The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Eleven year old Jack is as broken by the Depression as the land is. At first glance, it seems the monster drought has weakened him. He's bullied by kids. His father - from whom he longs for connection and approval - is distant and disdainful and his sister, who he clearly loves and wants to save, suffers from dust pneumonia - her cure outside his control.

As this graphic novel unfolds, we witness escalating distress. He's scared by dead snakes nailed to fence posts - an old world charm to scare off agrarian disaster. The drought demon rages; looming large and hateful in the neighbor's barn. The aggression of poor Jack's world comes to a head with a sad killing scene when men set out ot tame the ravages of the land, but instead, ravage the tame.

The significant message in this book is how tragic circumstances, such as the drought, affect not only day to day living, but also family dynamics. The muted drawings capture the bleak emotion of the story. This book is a multiple award winner including the Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction. Grades 5 and up.
A link to the publisher, Candlewick Press: http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse-Title&isbn=0763636185&mode=book

Check out the author, Matt Phelan's website: http://www.mattphelan.com/

Phelan, Matt, The Storm in the Barn. Graphic novel illustrated by the author. Somerville, MA : Candlewick Press, 2009. (970-0-763-63618-0)

Cooking with St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas Magazine advertisement illustration, October 1933.

In the October, 1933 issue of St. Nicholas magazine, there is an advertisement for Baby Ruth candy bars. In the ad, the candy bar is positioned next to a glass of milk and a sandwich. The tag line reads, "Here's a Lunch...Good Candy Anytime." The important thing to note in this ad is that along with the image of a sandwich, glass of milk and candy bar, there is an endorsement emblem from the American Medical Association's Committee on Food. Apparently, back in 1933, a satisfying candy bar, rich in nougat and nuts, met a nutritional standard folks,including the AMA, could sign on to.

This ad got me thinking about our current dietary culture. We live in an age of 'super-sizing' meals. Obesity is at an all-time high. In an effort to offer more nutritionally balanced meals, fast food vendors now offer fruit, parfaits and raisons as substitutes for the more fatty fries and onion rings.

Very similar to the meal suggested in the candy bar ad, pre-packaged, lunch-time meals can be purchased in the grocery store. They offer very similar menus. Crackers paired with ham and cheese. Pizza with toppings paired with a cookie or candy bar.

I don't know about you, but I love them. I search the different options, trying to find the right combination of cookie, juice, turkey (my favorite) and cheese. And then I wonder, what made that 1933 AMA endorsed lunch suggestion that included a candy bar,so different from a lunch I choose for myself or my children - or for any of us?

Perhaps they aren't different. Perhaps, back in 1933, a candy bar was simply a way to make a lunch more inviting to the eater. Much like the offerings of cookies, candy bars and juice boxes are for pre-packaged lunches, today.

The difference between the lunch options of the 1930's and today, is that, back then, there were no pre-packaged lunches. The advertisement offered a suggested menu that would be created at home. The sandwiches, fruits and drinks would come from the kitchen of the mothers who packed them, not a factory.

We might learn something from that example. Instead of letting manufacturers choose our food for us, we could follow the teachings of St. Nicholas writers and put together lunches on our own. Lunches that are every bit as nutritious as those offered today, but with a more focused eye on nutrition combined with treats that we love to eat!

From the August, 1933 issue, sandwich suggestions include thinly sliced ham with mustard, turkey with cranberry jelly and simple peanut butter sandwiches.

Add an apple or peach or whatever fruit is in season, a mini bag of trail mix or nuts and your favorite juicebox (be sure it's pure juice)or milk. And then, for good measure, toss in a Baby Ruth ( or a candy bar of your choice). It's sweet, nutty and delicious. The perfect dessert to a wholesome lunch anyone can create in their own kitchen, just like moms and kids did during the depression.

Enjoy!

Becky

St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls

During the thirties, boys and girls loved to read St. Nicholas.

It was a magazine much like today's Highlights magazine. It was filled with an assortment of stories by popular writers, true life essays, regular features like "The Mixing Bowl" which offered recipes, and glorious illustrations by reknown artists. Young readers were encouraged to contribute and many poems, stories, letters and recipes were printed. It even held contests where readers could win prize money for their contributions.

