Joanne S

When the Sky Turned to Dust by Catherine Matthias is an excellent historical fiction account of a Kansas family's experience living through the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Aimed at children in the middle grades, this story is narrated by twelve-year-old Caroline Dolan. Matthias does an excellent job of depicting the hardships experienced by the Dolan family and pointing out how individuals deal differently with adversity, fear, and grief. It is a story that integrates history with empathy and compassion. While the plot is extremely sad at times, there are times of hope, joy, and appreciation. This book would be an excellent reading choice to acquaint middle-schoolers with the drought that spawned horrific dust storms in the American Prairie during the Great Depression.

I enjoy historical fiction books about events and/or people I know little about. When We Were Brilliant by Lynn Cullen perfectly fits the bill. Although I knew the basics about Marilyn Monroe prior to reading the book, I was not at all familiar with Eve Arnold, a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of photojournalism. Cullen did an amazing job of not only introducing me to Eve, but giving me the opportunity to get to know her and her work through this story. However, this book is about much more than two famous two women. It is a look at female friendship, the difficulties faced by women who desired a career in the 1950s and 60s, and the big stories of that time period. I will definitely be checking out Cullen's other works.