Years of Dust by Albert Marrin

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marrin, Albert. (2009). Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl. New York, NY: Dutton Children’s Books, A division of Penguin Group. ISBN 9780525420774

PLOT SUMMARY

Author Albert Marrin brings the dangerous and immense, historical “black blizzard” dust storms of the Great Plains to young readers. Offering both a historical and environmental context, Marrin provides an extraordinary overview to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

     A Time Line and detailed account of the ecological make-up of the Great Plains provides young readers with the circumstantial background for the subsequent catastrophe created in part by drought and reckless human behavior. The engaging and clearly written narrative reads like a documentary film with the relevant integration of first-person accounts of the day-in, day-out struggles (“All we could do about it was just sit…gaze at each other through fog that filled the room…covering everything –including ourselves –in this brownish gray blanket…”) and the popular Dust Bowl Ballads by Woodie Guthrie.  

     Equally significant to the story are riveting, archival images including photographs, news paper clippings, maps, engravings, and period posters found throughout the book. Titled insets providing additional information pertinent to the cohesive, chronological narrative are included in each chapter. In the final chapter, Marrin discusses current, ecological situations in the world that threaten future, similar disasters. Chapter Notes and Bibliography detailing both primary and secondary sources are included at the back of the book as well as a glossary (Words to Know), Index, and suggested titles for further reading (Books for Kids).

REVIEW EXCERPTS

2009 Booklist Editors’ Choice Books for Youth

2010 Notable Children’s Books

2008 James Madison Lifetime Achievement Award (honoring Albert Marrin)

Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “Marrin's outstanding writing and the high-quality illustrations make this cautionary tale a worthy addition.”

Starred review in KIRKUS – “…a reader-friendly, insightful work of history.”

NEW YORK TIMES review – “…Years of Dust is a lucid and powerful book.”

CONNECTIONS

*Teachers can use the book as a resource when studying The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, or when reading novels such as The Grapes of Wrath and Bud, Not Buddy.

*Find: “Black Blizzards: A Webquest on the 1930’s Dust Bowl” here.

*More books by Albert Marrin:

Marrin, Albert. Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. ISBN 0375868895

Marrin, Albert. Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives. ISBN 0375866736

*Recommended books on the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl:

Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression. ISBN 0547480350

Stanley, Jerry. Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp. ISBN 0517880946