Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932

Dear America

by Kathryn Lasky

In her fictionalized journal, eleven-year-old Minnie Swift recounts how her family dealt with the difficult times during the Depression and how an orphan from Texas changed their lives in Indianapolis just before Christmas 1932.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christmas, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Historical, Childrens

185 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This diary of Minnie Swift at Christmastime during the great depression was amazing. This book took place in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1932. To stretch food the mother would add flour and cheese, they closed alot of the rooms in the house to save money. The girls made their own clothes and special Christmas gifts. With not having alot of money they went to see movies, ice skated, sled rides and listened to Buck Rogers and Charlie Chan on the radio for entertainment. Times were hard back then but they still took in the orphan Willie Faye from Texas who has never seen so many things such as toilets, tubs etc. Willie was close to Minnie in age and they got along famously. One night they stayed up all night and took a jar of peaches outside in the snow and were looking at the stars. Boy i wish i could sometimes live in the olden days and have no technology like today and no senseless gun violence. Those people during that era really appreciated life and accepted what they had and didn't gripe and bitch like brats do today.

[Rachel Auer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me in many ways.

I have always loved these Dear America books. They are written for children, but they are written in an honest way.

This specific book, for example, is literally one of the most depressing stories I've ever read (I mean, what do you expect from a book written about the Great Depression), but to live through this experience from the eyes of a sixth grader is so wild. This book did not shy away from the really hard times of this time period. Yes, people were poor and losing jobs, but this book also talked about fathers who left their families and others who literally killed themselves. Like I said, this book did not shy away from the hardships.

I also loved the humor of the time. Kids are still kids. I loved hearing about Lady bleaching her hair and then trying to dye it back and ruining it further and then having to chop it all off. I loved hearing about the stories Willie Faye would tell and how she was so shocked by so much. I loved how funny Minnie found the word "bosoms." It captured childhood and the difficult living situations of the Great Depression.

I cannot wait to read many, many more of these Dear America diary books. I'd recommend these to everyone on the planet, whether you have children or not.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas After All (The Great Depression) / 0-439-21943-4

"Christmas After All" brings us both the best and worst views of the American Great Depression, showing us the kindness and strength of the people who lived through this difficult period, but never holding back the despair and troubles of the homeless, the suicidal, and the starving.

There's a great deal of good to be had here. Minnie's rather large family is hit badly by the Depression and the layouts and business closures. They are further burdened by the arrival of an orphaned distant relation, who is the same age as Minnie. Minnie is shocked to find that her new "sister", fresh from the dust bowl, has never heard of "Buck Rogers" or Greta Garbo, yet she learns that her 'ignorant' cousin has much to teach her, in terms of faith, hope, and love. As Minnie's family visits the local shantytowns to give food and toys to the less fortunate (and to mend their tire 'houses' so that they won't collapse and kill the occupants), Lasky paints a bleak and stark view of the Depression, relieved only by charity and human kindness.

"Christmas After All" is not, however, without minor faults. The diarist's family is just a little too special, too precocious to be believable. Adelaide (or "Lady") is a rebellious flapper who goes to a private girl's school (how do they afford it?) to curb her behavior. She is terrible at her schoolwork, but she can sew Hollywood fashions (and some of her own designs!) in sheer minutes (where do they buy the material?) and everything she makes is stunning, professional, and cutting edge. Minnie's older sisters are lovely and smart and study abroad in Europe, when the family can afford it. Minnie's orphaned cousin can draw advanced pencil drawings of just about anything and creates professional-grade picture books for Christmas presents. Minnie's brother, on the other hand, is a boy genius who can make anything out of wires and capacitors and - later - becomes the subject of her father's radio drama. Of course her father can write radio dramas - he just needed to be laid off from Accounting to live the dream. And Minnie looks just like Amelia Earhart and - of course - grows up to become a pilot in the Air Force, courtesy of the Epilogue. All this Mary Sue-ism is a bit cloying, but the reader recognizes that Lasky is likely trying to soften the bleakness of the Depression for young readers. Older readers, however, may find it a little too sticky sweet for consumption.

