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

by Jerry Stanley Narrated by Fred Sullivan

Overview

This true story took place at the emergency farm-labor camp immortalized in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Ostracized as "dumb Okies," the children of Dust Bowl migrant laborers went without school--until Superintendent Leo Hart and 50 Okie kids built their own school in a nearby field. "The story is inspiring, and Stanley has recorded the details with passion and dignity. An excellent curriculum item."--(starred) Booklist.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The story is inspiring, and Stanley has recorded the details with passion and dignity. An excellent curriculum item."—(starred) Booklist.   

AudioFile

Fred Sullivan’s rich voice strikes the perfect balance of intimacy and authority as the mass migration to California during the Dust Bowl era gets renewed attention in this short audio. Stanley contrasts the poverty and despair of the migrants, many from Oklahoma, with the progress migrant children made at the innovative Weedpatch School, near Bakersfield. The story describes the school’s development and the useful skills children learned, including plumbing and animal husbandry. Sullivan’s natural style in delivering instructive quotations adds immediacy. While his pacing is perfect for engaging listeners of any age, the repeated use of an expletive in primary source quotations makes this performance more appropriate for teen listeners. Sullivan’s stellar performance complements Stanley’s captivating vignettes.”

Booklist

Stanley’s text is a compelling document…The story is inspiring and disturbing, and Stanley has recorded the details with passion and dignity.”

Children’s Literature

Poignant, vivid, and unforgettable.”

New York Times Book Review

A powerful account of a desperate time.”

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192122259
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	12/03/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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