Our Books
Maddy- Out of the Dust by By Karen Hesse
Brittany- The Worst Hard Time; By Pierre Berto
Hunter- Christmas After All; By Katheryn Lasky
Josh- To Kill a Mockingbird; By Harper Lee
Brief Summary
Out of the Dust- This book was in a little girls point of view named Billy Jo. She lived with her mom and dad, but there was soon to be another sibling on the way. Billie Jo really enjoys playing the piano. Her teacher even asked her to play for the president! She was also going to go on a trip with him and play for many different people. Billie Jo was not even a teenager so this could have been very exciting. However, one day, a tragic accident happened. Billie Jo accidentally lit the house on fire, her mom and her hands were both extremely brunt. Her mom was in pain for several days until she gave birth and died. The baby died a few days after too. Billie Jo and her dad had to survive on their which was tough. They had no money, and no where to go. However, they made it through together.
The Worst Hard Time- It was the deepest and longest lasting downturn in history of western history it began after the marker crash on October 1929 it wiped out millions of dollars. A lot of people were scared because they thought they couldn't afford things for their families. The characters in my story are scared and at the end there parents end up getting a job.
To Kill a Mockingbird- In my book it is mainly about a young man named Atticus Flinch and how he is a man with a couple kids and how he is also an attorney and how he defends a black man that is being accused of raping a white woman.
Money Struggles
Out of the Dust- For my characters, it was very hard for them. Money was a huge issue. The mother stayed home all day while the father went to work. However, when the house caught on fire, it was hard to keep the money stable. The dad was supposed to be saving money for the doctor, but instead he went to the bar and got drunk. It became an alcoholic. When they baby and mom passed away, it only got worse. It was very hard for them to earn money. Especially with all the dust, they couldn't really make any crops because they would dry out. Therefore, they couldn't really eat much food. Even when they did, they mentioned that it was unpleasant to eat because it had caught dust in it.
The Worst Hard Time- They Couldn't afford to get food and a lot of people were hungry and they couldn't even get jobs because they couldn't pay them enough.
To Kill a Mockingbird- It talked about how people had to move because they couldn't afford their houses.
Connections
Out of the Dust- There were many things that I could connect to the book. For example, the in the book, they elected a new president. We also happened to elect a new President during this project. Billie Jo also enjoys playing piano. I enjoy playing piano as well. There are little connections in there that I made. My group members and my books all have characters who are struggling with money. In "To Kill a Mockingbird", he is especially struggling because of the case he is being accused of. That can connect to my book considering the accident and the dads drinking problem.
The Worst Hard Time- It's like Christmas because a lot of people lose a lot of money during that time because they spend a lot of money on things.
To Kill a Mockingbird- Throughout the novel there are less major things that occur and some of them have to do with the great depression. For instance, in the book it took place where people are loosing money and men are loosing their jobs. This connects to the other group members and their books and how each of the characters in their book are struggling with money.
Comparing to Time Period
Out of the Dust- There are some things that I find to be pretty over exaggerated. For example, there were dusts storms every few days in the book. In reality, they didn't happen often. However, when they did they were pretty extreme. Also in the book, not many families struggles with money. In the actual time period, a great amount struggled. It was an extremely tough time for many families during this time. Millions of families struggled.
The Worst Hard Time- My book was set during that time and it was hard for them the dust bowl was happening.
Links and Pictures
- Maddy- http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?source=Bookmark&jsid=11f17704edb9a99bc9&displayGroupName=Reference&p=UHIC%3AWHIC&zid=7acfdc9d4390b9e20a4818ed155eab29&u=nysl_ro_rush&action=2&documentId=GALE%7CCX3404500173
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/rails-timeline/
- http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/watch-videos/#2219206510