Older readers may also be distressed at the concept of finances in this book. I had to check the cover several times to reassure myself that, yes, this book is set during the Great Depression. Oh, the shantytowns are here, and the layoffs, and the bad food (no money for meat at the dinner table), and the general dread and fear. Yet why does Minnie's family have money to go to the movies two or three times a week? Why are they buying capacitors and clothing material like it's going out of style? How can they afford a private school to "straighten out" the antics of a girl whose most rebellious behavior appears to be bleaching her hair (and where did she come up with the money for that?)? And when the father appears to have abandoned them when he's really off pitching a radio drama that will make the family very well off (he didn't tell anyone because he didn't want to get their hopes up), only to return unexpectedly just in time for Christmas with full stockings for everyone, well, let's just say that the story feels too contrived and forced.

This isn't a bad book and I recommend it heartily as good historical fantasy for children. But unlike most of the other Dear America books, I doubt many adults will find much here except a quick, saccharine read before returning firmly to reality. Whether or not that is a good thing is entirely a personal choice, I think.

~ Ana Mardoll

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoover became President in 1929. Industry and the Stock Market were booming. October 29, 1929, Like Humpty Dumpty, the Walls Came Crashing Down!!! On "Black Tuesday", stockholders lost $40,000,000,000 and the Great Depression was in full swing. By 1932, banks were closing daily and lines at the soup kitchens grew. People blamed Hoover, when in fact, the panic was caused by Wall Street. Shantytowns were called Hoovervilles, newspapers used as blankets were Hoover Blankets, empty pockets turned inside out were Hoover flags! One of every three wage earners was out of work. One of every five children was not getting enough to eat. This was the city scene and the rural west was in the throes of the Dust Bowl. This was a time of Gloom and Doom.

Some things flourished, however. These were organized crime and entertainment. Liquor was banned in 1920, so Al Capone made a fortune importing whiskey and Ma Barker, and Bonnie and Clyde made names for themselves by robbing banks that still had money.
In 1930, 12 million of America's 30 million homes had radios. Gloom was dispelled with the comedy of Jack Benny, Groucho Marx, and the makers of Amos and Andy. Detective broadcasts like Charlie Chan, Sam Spade, Dick Tracy, and The Shadow kept all listeners on the edge of their seats. Movies were five cents a seat and Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Gary Cooper, and Greta Garbo were handsome and glamorous and and provided relief from the drearyness of the day. Boardgames, like Monoply, were invented. Despite heartache and despair, Americans were imaginative and resourceful.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Christmas After All based on the great review from my smart and talented niece. She really enjoyed this book and I can understand why. This is the story of Minnie Swift who is an 11 year old girl living in Indianapolis during the Depression. Minnie's diary details the development of Shantytowns in the parks, how her cousin Willie Faye came to live with them, the effect of unemployment on her family and the community. Since these horrific events are told through a child's eye, suicide and family desertions are written in Minnie's diary, but the ramifications are not not fully understood. This is a well told story about a difficult time in our nation's history.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever! The Great Depression was hard enough, but when they adopt a girl who as never saw a toilet before, and her dad disappeared? She can't get a Christmas present for every one in the family. It is so interesting.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great one! The book opens with Minnie's family closing up half the house to save on heat. Minnie's parents are of an age where they were born before domestic electricity, did well during the '20s, and now their large family home is too big to afford to heat, her father's hours as an accountant at the scrapyard are dwindling, they can't afford to pay the maid, and they can't drive the automobile because gas costs too much. Then there's a telegram: a distant relative has been orphaned in Dust Bowl Texas and is arriving by the next train. She's Minnie's age. Minnie is intrigued by wary. Willie May is tiny and covered in dust. She's never seen an indoor bathroom, but she has stories. Meanwhile, Minnie's oldest sister had to drop out of university and is working at the publisher where the first edition of The Joy of Cooking just came out! Her second sister has good friends and struggles to distinguish herself. The third sister is obsessed with movie stars and can sew anything out of anything. And Minnie's little brother can build radios out of crystals. The whole family is obsessed with radio shows and movies, because it's 1932 and pop culture is a novelty, not a liability. They still own their radio and the movies are cheap entertainment for people who are poor and suffering, and, boy, is everyone suffering. Bread lines, friend's parent's suicide, Okies leaving for California, patched clothes, handmade Christmas presents. Will there be Christmas after all? Spoiler: yes. It is, at the end of the day, a kids book. Top shelf, glad I read it, really well done.

[**♥bEcCa♥** · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Christmas After All," was a very good book. I felt that the book deserved a five star rating. This book is about an eleven year old girl named Minnie Swift who tells about her life in 1932 during the Great Depression. The Swifts invite a young girl named Willie Faye to stay with them. This story is mainly about Willie Faye helping the Swift family through some tough times, while the Swift family helps Willie Faye as well. I personally love the plot of this book. I felt like the author was trying to teach people about things that really happened during the Great Depression. The main characters in this book would be Minnie Swift, Willie Faye. Also Minnie’s Mama and Papa. Also Minnie’s Brother, Ozzie. Along with Minnie’s sisters, Clementine, Gwendolyn, and Lady.

