Dust for Dinner: (I Can Read Book Series: Level 3) » (Reprint)

Ann Turner is the author of many novels, picture books, and poetry collections for children. Her novel A Hunter Comes Home was an ALA Notable Children's Book, and her first picture book, Dakota Dugout, received the same honor. Among her other books are Abe Lincoln Remembers, illustrated by Wendell Minor, a Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies; When Mr. Jefferson Came to Philadelphia; Rosemary's Witch, a School Library Journal Best Book; Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies, a Reading Rainbow Book; and two poetry books, A Lion's Hunger and Learning to Swim, which were both ALA Best Books for Young Adults. She lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, with her husband and two children.

Jake and Maggy lived on a farm where they loved to sing and dance to the music from Mama's radio. Then terrible dust storms came and ruined the land. The family had no choice but to auction off the farm and make the long, hard journey west to California-away from the dust storms, where the land is still green.

Along the way, Papa tries to find work, and Jake and Maggy try to help too. But what if Papa can't find a job? What if California isn't better after all?

Ann Turner's dramatic story about the dust bowl, set during the Great Depression and beautifully captured in Robert Barrett's paintings, shows how one family stays together during difficult times.

Children's Literature

When terrible winds and dust storms ruin the land on the farm that Jake and Maggie call home, the family must sell and move. Ann Turner tells the story of the Dust Bowl years from one child's perspective. Through their journey, Mama holds on to her music and Jake to his hopes, and the family finally finds better times. Presented in an easy reading format, this slim book is a competent fictionalized representation of a difficult time in the history of many farming families in the 1930's. 1997 (orig.