Someplace to Call Home

by Sandra Dallas

2021-2021 Texas Bluebonnet Master List 2020 Women Writing the West Willa Award (tied for 1st place) In 1933, what's left of the Turner family--twelve-year-old Hallie and her two brothers--finds itself driving the back roads of rural America. The children have been swept up into a new migratory way of life. America is facing two devastating the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of people in cities across the country have lost jobs. In rural America it isn't any better as crops suffer from the never-ending drought. Driven by severe economic hardship, thousands of people take to the road to seek whatever work they can find, often splintering fragile families in the process. As the Turner children move from town to town, searching for work and trying to cobble together the basic necessities of life, they are met with suspicion and hostility. They are viewed as outsiders in their own country. Will they ever find a place to call home? New York Times-bestselling author Sandra Dallas gives middle-grade readers a timely story of young people searching for a home and a better way of life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Historical, Young Adult, Family, Juvenile

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2019

About the author

Award-winning author SANDRA DALLAS was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. Sandra’s novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films.

A journalism graduate of the University of Denver, Sandra began her writing career as a reporter with Business Week. A staff member for twenty-five years (and the magazine’s first female bureau chief,) she covered the Rocky Mountain region, writing about everything from penny-stock scandals to hard-rock mining, western energy development to contemporary polygamy. Many of her experiences have been incorporated into her novels.

While a reporter, she began writing the first of ten nonfiction books. They include Sacred Paint, which won the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Western Heritage Wrangler Award, and The Quilt That Walked to Golden, recipient of the Independent Publishers Assn. Benjamin Franklin Award.

Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published eight novels, including Prayers For Sale. Sandra is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, and two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, for The Chili Queen and Tallgrass. In addition, she was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Assn. Award, and a four-time finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award.

The mother of two daughters—Dana is an attorney in New Orleans and Povy is a photographer in Golden, Colorado—Sandra lives in Denver with her husband, Bob.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/sandra...

Reviews

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very wholesome YA read. 12 year old me would have read this book many times!

[June Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra Dallas has been one of my favorite historical fiction and non-fiction authors in the adult book market for over two decades. Some of my favorite books by this author include:

The Christmas Quilt, The Bride's House, The Quilt that Walked to Golden: Women and Quilts in the Mountain West from the Overland Trail to Contemporary Colorado, and The Persian Pickle Club.

Naturally, I was delighted to learn that she has been writing middle-grade novels for the past few years, too! When I found a copy of Someplace to Call Home on the new middle-grade fiction shelf in the children's section of the local public library, I knew I wanted to give it a try. It turns out, this is one of the best middle-grade historicals I've read since I began blogging about middle-grade books two years ago. It is right up there with Lauren Wolk's Wolf Hollow and Kirby Larson's Code Word Courage in my list of top books for this genre.

The three Turner siblings--sixteen-year-old Tom, twelve-year-old Hallie, and six-year-old Benny--are on the road to California during the Great Depression in 1933. They end up in Kansas to be exact. They are out of gas, out of food, out of money, and out of hope.

Then some very fortuitous events begin happening. Sure, there are plenty of bad times; but there is also kindness from strangers who throw the family a lifeline during these hard times. There are challenges to overcome and obstacles along the road of life, but this tight-knit family is devoted to each other and their love and dedication to staying together takes them a long, long way.

I don't want to reveal to much about the plot in case you decide you would like to read this gem for yourself, but I will say that the bullying the three Turners suffer through in this book is realistic and unfortunately, probably all too common.

This is one thing that Author Sandra Dallas does so well through her writing. She draws the reader into the plot and makes her/him feel the pain of the characters in the story. I believe that first and foremost, Sandra Dallas is a masterful storyteller. She includes a lot of historical facts and era-accurate lingo, events, and social culture in her books; but she weaves a thread through her tales that causes the reader to have great empathy for the characters in the story.