The genre for this book is historical fiction. Personally I find horror or scary books to be more my style of what books I read. But after reading this book I feel that I am going to read more books like this one. The mood in this book would probably be somewhere between sad and happy. This book goes through many ups and downs. So it’s hard to exactly say what kind of mood this book is. I feel that the author’s tone was to show you what really happened during the Great Depression and what life was like, and to try to picture yourself as if you were really there. The theme of this book would definitely be survival and family bonds. This book really illustrates the importance of family relationships and surviving together.

The kind of person who would enjoy this book would probably be someone who likes to learn about history or someone who likes to read about personal experiences and about life. What I like about this book is that it really tried to make you feel like you were there. It made you want to keep reading and not put the book down. One thing I didn’t really like about the book would be that sometimes I would get confused with the characters. There are so many main characters that their hard to keep track of who’s who. Overall I felt that “Christmas After All,” was a great book. At first you might think that a book about history would be boring. But I can assure you that this book is far from that. As I said before I gave “Christmas After All” a five star rating.

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 millionth reading review- Yup. It's still my very favorite.



I mean it when I say that "Little Women" is my favorite book. But sometimes, I seriously think that this one may actually be even above LW. I am not lying when I say I read it twice every winter. I already read it last week on Christmas day, and now I've read it again today. It's just absolutely wonderful, and somehow, means a little more to me every year and rereading, as books from your childhood should, I think.



"Sometimes when I think about this Great Depression I think there has never been such a collision between realness and fantasy."

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good story to read around Christmas. The Depression was one of the worst economic times in American history, but it is still a story that many can relate to today. While no where near as bad as the depression, many people are still struggling financially and this book shows that no matter how bad things can get, you have to keep believing that they will get better. This book is more than just a Christmas book and does have a lot of great info about The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and the dramatic effect that it had on families all over the country.

[Betty Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it wasn't Appalachia, but is was Depression Era, so I checked it our of Oakland's Library (Thanks, Marge for displaying it!) It's a children's/young teen book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Guess I like reading about how folks coped during that terrible time. Maybe get pointers for our current economic condition!!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best in the Dear America series. The writing is witty and crispy, the story is rich and wonderful, and heartwarming for year round. It's especially marvelous that Minnie Swift is based on the author's own aunt. What an exciting pleasure to write about one's own family!

[Angie Fehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a holiday edition to the Dear America epistolary series of books, Christmas After All tells the story of Minnie Swift, who shares her experiences of The Great Depression starting the day after Thanksgiving 1932. How does one still have a merry holiday season while the country at large shoulders unbelievable financial strain? It's not easy, but Minnie's family has their ways.

Within the Swift family, we (through these diary entries) get to know Minnie's siblings: Gwendolyn, 20; Clementine, 17; Adelaide aka "Lady", 16; and little brother Ozzie, 9. If you thought the house was already sounding crowded, Minnie's parents also take in orphaned female cousin Willie Faye, an undersized survivor of the Dust Bowl. Both Willie and Minnie are eleven years old, but there's one entry that describes how upset Minnie was to learn how her school placed Willie a couple grades lower with the 4th graders after poor testing results.

A neat bookish link written into the Swift family: they happen to live in the same neighborhood as novelist Booth Tarkington (the same street, even). Minnie writes of her mother's friendship with Booth's wife.

Minnie writes of how the family makes it a point to sleep on the covered porch to toughen themselves for each year's winter, when they know they will struggle to keep the house sufficiently heated. Minnie's diary entries document the lives and hardships of friends, neighbors and extended family, their heartbreaks, depression over the sense of being overwhelmed... Minnie even touches upon the darker moments of the era, such as people abandoning family or even deciding to commit suicide, all in a misguided attempt to alleviate some of the burden from the family finances. Not to worry though, these books are geared toward a middle grade audience, so the topic is only briefly and gently addressed via vague references. There is some serious sadness though when we learn Willie's history and she shares how she sat with her mother's body for two days before the coroner came around.... remember that Willie is only eleven!

