the book to find out if they are ever reunited. You'll really enjoy this book if you like historical-fiction quick reads.

The characters,Annie and Violet are facing a lot of difficulties.They have to go through dust storms,drought and dust pneumonia.Leaving Oklahoma is the last thing Annie and Violet would do.They remain friends even though they do not have the same interest.I wish I could have someone my own age who has the same hobbies like mine.Annie prefers to stay in Oklahoma and look for ancient things whilst Violet wants to become a balerina,dancer or an actress.These two friends stick together no matter what happens.Their friendship will never die.This story tells you about how they stick together.Once,I nearly burst into tears myself.I feel pity for them when they went through difficulties and hardships.

I just got done reading the book "Tresures in the Dust". I t was an exceptionally good book. I myself didn't care for it that much because I like books about mysteries, adventures, and alot more. This book is about two bestfriends named Annie and Violet who are living during the time of the Dust Bowl. Annie dreams of becoming an archaeologist and Violet dreams of becoming a dancer. Their families are going through really hard times and eventually after Violet's Aunt Miriacle dies her family has to move west to fond jobs. Annie and Violet are devestated. I would recommend this book for someone who is interested in boks about American history.