Highly-recommended to fans of historical fiction, small-town fiction, and American family fiction.

I borrowed this book from the local public library.

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[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A This book follows Hallie and her brothers, Tom and Benny, as they learn to support and fend for themselves during the Great Depression. They encounter new friends when their car breaks down on the road before they decide to settle in this new place. A good introduction to the hardships many families faced during the Depression for younger readers with characters who display the importance of working together and being resourceful.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three children, Tom 17, Hallie 12, and Benny 6, are on their way to California after losing their parents and being dusted out in Oklahoma. They breakdown in a Kansas town and find good people who give them a helping hand.

This book is definitely geared for tweens, but it was a good heartwarming read. The children struggle against town bullies and are judged as squatters but there are funny moments and really great lessons for young people to glean from the story.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This powerful account of life during and after the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl will help readers understand just how traumatic those times were. Twelve-year-old Hallie Turner and her two brothers, sixteen-year-old Tom and Benny, are all that's left of their family, torn about by economic circumstances. All that they own is in their car, and they have spent long periods of time driving around in search of some sort of work just that they can eat. At first things looked promising in California, but word has it that folks like them won't be welcome there. When the car's transmission breaks down in Kansas, they park it on the property of the Carlsons. Swede Carlson is a bit leery of them at first. After all, it's his property, and they are trespassing. But he and Tom come to an agreement that they can stay for a little while in exchange for Tom trying to repair his tractor. As it turns out, this family befriends them, and Hallie actually starts attending school. She runs into trouble there due to her economic status and her intelligence while Tom becomes the target of Harold Morton while working in his job at a local gas station. The boy keeps trying to get under Tom's skin and ends up trying to make him the scapegoat for something he did. It was encouraging to watch the Carlsons and Turners grow closer even while Hallie and her family still wanted to hold onto their independence. The budding friendship between Benny and Tessie, the Carlsons' daughter, was also sweet although the book's ending was a bit too good to be true for me. Ultimately, though, the author has done an admirable job of bringing this period in history to life. I was so relieved that the Turners could settle down, put down some roots, and actually find someplace to call home. After all, isn't that what most of us want?

[Barb Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandra Dallas offers up another book extolling the hardships of life during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Although this one is written for children, it includes many of the touches familiar to Dallas' readers, including plenty of quilts.

Hallie and her brothers, Tom and Benny, are left to fend for themselves after their father leaves their Oklahoma home to find work, their mother and sister die, and the bank forecloses on the property. They start toward California but stall when their old car breaks down.

They find friendship and a place to call home. We find a sweet little read.

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardships abound for the three Turner kids during the Great Depression. Their mother died and their father abandoned the family, so they have only themselves to rely on until a kind farmer family lets them stay in their empty cabin.

I appreciated the author including a child with special needs in the story. Benny is the youngest of the Turner family and some scenes in the book revolved around him. I would have liked more historical specific events mentioned in the story, but it still was a good read.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someplace To Call Home was a neat and tidy story of the Turner family trying to make ends meet during the Dust Bowl/Great Depression era. A quick read that really gave the flavor of the time for young readers to learn about an impoverished yet hopeful time in America.

[CHM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Described as a feel good book and she was correct. Just the break I was needing.

[Susan P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this book was written for grades 3-6, I couldn't expect it to be too deep. It was good history and well-written.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandra Dallas is a wonderful storyteller and does an especially good job with her YA books. This one tells the story of a young girl and her older brother who are surviving on their own in Kansas during the dust bowl in early 1930’s. Heartwarming and well written.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine - nothing special, but nothing objectionable.

[Stampinmama Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book- I love any Sandra a Dallas book - this one especially since my mother grew up during the depression and dust bowl era.

[Mary Padilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was a teen book but love Sandra Dallas. Cute story.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for middle schoolers but I think it's a quick and sweet read for anyone. Set during the depression, it is the story of three children, ages sixteen and under, that need to leave their home and travel, looking for work. Faced with people of the different towns not wanting any strangers who can take what little work from the locals, life is extremely difficult. Follow their story once they settle in a place, or at least, hope to.

