The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan
Summary:
It's 1937, and Jack faces many challenges on his family's Kansas farm, including bullies, a pesky younger sister and the effects of the Dust Bowl. When Jack witnesses and investigates a mysterious flash in Talbot's abandoned barn, he uncovers a sinister lurking figure. Could he have Dust Dementia like the townsfolk are saying? Jack finds strength from a local man's "Jack tales" and becomes determined to confront what he saw.
Read it Again?
Definitely read it again! This is a great story and would help make struggling readers feel more confident as they go through the story and learn about the historical aspects of the dust bowl. It has great pencil drawings and keeps your attention throughout the book.
Library Use:
This book could be used in the library with a small group of struggling readers. It is a good graphic novel that would get students interested in reading. It would also be a good book to use in sequencing activities. This book is a good example of historical fiction.
Reviews:
| Library Media Connection 11/1/2009 |
This graphic novel is part tall tale, part thriller, and part historical fiction. Eleven-year-old Jack Clark and his family are struggling with the effects of the Dust Bowl in 1937 Kansas. There is talk in town of a shadowy illness called "dust dementia." Jack worries that he is afflicted when he sees a frightening figure with a face like rain in an abandoned barn. Nevertheless, he summons the courage to end the town's drought. This is the first graphic novel by Phelan, whose full-color illustrations in pencil, ink, and watercolor, convey the desperation of the townspeople, requiring only a limited amount of text to tell the story. While this graphic novel is geared to an upper elementary or middle school audience, its content could be shared with younger elementary students. The book can be used for lessons on sequencing and visual literacy. This is an excellent book to suggest to reluctant readers and a must-have for the elementary graphics novel collection. An author's note explains why Phelan chose to create a graphic novel about the Dust Bowl. Teachers could use this book and author's note to entice students to write and illustrate their own stories based on an historical event. Highly Recommended. Michele Turner, Assistant Library Media Specialist, LaSalle High School, Cincinnati, Ohio
School Library Journal 9/1/2009 |
Gr 5-7 -It is 1937 in Kansas, during the Dust Bowl, and 11-year-old Jack can barely remember a world with plentiful water and crops. Unable to help his father with a harvest that isn’t there, and bullied by the other boys his age, he feels like a useless baby. Stories offer a refuge, and there are multiple stories in this work. Jack’s mother tells about the time when the land was a fertile “paradise.” Jack’s invalid sister, Dorothy, is reading The Wizard of Oz , gaining inspiration from the adventures of another Kansan of the same name. Jack’s friend comforts him with folktales about a brave man named Jack who masters nature, battling the King of the West Wind, the King of Blizzards, and the King of the Northeast Winds. In the end, Phelan turns the Dust Bowl into another one of Ernie’s “Jack” tales when the real Jack encounters the Storm King in an abandoned barn and finds out that he has been holding back the rain. The boy must then gather the strength to determine his own narrative, as well as his parched town’s future. Children can read this as a work of historical fiction, a piece of folklore, a scary story, a graphic novel, or all four. Written with simple, direct language, it’s an almost wordless book: the illustrations’ shadowy grays and blurry lines eloquently depict the haze of the dust. A complex but accessible and fascinating book. –Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
References:
www.mackin.com
Bibliography:
Phelan, M. (2009). The storm in the barn. Humen:China. Candlewick Press.
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