Reading this story, you get the impression that the family was one that was formerly well-to-do. They live in a four bedroom house with a parlor, covered porch, there's mention of African American servants, the Swift's eldest daughter, Gwendolyn, attending Wellsley College prior to the start of The Depression. Now, Minnie's father is employed as an accountant at an ironyard. The family is grateful to be one of the families that can still rely on a steady income, naturally, but even so, they're certainly not immune to at least some struggles. While the family still seems to be able to afford luxuries such as new shoes and birthday presents for friends, we also see Minnie's father either spending more and more hours away from the family or home, but holed up in his home office.

Though the era can be a sad one to write a story around, Lasky gives readers the gift of comedic relief in the form of Minnie's wonderful sense of humor! Just when you think the atmosphere of the story is getting a little heavy, Minnie will write in one of her quips to give you a much needed giggle, such as her descriptions of her mother's attempts at making the pantry stretch through a long line of aspics and au gratin dishes, the "vomitous" textures and flavors of those experiments... but dishes they ate anyway because it kept food in the bellies.

The Swift family is actually inspired by the story of author Kathryn Lasky's own maternal grandparents. She even gives the parents the same names as her grandparents -- Sam & Belle. Lasky shares the story in detail in the supplemental information section at the back of the book where you can also find some pretty cool photos of the family, as well as a recipe for the Molasses Crinkles Minnie mentions in her diary.

All in all a wonderfully heartwarming, highly readable and cozy holiday story that promotes the importance of valuing family and small blessings!

[Lauren Ellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift by Kathryn Lasky follows the life of twelve year-old, Minnie Swift and her family through the Great Depression during the month of Christmas. Minnie will immediately capture your heart and take you into the mind of a growing young woman that just wants to have a normal life despite all of the hardships her family is facing. However, her life takes a spin when a distant relative, Willie Faye joins her family and begins to show the true meaning of life and everything that it has to offer. Willies is a ray of sunshine to the Swifts and proves that good things comes to those who wait.

This is a WOW book for me because I love happy ending stories and my heart immediately felt for Minnie and the struggles she was facing. I always see myself as the happy-go-lucky girl and can definitely relate to Willie and all the positivity that she brings to the Swift family because I try and bring positivity to every single person that I encounter each day.

One activity that immediately comes to mind with this book is to have the children sit in a circle and talk about one positive aspect of their day (rose) and one negative aspect (thorn). I did this activity with my campers when I was a camp counselor and love this activity because it allows the children to realize that for every negative part of their day, there is always a positive that can come out of it. It drives home the point of not dwelling on the negatives in life because life has so much more to offer. Another idea could be for the children to choose an individual that has impacted their life in a positive way and write a letter to that individual thanking them and explaining how they impacted their lives.

[Connie N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book solely because it was set in Indiana, but it turned out to be very interesting. It was told by a young girl named Minerva Swift, apparently based on the author's mother and her family. Minnie writes in a diary style, with information added each day from Thanksgiving to Christmas. In 1932, of course, there was a huge problem with the Great Depression, and their family was no exception. To a child, there were some obvious issues (such as having to stretch meals so that there wasn't enough meat or other luxuries) and having to be creative with Christmas presents and wrapping for their close family members. On the other hand, because entertainment was cheap, they were able to go to the movies and always were able to listen to the popular radio programs of the day. There was a lot of interesting historical information, but easily included into the story, so the whole book was easy-to-read but also informative. I will look for more from this author and more from this type of Dear America book.

[Katrina G · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was such a shore to read. I found Minnie to be an annoying narrator. I think this story would have been much better with Willie Faye as the main character instead. It seemed like she had more going on and I would have loved to read her thoughts about everything happening around her. Instead we got stuck with Minnie.

Minnie was so out of touch to what was really going on the the world. It's supposed to be the Great Depression, but Lady goes to a private school with tuition, the family has Jackie (a black servant to cook their meals and clean their house), and all Minnie cares about is the fact that she can't buy (or receive) the Christmas presents she wants.

At one point, there's a whole entry about a homeless guy named Onesy. Why is that his name? Because that's what Minnie decided to call him because he only has one eye and one tooth. And then she spent the next few sentences complaining about how bad he smelled.

This wasn't the story I wanted when I picked up a diary taking place during the Great Depression. This was really disappointing.

