Born and Bred in the Great Depression

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Booktalking

Schwartz & Wade (Random House)

(pub. 10.11.2011)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter

     and Illustrator: 
                 Kimberly Bulcken Root

C haracter: Jonah Winter's father

O verview from the publisher: 

         "East Texas, the 1930s—the Great Depression. Award-winning author Jonah Winter's father grew up with seven siblings in a tiny house on the edge of town. In this picture book, Winter shares his family history in a lyrical text that is clear, honest, and utterly accessible to young readers, accompanied by Kimberly Bulcken Root's rich, gorgeous illustrations. Here is a celebration of family and of making do with what you have—a wonderful classroom book that's also perfect for children and parents to share."

T antalizing taste: 

"At Christmastime, you might not have gotten

many toys,

but it was magical to watch

the trains pass by.

to see the blue lights

twinkling in the windows of the dining car.

And it was a good day

if you got to play chess

with your dad

or listen to him play the banjo on the porch

in his special style,

two fingers gone

from a lumber mill accident."

and something more: Jonah Winter tells a poignant story about his father in Born and Bred in the Great Depression.  I was particularly drawn to the description of "a good day" as one in which he played chess with his dad or listened to him play the banjo. My son has taken up the banjo and he bought a wonderful used banjo from an experienced banjo player who said he bought this banjo, one of his first banjos, in college from someone who had played it during the Depression. If only that banjo could tell the stories of the people who played it and the settings where it was played.  Who knows? Maybe it crossed the path of the family of Jonah Winter's father.