"Hallie wore a new dress that Mrs Carlson had made for her from two feed sacks. ... She'd rubbed her shoes with bacon grease until they shone. She'd braided her hair three times until she was satisfied. She didn't have a mirror so she couldn't see her appearance. Still, she knew she looked her best."
I felt a little restless last night so at 2.00 am I picked up Someplace to call Home. I read 67 pages and then went back to sleep. This morning I decided to cancel my morning plan and keep reading right to the end. I sighed out loud when I reached page 222. This book was such a satisfying and engrossing book to read (I'm happy) but now I had reached the end of a wonderful heartfelt story about a character I really cared about (so I am also sad).
A story of the Great Depression that’s both gritty and
gratifying. Kirkus
It is 1933. Three children are all that is left of the Turner family. A sister, Barbara has died and so has their mother. Father set off to find work and never returned. The children tried to survive on the farm in Oklahoma but the crops failed, money ran out and so they set off in the old family car. They are now in Kansas. The old car has broken down. Hallie is twelve, Tom is sixteen and their little brother Benny is only six. The man who owns the land, where the children set up camp, is such a kind man. He and his wife have a little girl called Tessie and she is just like Benny (who has Downs Syndrome). Over the coming months the children are able to settle in. Tom gets some work for a local mechanic at the town petrol station and he is able to also work for Mr Carlson. Mrs Carlson takes care of Benny allowing Hallie to attend school for one or two days each week. The Carlson family show these orphan children such kindness and generosity but this is not true of other people in the town and it especially not true for Hallie at school where she is called "a squatter". With limited food and no money the children begin to carve out a new life for themselves until Tom is accused of stealing the car of a rich kid - Harold Morton. The sheriff believes Tom is innocent but until this car is found it feels as though everyone is against them.
This period in history fascinates me. The setting here is Great Depression of 1929-1933 and in this book a young reader will certainly gain access to a vivid picture of the dreadful struggles of these times. This story also talks about the Dust Bowl. "In the 1930s, a drought caused land in America's midsection to dry up and blow away." The words Dusted out described "farmers who went broke and had to move away from their land during the Dust Bowl."
I have talked previously about shoes and they way they can be used to describe poverty. Hallie's shoes are so worn she has to stuff cardboard inside to cover the holes and even cardboard can be hard to come by. Benny eventually gets new shoes but they are so uncomfortable and on the day Hallie takes him to the school hoping he can enter Grade One.
"When Hallie glanced at her brother, she saw with horror that Benny was sitting on the floor, taking off his shoes." The school principal goes onto say "we can't allow children such as your brother here in the school. He will be disruptive. We have to think of the other pupils."
If you share this book with a young reader or with a class it would be interesting to map the story plot and to also talk about the importance of quilts, the comfort of simple food, sibling relationships and why Hallie was so determined to complete Grade eight at school. You might also discuss the power of words such as 'stupid' and 'thief'. One more thing be sure to find the music to 'Happy Days'. This song is the sound track of their lives. I've found myself singing it all day.
Sandra Dallas is the author of books for adults and children. I am keen to read her other Historical middle grade titles: Hardscrabble; Red Berries White Clouds Blue Sky; and The Quilt Walk. Ms Yingling lists some other titles about the Great Depression. I would pair Someplace to Cal Home with these:
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