1934: A New Deal for Artists
Preschool –Elementary School Bibliography
Resources from the Metropolitan Library System
Adler, David A. The Babe and I. 1999. (Kindergarten-Grade 2)
It's 1932, and everyone is struggling through the Great Depression. When the young narrator discovers that his father is
jobless, he decides to become a newsie. He and his friend Jacob figure out how to sell more papers than the other kids . .
with a little help from The Babe.
Burton, Virginia Lee. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. 1939. (Preschool-Grade 2 )
When Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Ann, lose their jobs to the gasoline, electric, and diesel motor shovels,
they go to a little country town where they find that one new job leads to another.
Christensen, Bonnie. Woody Guthrie: Poet of the People. 2001. (Preschool-Grade 4)
Celebrates the life and career of the folk musician who wrote over 1,000 songs championing the poor, the
disenfranchised, labor unions, and America and its people before he was silenced by Huntingtons disease.
Cooney, Barbara. Eleanor. 1996. (Grades 3-6)
Presents the childhood of Eleanor Roosevelt, who married a president of the United States and became known as a
great humanitarian.
Gershwin, Ira. Summertime: from Porgy and Bess. 1999. (Preschool-Grade 2)
Captures a moment in one family's life as they enjoy the simple pleasures of a sunny summer's day on the plantation, in
a picture book that includes the score of the song.
Guthrie, Woody. This Land is Your Land. 1998. (All Ages)
This well-known folk song is accompanied by a tribute from folksinger Pete Seeger, the musical notation, and a
biographical scrapbook with photographs.
Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. 1997. (Grades 5-9)
In a series of poems, fourteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma
during the dust bowl years of the Depression.
Lied, Kate. Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression. 1997. (Kindergarten-Grade 2)
During the "Great Depression," a family seeking work finds employment for two weeks digging potatoes in Idaho.
McLerran, Alice. Roxaboxen. 1991. (Preschool- Grade 4)
A hill covered with rocks and wooden boxes becomes an imaginary town for Marian, her sisters, and their friends.
Miller, William. Rent Party Jazz. 2001. (Kindergarten-Grade 2)
When Sonny's mother loses her job in New Orleans during the Depression, Smilin' Jack, a jazz musician, tells him how to
organize a rent party to raise the money they need.
Myers, Anna. Red Dirt Jessie. 1992. (Grades 4-7)
Jessie, a twelve-year-old girl living in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Depression, tries to tame a wild dog and help
her father recover from a nervous breakdown.
Piper. Watty. Little Engine That Could. 1930. (Preschool-Grade 2)
When the other engines refuse, the Little Blue Engine tries to pull a stranded train full of toys and good food over the
mountain.
Polacco, Patricia. John Philip Duck. 2004. (Kindergarten-Grade 4)
During the Depression, a young Memphis boy trains his pet duck to do tricks in the fountain of a grand hotel and ends up
becoming the Duck Master of the Peabody Hotel.
Raven, Margot Theis. Angels in the Dust. 1997. (Grades 2-6)
Great Grandma Annie reminisces about life on her family's Oklahoma farm during the terrible drought of the 1930s
when the region was known as the "Dust Bowl."
Rylant, Cynthia. Something Permanent. 1994. (Grades 5-12)
A collection of poetry accompanied by photographs documenting the country during the Great Depression.
Sandler, Martin W. Dust Bowl through the Lens. 2009. (Grades 4-8)
Photographs capture the horrific conditions of this national disaster, the struggles of the people who stayed to save their
land, and the sorrows of those who were forced to move as a result of this catastrophe.
Skolsky, Mindy Warshaw. Hannah and the Whistling Teakettle. 2000. (Kindergarten-Grade 2)
When she goes to visit her grandparents in the Bronx, Hannah wonders if her grandmother will consider the whistling
tea kettle Hannah is bringing a necessity worth keeping when it helps to foil a robbery.
Skolsky, Mindy Warshaw. Love from Your Friend, Hannah. 1998. (Grades 3-6)
From her home in back of the Grand View Restaurant in rural New York, Hannah writes letters to her best friend, a pen
pal, and even to President and Mrs. Roosevelt.
Stewart, Sarah. The Gardener. 1997. (Kindergarten-Grade 2)
A series of letters relating what happens when, after her father loses his job, Lydia Grace goes to live with her uncle Jim
in the city but takes her love for gardening with her.
Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins. 1934. (Grades 3-6)
The wind brings four English children a new nanny who slides up the banister and introduces them to some delightful
people and experiences.
Tripp, Valerie. Meet Kit: An American Girl. 2000. (Grades 3-5)
When her father's business closes because of the Great Depression forcing Kit to make changes in her life, the nine-yearold responds with resourcefulness.
Vanderpool, Clare. Moon Over Manifest. 2010. (Grades 5-8)
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old
friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.
Wells, Rosemary. Wingwalker. 2002. (Grades 3-6)
During the Depression, Reuben and his out-of-work parents move from Oklahoma to Minnesota, where his father gets a
job as a carnival wingwalker and Reuben has a chance to overcome his terror of flying.