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and wholesome, this is a beautiful story about resourcefulness, integrity, home, accepting others-- and perhaps most of all, what it means to be a family. Such a great portrayal of Dust Bowl struggles, told with empathy and heart. I highly recommend this to children and adults alike!

*Note: mean kids use 'stupid' and 'dumb' several times, and people use the term 'squatter' often to insult others (these terms are immediately discouraged by characters who know better). Some boys smoke cigarettes (older boys who are bullies). 'Heck' and 'darn' used approximately once each.

[Dee Dee G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about people helping people during difficult times. This one didn’t disappoint.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully heartwarming.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5.0 - Sandra Dallas is one of my favorite authors, and this young adult/juvenile book by her is another reason why. This takes place during the depression and the dust bowl and features a brave pair of siblings, Tom and Hallie, who take off from Oklahoma after losing their mother, in order to find a better life for themselves and their beloved younger brother, Benny. When their car breaks down in Kansas, they camp beside a stream for the night. In the morning, though, the farmer who owns the land finds them and tells them to move on. Tom, a mechanical wizard, explains their transmission is broken and their tire blown, and they'd like to stay on and look for work, until he can fix it. Swede, the farmer, has a hard time believing Tom could fix it, until Tom offers to look at a tractor Swede is having problems with. Tom is able to fix it, and the Carlson offer to let them stay. They become friends and benefactors, and their young daughter, Tessie finds a friend in Benny.
Sometimes it's hard to believe for us to believe or envision what life must have been like back then.
It is only when Benny goes missing for a time that Hallie and Tom can truly understand their place in the community, when the community bands together to help find the little boy.
We have so many fail-safes built into society today that children aren't wandering the country by themselves looking for work. Not to say that there aren't homeless people still, only that we have a few more mechanisms to help them. Back then, one relied on church, family or neighbors much more than today.
This is a book about hardship and courage, friendship and love, and what it means to be neighborly.
Book 160 of 2020
Fall Reading Challenge: OCTOBER/1. Pumpkin Spice Everything/b. Read a book whose title starts with a letter in SPICE.
PS FRC - 2. A book that has been on your shelf since at least last fall.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: The battered old Model T Ford sputtered and stalled. With a sigh, sixteen-year-old Tom Turner guided it to the side of the dirt road. He slid out of the worn seat on the driver's side and stood next to the vehicle, stopping a moment as he heard a hissing sound. He shook his head. "The transmission's bad, and it looks like we blew a tire, too."

Premise/plot: Hallie, Tom, and Benny are orphans traveling the road during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. When their car breaks down in Kansas, they have no choice but to camp out until they can fix it. The farmer whose land they are on talks with them. It isn't instant friendship or kinship. But he offers Tom a chance, an opportunity. That's what Tom wants--all of them want--opportunities to work, to earn money, to survive. The family soon becomes neighborly. Benny befriends their daughter--both have similar mental/developmental differences. They bring out the best in each other. They bless one another with friendship. Hallie and the mother take turns teaching the children since the school system refuses to educate them because of their disability. Hallie does go to school sometimes. She loves learning and sees it as a great opportunity. Are the children accepted? Not really. Not at first. They are seen as "squatters" and "vagrants" and "thieves." The fact that Tom--who is very skilled mechanically--is taking away a job from an unskilled person is offensive to some.

The book is set in the 1930s, of course, and in Kansas.

