Hoping for Rain: The Dust Bowl Adventures of Patty and Earl Buckler

by Kate Connell

Like many farmers living in the Great Plains during the 1930s, the Bucklers are ravaged by months of dust storms and drought. Out of desperation, they travel West with their children, Patty and Earl, in hopes of finding new prosperity. Through letters and diary entries written by the Buckler children, readers witness the disaster of the Dust Bowl and the countless days spent wishing for an end to the drought - and their hunger. As they travel across the country, young Earl searches for work so he can help provide for the family. using the children's first-person accounts as well as period illustrations and photographs, the book accurately depicts the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and '40s.

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun starter book on the dust bowl. I liked that she took a fictional family and wrote about what was happening in different parts of the United States during this time. I found even my non reading husband and 9 year old son picking it up to read!

Simple easy read.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this as part of our study of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era. This is told in a diary type format, with postcards, pictures, journal entries, maps, and a narrator's paragraph here and there. It did a nice job showing what it was like at the time and having a family to relate to added to the drama. It also made it feel a bit choppy. I think I would have enjoyed an actual story (but there aren't many set in this time period).

Living in Nebraska now, we took the time to discuss contour plowing and some of the reasons why the soil was such a problem as well as the changes they made to agriculture. We drove around and looked at some fields to see examples of it. There are quite a few science concepts to be learned if you take the time. You can also throw in some geography by mapping the states it affected and the travels the migrants took.

A solid book. We'll use it again unless I can find something more engaging.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was told well enough and I think that it does teach students something about the Dust Bowl. I would have liked it better if the family had been a real family instead of an imaginary one, especially since the last page tells what happened to them after the Dust Bowl was over. The book is valuable, if only for the maps and photographs.