In the next few entries, we'll explore St. Nicholas. It was published years before computers, television and the internet; a time that seems static by today's standards. And yet, in it's own way, it fullfilled a similar purpose for readers. It offered an avenue for dialog (letters), publication (stories, poems, etc.) and media (photograph contributions).

Today, St. Nicholas contributors, like Mary Owens Sallee (age 10), whose work I've chosen to open this discussion with, might have sent her poem to Highlights in hopes to see her poem in print. Or she might have configured her narrative into a visual message and posted it on You Tube. Or maybe, she might have blogged!

But these were not options for her back in the early months of 1933. She sent her poem to St. Nicholas Magazine. And it was not only accepted, but it earned a Silver Badge in the magazine's
"League' of readers. Mary Owens Sallee did very well, for herself!

From the February, 1933 issue of St. Nicholas, here's Mary's poem. Happy Spring, everyone!

Springtime in the Country

by. Mary Owens Salee (age 10)

(Silver Badge)

Oh,it's Springtime in the country!

And wild flowers are in bloom;

All the honey bees are humming,

And the birds are finding room

For their nests in lofty tree-tops

Where their birdlings will be saved

From stray cats that might be hungry,

And are not so well-behaved.

Oh, it's Springtime in the country!

And the children laugh and shout,

For they love the bright, fresh Springtime

With the apple blossoms out.

There are scores of crowded cities

With enchanting things to see,

But when it comes to living--

'Tis the country life for me!

Advertisements

This is the cover of Rawleigh's "Good Health Guide", circa, 1932. It billed itself as a cookbook and yearbook. The Rawleigh company's literature prided itself in health and wholesome living.

In years past, it was enough to rely on television, print and radio for advertising. Before the computer age, marketers could reach nearly all household by these three venues.

But when computers and the internet became commonplace, when DVR's and Tivo made it easy to 'fast forward' through marketing promotions, promoters sought new, innovative means to reach their target audience.

Now, television, radio and newspapers plant 'give away gifts' as a form of advertising. Entire programming - especially for youth - target their cartoons, movies and stories in order to plug a product.

It appears revolutionary, this new way to market. But I would suggest it is simply falling back to a method of taking one's product to the people that has existed for over a hundred years - if not more.

For decades, including the thirties, the Rawleigh Company offered a magazine that coupled it's products with timely articles, how-to stories and recipes. Each literary effort was supported by a Rawleigh product. They understood the value of coupling information a reader needed with a product from their own line. And while they 'hawked their wares' they also gave the reader horoscopes, worldly news and special features, such as a column that addresses motherhood concerns.

It was a combination that masked the greater purpose. Give a reader a story that relates to their life- and then slip in a product. Ahh, marketing...today, in our computer world, we call them pop ups. Back then, they just popped up in peoples' mailboxes!! Their real mailboxes!!

Becky!!

WPA Guides

"Elevator to residential section on bluffs. Dubuque, Iowa."
by WPA photogragher, John Vachon.
Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)LC-USF34- 060475-D.

Blizzard of the Blue Moon offers a great tie-in for an interesting series written as part of the New Deal programs. For clues to help solve the book's mystery, author Mary Pope Osborne introduces the reader to New York City's Guide Book, circa 1938. The children use the guide to help identify landmarks in New York City.

Similar guides were written for every state in the union except Hawaii and Alaska, although there is a guide that disucsses Alaska's territorial areas and attributes. And the guide books were not limited to states. As in the case of New York City, entire volumes were devoted to many individual cities, as well.

Guide books were written from 1935-1941 by local authors. The writers varied in skill level and style and the assorted entries in the guidebooks reflect that fact. When the program was initiated, unemployed writers sought work with the WPA, believing that the salaries provided would fund their personal writing. Many quit the project when they realized the government had a specific idea of what the authors would write. But others, needing the income, signed on.