My thoughts: Ultimately this one is such a feel-good read. I absolutely loved, loved, loved it. I thought everything about it was wonderful. I loved the relationships that developed. I loved the unfolding of the story. I highly recommend this one!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geared toward middle school age, it was written simply yet poignantly and uplifting at the same time. I'm not sure that stories for that age people have to be so simply written, but I suppose it is better safe than sorry. I did think it was very kind of Sandra to include a glossary at the end of the book of some of the "antiquated" terminology she used in the tale, although it was amusing to me to think that kids these days would not know what words like "migrant" mean; some of the words have become obscure now, though.
The story is of a family of three children--aged 16, 12, and 6 who left Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930's after their mom had died and their father abandoned them (possibly due to lack of work). Tom, the oldest, was driving them in a Model T to California which broke down in Kansas. There they had to stay until they could get enough money to repair the car and move on. They were befriended by some and detested by others. Most of the hateful treatment was because the people thought they were squatters who were taking their jobs. Others were prejudiced against the youngest, Benny, who seems to have had a disability, which I guess might have been Down syndrome. A family whose land they camped on took them into their hearts and helped them out. Their daughter was about the same age as Benny and had the same disability. The story was told from the perspective of Hallie, the middle child. She has her own prejudices--misjudging people a lot probably because of her own insecurities. The drama at the end of the book resolves a lot of her insecurity, as families come together to help them out.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* Very engaging, read it all in one day and I think we'll use it for history read aloud when we get to the dust bowl/great depression (1933 Kansas). I felt it did a good job conveying that integrity and dignity don't go away when someone becomes poor. That there is still pride and desire to work hard, to give back, to stay true to who you are despite the circumstance you find yourself in. I loved the Carlson family, Hallie's teacher, Mr. Ulman, the sheriff, the Trigg family, and the community who stepped up and stood beside Hallie and her brothers.

The book never outright states what Benny has, my guess is down syndrome, but regardless of what it is I related so much to how Tom and Hallie feel when people imply something is "wrong" with Benny. For different reasons but within my family. Tom and Hallie were wonderful supportive siblings with so much on their shoulders but who worked through it and strengthened their family. I'm using it for a reading challenge about "a family making sacrifices for one another."

"I'm proud of you, Tom. You did the right thing. You can't give up. Remember when Daddy left and never came back? Mommy said the measure of a man was how he stood up to bad times. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I think she was saying that you can tell what a person's made of by how he deals with trouble." pg 158

"If we leave, people will believe you're guilty. Running away from trouble is not our way. We'll work this out-together." pg 173

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful historical fiction book for middle graders about family life in the Great Depression in Kansas. The father left to find work and never came back, and a daughter died of pneumonia, and the mother died of heartbreak.

The remaining family, Tom Turner, age 16, Hallie, age 12, and Bennie, age 6, left their farm together. They had been unable to make the payments, so the bank foreclosed. Traveling through the county in an old Model T Ford. Tom tried to find work along the way but was often disappointed.

They still hung onto hope that times would eventually would get better. Bennie, who had Down Syndrome, loved the song Happy Days Are Here Again. The car broke down, the transmission went out, and their food was down to a few last tomatoes found on the way. They had to set up a campfire off the road and met the farmer who owned the land, Mr. Carlson.

The meeting was a turning point for the Turner family. Slowly, the two families, guarded at first, trust and love for each other weave the families together.
-
This story is very well written, and the details of what the families ate match those of my father's and mother's stories of the Great Depression.
.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set during the Dust Bowl/Great Depression in 1933, the three Turner children, Tom (16), Hallie (12) and Benny (6), are en route to California from dust-covered Oklahoma in search of jobs. A blown tire in Kansas strands them on the Carlson’s farm where maybe, just maybe, they might be able to find a place to call home. Sandra Dallas’ characters are vivid and the Kansas setting will be clear as bell in readers’ minds. More than that, the way Tom and Hallie work to make their dream a reality is inspirational and their experiences will leave students just a little more knowledgeable about a pivotal time in US history. Highly recommended for libraries of those in grades 4-7, especially if the era is a part of the campus’ Social Studies curriculum. Someplace to Call Home is free of all profanity and sexual content and the violence is limited to a fist fight between two teens. Representation: Characters present as Caucasian but family ties to immigration from other countries is implied.