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little torn about Christmas After All. I like the everyday historical detail and most of the characters, but the perfectly pat and convenient ending was neither realistic nor satisfying. It especially seems out of place and tone deaf after the scenes of real grinding poverty in the Hoovervilles. The father magically has $600 just in time for Christmas Day, because he wrote and sold a radio show script that of course became a huge hit in the epilogue, so the Swifts never had to worry about money again and all achieved great career goals. It bothered me too that Mr. Swift left the vaguest possible note when he vanished and yet was surprised that everyone was worrying themselves sick. He could have at least told them where he was going or when he expected to be back, but that would have been less dramatic I suppose. I loved how the kids had to use their creativity to come up with inexpensive Christmas presents, and them coming home to store-bought jewelry and lace gloves in their stockings felt like a cop-out.

There are some great scenes, like Minnie and Willie Faye staying up late to eat peaches out in the snow, and the parts when everybody gathers to listen to a favorite radio program. But the sanitized ending drives me a bit crazy.

[phoebe joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

( not me writing a review for this book cause my mom told me to for school 💀)

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Christmas after all” goes through the life of a young girl named Minnie, and her family while they’re going through a time of hardship during the Great Depression. This book shows the struggle that families went through during the Great Depression, and how families relied on each other for support during this time of hardship.

Sooooo this book is historical fiction, and I don’t normally love historical fiction 😁 this book was from Minnie’s pov, and the book was kinda like her “diary”
I liked being able to see Minnie’s feelings/ opinions on things, and I think the book was overall a 3.5 ⭐️

I’m in 7th grade, and this book is like an elementary/middle grade book, so it was kinda boring at some parts, but definitely a good way to learn about the struggle that families when through during the Great Depression, and just to learn about the Great Depression in general. 😘😘😘

[kaotickitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book in the Dear America series.

This is written in a journal style like all the other Dear America’s.

I love historical fiction, and diary style makes you feel like your reading a personal account.

This on has a young girl at the age of eleven dealing with the depression. It is from the stand point of a upper middle class. You hear all the stories of the poorest all the time not the middle class. Which makes this one insightful.

You can see and feel that there was hope. Yet when hope gets lost you look for magic.

[Haley Durfee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good historical fiction for kids to introduce them to the Great Depression.
One thing that did annoy me was World War I being called such in the book, set in the1930s, before there was a WWII...

Content:
A man commits suicide (off-screen). Mentions of death, including a young girl who was left alone with her mother's body after her mother passed. Mentions of bosoms and boyfriends, including a woman having multiple boyfriends. Mentions of alcohol, gangsters, and murders. Nothing is detailed.

Ages 9+

[Tori · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a 9 on the vomitron. I'm so disappointed that this author wrote so many of the books in the series because they are almost always the worst ones. This character was just as whiny as the one with the mother who was a suffragette.

Also at some point Minnie wrote about World War I. Um. It was 1932. It wasn't referred to as WWI until at least 1939 when WW2 was starting. I can't believe an editor didn't catch that.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I understand that in talking about events occurring during the Great Depression there are topics that might be shocking, I think this book for the age bracket it is aimed at talked a bit too much about death, and suicide. Other than that, it was an interesting read for a child to understand how hard it was.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and heartwarming book about Christmas during the depression of the 1930s. I loved the information about the author at the end of the book, and that she based the characters on her relatives who lived through the depression. Willie Faye was so sweet. I loved her optimism. I also like how inventive the family was with Christmas gifts for each other.

[Cate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, like all the others in the series, was great! It's near impossible NOT to like these!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly enjoyable and interesting to read about that time period.

[clancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved these books growing up, glad i spotted one in the little free library

[Allison]

I would have buried the father with the brand new typewriter I got him for christmas.

[TheRoer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this story to my sister in one afternoon!! Approximately four hours or so! It’s a good read and recommendable!

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS

I can’t believe this is the first “Dear America” book I’ve ever read, but I can foresee reading many more in the near future!

Minnie’s story was set during the Great Depression in Indianapolis, IN. I learned some interesting facts about Indiana’s state history as well as what the times were like for those trying to survive during the 1930s.

For those of you who have children who are interested in reading this book, the father of a family Minnie goes to school with commits suicide. It might be a topic you’d like to discuss with them after they read the book.

I was a little confused by the epilogue at the back where it describes the lives of the characters(i.e. what they ended up doing after college, who they married, etc). It made me think this diary was about real people lol. I tried looking them up, but of course I couldn’t find them anywhere.

Overall, “Christmas After All” was a truly wonderful book!

[Midge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minnie writes a diary starting day after Thanksgiving until Christmas 1932 during depression. Very good, interesting history and Heartwarming.