Genre 5 - Historical Fiction
"Read one of the following Scott O’Dell Award winning books"
Plot Summary
During the dust bowl, Jack has been unable to prove his worth on the farm to his father because there is no farming going on. His older sister is suffering from dust pneumonia and he is suspected of having dust dementia because he begins to see things. Jack and his little sister happen upon a rain spirit living in a nearby barn, waiting for the situation outside to become so dire that the people begin to worship him as a god. Jack steals from him the source of the rain and releases it, thus bringing rain to the region and ending the drought. His father then welcomes him and his assistance on the farm.Critical Analysis
The mystical aspects of this novel are conveyed well through the visuals. The sketchiness of the lines coincide with the roughness of the situation. The muted sepia and gray tones of the artwork also convey the feel of long ago. However, the subtlety of many scenes paired with the near wordlessness of the book make it difficult to fully comprehend what the author is trying to communicate through the combination.The historical environment, however, includes an introduction to many aspects of the dust bowl era that may have been previously overlooked or unknown to readers. The medical conditions of dust pneumonia and dust dementia compounded on top of the general hopelessness of the era give a more complete picture of how society actually reacted to the natural disaster caused by over-farming.
Connections
- Learn more about the dust bowl era.
Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s
by Michael L. Cooper
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Campby Jerry Stanley
- Explore various rain mythologies.
Awards/Reviews
Winner of Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction AwardFrom Publishers Weekly:
The big novelty here is the Dust Bowl setting, and Phelan's art emphasizes the swirling, billowing clouds of fine grit that obscure even nearby objects. Older readers might have appreciated more text to make up for the lack of visual clarity, but kids will identify with Jack and appreciate his success.From School Library Journal:
Children can read this as a work of historical fiction, a piece of folklore, a scary story, a graphic novel, or all four. Written with simple, direct language, it's an almost wordless book: the illustrations' shadowy grays and blurry lines eloquently depict the haze of the dust. A complex but accessible and fascinating book.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NYFrom The Horn Book:
Illustrator Phelan's graphic novel debut brings 1937 Kansas, wracked by drought and hardship, to life, adding a supernatural twist that fits well with the extremities of the Dust Bowl. Populated with Phelan's trademark loose-lined, sparely sketched, emotive characters, this is the story of eleven-year-old Jack, who hasn't seen rain since he was seven. . . The minimalist approach to text complements the measured, masterful panel pacing; whole spreads are wordless, forcing the reader to slow down and follow the visual details of the action. Phelan's use of color is simply stunning; his palette of sepias, dusty browns, and charcoal grays perfectly evokes the desolate landscapes of the Dust Bowl and makes the occasional pop of color -- memories of green fields, stylized depictions of folktales, the angry blood-red of a "rabbit drive" -- that much more striking. The emotional landscape is equally well developed: an older sister who suffers from "dust pneumonia" and reads Ozma of Oz aloud, between coughing fits, to her younger siblings; a father who too easily dismisses his son, who never had an opportunity to prove himself on the farm, as useless. The potent subtext informs both Jack's climactic showdown with the rain figure and the book's tender, triumphant resolution.From Booklist:
Phelan (illustrator of the Higher Power of Lucky, 2006) turns every panel of this little masterpiece into a spare and melancholy window into another era, capturing an unmistakable sense of time and place as found in James Sturm's Satchel Paige (2007) even as he takes full, masterful advantage of the medium's strengths by using fantasy elements to enrich the deep, genuine emotional content, much as Shaun Tan did in The Arrival (2008). All the more impressive is how he balances fleet pacing (thanks to low word density) with a thoughtful, contemplative homage to storytelling and storytellers, which, in the tradition of the greatest tall tales, presents an empowering message that all a child needs to change the world is courage and ingenuity. Great for a wide range of readers, this will work particularly well as a gentle introduction for those new to graphic novels or as an elegant argument on the format's behalf against dubious naysayers. A single warning: there is a restrained depiction of a rabbit slaughter, which could upset more sensitive readers.--Karp, Jesse
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