Rose's Journal: The Story of a Girl in the Great Depression

by Marissa Moss, Marissa Moss (Illustrator)

Overview

On January 1, 1935, Rose Samuels bids good riddance to a dry, desolate year and begins a new one. The severe drought has left the fields too dry for crops and the farms are all failing. Times are tough, but with hope, love, and determination, Rose and her family manage to turn the year around.
Includes fun new book-related activities!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152046057
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/01/2003
Series:	Young American Voices
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	7.75(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.22(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

MARISSA MOSS is best known for her handwritten illustrated journals, including the enormously popular Amelia series. She lives in Berkeley, California.

MARISSA MOSS is best known for her handwritten illustrated journals, including the enormously popular Amelia series. She lives in Berkeley, California.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Moss has done a fine job in research, and there is quite a bit of historical information packed into this short book."—School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

"Moss has done a fine job in research, and there is quite a bit of historical information packed into this short book."—School Library Journal
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From the Publisher

In this installment of the Young American Voices series set on a Kansas farm, PW wrote, "Rose's pink-lined pages contrast with her handwritten account of dust storms and severe drought. Captioned sketches and historical b&w photographs lend authenticity to this well-researched account." Ages 8-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-5-In her first journal entry, Rose Samuels writes "good riddance" to 1934, and "I sure hope 1935 is a heap better." Unfortunately, it isn't. From month to month, she chronicles events on the family farm in Kansas as well as what is happening across the nation. The Bruno Hauptmann trial is in session, and Amelia Earhart has made her solo flight from Hawaii to California. Jack Benny and George Burns are favorites on the radio, but the Depression is so bad that hot cocoa and custard are foods Rose can only dream of enjoying. On the farm, nothing grows, and the cattle are so skinny that they have "washboard ribs." And there is always the dust. The Samuels come to the brink of losing their land, but at the last minute, they are saved from foreclosure. Moss has done a fine job in research, and there is quite a bit of historical information packed into this short book. However, some of the characters are undeveloped. The text is hand lettered and illustrated with colorful paintings and black-and-white archival photographs. For a child's-eye view of events in U.S. history, including the Depression, try Phillip Hoose's nonfiction title, We Were There, Too (Farrar, 2001). Jerry Stanley's Children of the Dust Bowl (Crown, 1992) is still one of the best titles chronicling the devastation brought by the dust storms and drought.-Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal