Parents' Guide to

Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America

By Lucinda Dyer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Compelling history brings the Great Depression to life.

Book Marc Favreau History 2018
Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America Poster Image

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What's the Story?

CRASH tackles a big subject, and the author has wisely chosen to break it into four sections. "Fall" details the stock market crash, the country's 25 percent unemployment rate, breadlines, soup kitchens, homeless families, and "the unluckiest president," Herbert Hoover. "Rise" profiles the lives of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, his election as president, and the creation of the New Deal and Social Security. The "Setback" section covers the Dust Bowl, which made migrants of some 300,000 people, and America's "blind spot" when it came to the rights of African Americans and migrants, and the rise of anti-Semitism. The final section, "Victory," shows how America's entry in World War II put the country back to work.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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Kids say: Not yet rated

Dozens of archival photographs, haunting first-person accounts, letters, and even song lyrics help readers put a human face on the events of the Great Depression in this compelling history. Rather than focusing on facts and dates, Crash offers readers a real understanding of what it must have been like for families to live through some of the darkest days in American history. For anyone who wants to dig deeper, there are source notes, a bibliography (which concentrates on adult titles), and selected primary sources that include online media exhibits, visual and audio sources, and links to printed interviews and oral histories. This a great book for students who are convinced that history can never be anything but dull and lifeless.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the families in Crash coped after parents lost their jobs and often the family home. How would you feel if you had to take only what your family could fit into a car and head off to another city or state where you hoped to find a better life?

  • Crash is filled with powerful photographs of people whose lives were affected by the Great Depression. Is there one photo that really made this period in history come alive for you?

  • Do you think the government did enough to help people who had lost their jobs and homes? Is there anything else you would have done ... or not done?

Book Details

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