"The 1930s were a tough time. The Great Depression left many people jobless and penniless. Dust storms and drought led to failed crops. Livestock died. People thought things couldn't get much worse. Then, on April 14, 1935, the sky turned black. For hours, an enormous dust blizzard blanketed the country in darkness. Now readers can step back in time to learn about what led up to this terrifying storm, how the tragic event unfolded, and the ways in...

"Winds whipped dark clouds of dust across the dry, open croplands of the Great Plains. How did this tragedy begin and what took the country through the worst of this extreme drought in the Dust Bowl? Learn about this trying time with easy-to-understand content tied to the curriculum of upper-elementary and middle school students written at a 2nd to 3rd grade reading level. Dyslexia friendly font and design make learning accessible and a recap at the...

The causes and results of the Dust Bowl and how the lessons learned are still used today.

Ten-year-old Orry Jenkins is sick and tired of the dust. The year is 1935 and Kansas hasn't gotten enough rain in years. Instead of rainstorms, they get dust storms. One day, Orry and his little stepsister go outside to play. They're far from home when a huge dust storm comes up. Stranded alone on the plains, the children must find a way to survive the terrible black blizzard.

Ken Burns documents the worst human-made ecological disaster in American history, when a frenzied wheat boom on the southern Plains, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s, nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews, dramatic photographs, and seldom-seen movie footage bring to life incredible stories of human suffering and perseverance. Includes bonus features.

"The 1930s exodus of "Okies" dispossessed by repeated droughts and failed crop prices was a relatively brief interlude in the history of migrant agricultural labor. Yet it attracted wide attention through the publication of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and the images of Farm Security Administration photographers such as Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein. Ironically, their work risked sublimating the subjects-real people and actual...

Describes the economic and environmental conditions that led to the Great Depression and the horrific dust storms that drove people from their homes westward during the 1930s.

Voices from those who lived through the largest environmental catastrophe in American history. From 1931 to 1940, a combination of drought and soil erosion destroyed the fragile ecology and economy of the Great Plains. Evocative illustrations accompany poignant testimonies, including those of a farmer's wife, a banker, and a child who had never seen rain, to provide an emotionally charged account.