Review: Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman

Freedman, Russell. (2005). Children of the Great Depression . New York: Clarion Books. 118 pages. ISBN  0618446303

Awards/Selection Lists:
- Nonfiction titles from ALSC Notable Books lists 2002-2013
- Golden Kite Award
  

Author's Website: (Publisher entry. No official site found) http://www.hmhco.com/bookstore/
authors/Russell-Freedman/2231331

Brief Summary:  The Great Depression threaten to permanently cripple the United States during the 1930's. After the stock market crashed in 1929, people began to lose everything. Where once there had been frugality and thrift, there was now desperation. Where there was once segregation and prejudice against people of color, there was downright hatred and abuse, as people were literally fighting for scraps in the street to feed their families. Four million people, including children, migrated across the country looking for agricultural work. Four million people experienced the terrible droughts that left the destitute, desperate and in peril. Shanty towns were built as people were kicked out of their homes. Malnutrition became common. Schools closed, jobs were scarce and a living wage, even more so. While Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal helped bring the country out of the Great Depression, attempting to provide work, pride, and the ability to support one's self and family, the effect on America's children did not go unnoticed. Freedman uses the many photographs taken by government hired documentarians to reach readers, and show them just how bad things really were, how this was not a dream, but a very real, very dangerous period of out country's history through the words of its youngest victims.

Personal Reaction: This is a fantastic book. It's written well, but the content, with all of the poignant photographs makes it much more gritty and real, and quite frankly, heartwrenching. It was a desperate time and I can remember asking my Grandmother about it, and realizing that because of the Great Depression, she had developed habits that never went away, and in fact came in handy during World War II, like storing rubber bands and aluminum foil, and contributing to pack rat syndrome. That whole generation helped teach me how to make it through tough times, how to stretch my pennies and make a meal out of practically nothing. I have an immense about of respect and empathy for those who had to go through this terrible time, and especially for those, like my grandparents, who were so young and seemingly helpless at the time, but still, to this day, do not complain about it. They simply take pride in their accomplishments.
 

Front/Back Matter: Photo, title page, copyright page, dedication page, table of contents, introduction (picturing the Great Depression), content, chapter notes, selected bibliography, picture sources, index.
 

Content Evaluation: This book is beautifully written, with so many exceptionally well cited resources and notes. The photographs are amazing, and even though everything is in black and white, it carries a heart with it, the feeling of depression and desperation, of dryness and struggle, that accompanied the Great Depression, and it works to convey the message of the story, while highlighting the magnificence of the perseverance of those who fought against the terrible times.