The state guides are organized into three parts. The first part consists of essays that reflect the mood and essence of each, individual state. In the case of the Iowa guidebook, topics include agriculture, history, religion, commerce and the arts. The second part features essays that describe the largest cities in the state. The third part consists of travel logs where the writer follows a specific path and journals about the cities, sites, restaurants, etc. along the way. One such essay details a trip along Highway 20 that runs through my city, Cedar Falls. The books also include photographs, similar to the one above, that depict the state or city as it was during the 1930's and early 40's.

Guidebooks are an easily accessible resource to use in the study of the WPA programs. Most libraries carry a copy of their state's guide, and perhap some city ones, too. An interesting lesson plan consists of securing a guide for your area. Have students read different sections of the guide. Look for photographs of familiar landmarks. Compare them to photographs of the same landmark, today. How have they changed? Or stayed the same.

Another idea is to pick a particular topic and see if what was written about the topic matches the reality of today. For example, back in the 30's, Iowa had a large horse population, nearly one to every three humans. This was due to the fact that horses were still widely used in fieldwork. Of course, that isn't true today. But it gives an interesting perspective of how life has changed and evolved.

Check out your own city or state's WPA Guide and see what memories you can discover.

Becky

Blizzard of the Blue Moon

I read Blizzard of the Blue Moon with great delight. It’s number 36 in the popular “Magic Tree House” series. I must admit, it had been years since I read any books from this collection. My youngest daughter was an avid fan and she introduced me these stories, which, I, too, fell in love with. My personal favorite: Sunset of the Sabertooth. My daughter's favorite is Mummies in the Morning.

Blizzard of the Blue Moon’s setting is New York during 1938. As with all the books in this series, the main characters, siblings Jack and Annie, are on a mission – in this case, to save a unicorn. The great thing about this book, in relation to the depression era, is Sal Murdocca’s illustrations and the unique way author, Mary Pope Osborne, weaves history into her suspenseful plot.

Murdocca comments at the end of the book how much he enjoyed illustrating this book - and it shows. His illustrations capture the essence of the era with period automobiles, cityscapes and Central Park. I especially enjoyed the beautiful drawing of Belvedere Castle that factors into the story. I was unfamiliar with the building and enjoyed learning about its history. My family and I plan a visit to New York this summer. The last time I went, I wanted to see the Bethesda Fountain. This time, I’ll make a point of seeing the castle.

Ms. Osborne mixes an interesting combination of fact and fiction. As the children find themselves wondering around New York City on their quest to find the unicorn, they follow a path that takes them to various NYC landmarks. They start their journey in Central Park where they stumble upon the castle mentioned above. They witness soup lines and people wrapped in newspaper trying to stay warm while on route to the Bronx Zoo. There is a subway ride and a taxi ride before they end up at the ‘Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum’ where she offers a subtle history lesson on the collection of art and artifacts housed there. Another place I hope to visit when I travel to NYC.

Here is the link to the publisher's fun website where readers can learn more about this and all the “Magic Tree House” books:http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/magictreehouse/

and check out author Mary Pope Osborne's great website: http://www.marypopeosborne.com/

Osborne, Mary Pope, Blizzard of the Blue Moon. Illus. Sal Murdocca. New York : Random House, 2006. (0-375-83037-5)

How Literature Changes, Yet Stays the Same

The photograph at left shows the cover of The Farm Journal, July, 1935. It was published by the Wilmer Atkinson Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Inside, there are recipes, an article on how to grow late summer flowers, a piece on barn architecture and it's relationship to hen rearing and stories for leisure reading. What caught my eye was the story on page 16.

Children and Books : Have a home library plan and adhere to it, by Jean Kirk.

Ms. Kirk wrote, "But when there are no libraries near at hand and not so many dollars to spend on books, what are parents going to do to keep up with the growing demands for knowledge that are being made by their children?"

She goes on to share the story of a mother who compiled poetry, craft articles, educational pieces and picture books. This mother bound her 'library' of information with 'heavy wire fasteners'. In one volume, or perhaps many, the article doesn't quite say, this mother created her own library, specific to her interests, needs and objectives.

We do the very same thing, today. It's called 'Cut','Paste' and 'File'. No scissors required!

Becky