A 2021-2022 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee

[Chapter]

from goodreads site:
In 1933, what's left of the Turner family--twelve-year-old Hallie and her two brothers--finds itself driving the back roads of rural America. The children have been swept up into a new migratory way of life. America is facing two devastating crises: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Hundreds of thousands of people in cities across the country have lost jobs. In rural America it isn't any better as crops suffer from the never-ending drought. Driven by severe economic hardship, thousands of people take to the road to seek whatever work they can find, often splintering fragile families in the process. As the Turner children move from town to town, searching for work and trying to cobble together the basic necessities of life, they are met with suspicion and hostility. They are viewed as outsiders in their own country. Will they ever find a place to call home? New York Times-bestselling author Sandra Dallas gives middle-grade readers a timely story of young people searching for a home and a better way of life.

[Laura Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra Dallas has masterfully created a beautiful work of historical fiction set during the Great Depression. At the onset I was struck with Boxcar Children vibes. Three children, Tom, Hallie, and Benny are trying to survive when left alone during the Great Depression. Tom is great with cars, Hallie is full of determination and grit, and Benny brings joy to those around him. However, being a “squatter” during hard times makes things difficult for them when their car breaks down near a farmhouse.

I love how this story shows the challenges of living through such a hard time in our nation’s history while sowing seeds of hope all along the way. I laughed, I cried. I closed these pages with a good look at honesty, integrity, and the power of community.

This would make an excellent family read aloud!

[Andrew Eder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very heartfelt book and I really enjoyed it! It gave me subtle Unsung Hero of Birdsong USA vibes with the time it took place and the “struggling family” topic.

I got very interested in the story and the characters quickly, which is always a great sign. It was a nice touch of historical fiction without war and violence and such.

I really liked the way they balanced a lot of the different stories; Tom working, Hallie going to school, and working with Benny to provide for him. I loved that Benny was eluded to having a disability, although not clearly and transparent as much as I’d like.

Overall I was engaged and interested and it was a great story of what life was like for many. I would recommend this to 4-5th grade and up!

[Mr. Canning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that takes place during the Great Depression. Hallie, her brothers Tom and Benny, have to take to the open road leaving Oklahoma for California. However, their car breaks down in Kansas and they find themselves stranded in a new community. They have to adjust, make friends, and find their place in a new area. They go from being strangers to neighbors in this heartwarming novel.

Social Justice Note: The story does have the theme of bad rich kid abuses poor kid in Harold, the banker's son, gives Tom a hard time. Harold blames Tom for stealing his car. I see this a lot in novels. Yet, I often think that poor kids sometimes bully rich kids, too, often out of resentment. Sin doesn't belong to a single social class.

[Kelly Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021-2022 Bluebonnet Nominee
I would call this the kids version of "The Grapes of Wrath". Hallie has two brothers (Tom is the oldest), one (Benny) who most likely has Down's Syndrome. Their father left the Oklahoma dust bowl to find work and never returned. Their sister and mother both died and they were evicted from the family farm. They take off in an old car like many Okies during the "dirty thirties." and drive it until it breaks down. Although they face poverty and the challenges of not being liked in the town, the story is much less harsh than Tom Joad's story. The characters of the children are drawn very well, and I even cried in one place. But it ends on an optimistic note. Good for kids of all ages.

[Grandma Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an adult I call this a "fairy tale book"--"once upon a time"...."and they lived happily ever after". Sometimes as an adult I need that kind of book and young people need to believe (for now anyway) that no matter how tough it gets, everything will get better with a little help from our family and friends. For middle level readers I highly recommend this book. It gives a look at what life was like during the dust bowl in Oklahoma and Kansas. Some readers may think a sixteen year old and a twelve year old would never be able to support themselves and their brother, but I know what my grandparents were capable of at that age.