When the Sky Turned to Dust by Catherine Matthias ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

In the midst of America’s Great Depression, a devastating drought and violent winds brought destruction and added hardship to the Midwest. When the Sky Turned to Dust follows the journey of the courageous Dolan family as they face the ultimate test of strength and resilience and struggle to survive on the unforgiving prairie.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

June 2025; Moon Glow Books; 979-8231563296
ebook, print (208 pages); children's historical fiction

This is a book written for young teens.  It's not a genre that I normally read, but I was curious to see how detailed the author would get when discussing this sad part of our history.  I think it's a great book for kids to read.  I don't think that they get much history taught in the schools anymore, and this is a well-researched and well-written book to help learn more about US history.

This book is about the Dolan family and primarily concentrates on twelve-year-old Caroline and nine-year-old Daniel.  They are the two oldest children in a farming family with 5 children.  They spend a lot of time together and are very close.  Because one of the younger children is having a bad reaction to the dust from the storms, their mother takes the youngest children to the northeast to live with family.  Caroline and Daniel make the trip with her, but have decided to return to the farm to help their father on the farm. When they return to the farm, Caroline takes over as the main cook and takes care of the house.  The descriptions of the dust storms are terrifying.  It was scary to think about the home filling up with dust, the animals dying from the dust, and the lack of rain that makes it impossible to grow crops.  It was amazing to read about the cleanup that had to be done in the house after every storm, when the house was full of dust, and there were huge piles of dust outside the doors.  There was one terrifying scene when Daniel and Caroline got caught outside when a storm hit, and it was almost impossible for them to find the house again.  The Dolan family was better off than some of the other local families, but they were willing to share what little they had with people who were less well off.

The book not only dealt with children's reactions to life in such an unsettled time, but it also dealt very well with grief.  There were always neighbors leaving to try to find a better life, the children missed their mother, and they weren't sure what the future would bring to their family farm.

I think this is a great book for your middle-schooler to read.  It is a well-researched look at what children went through during the years that the drought caused horrendous dust storms that threatened the lives of people, as well as farm animals and the crops.

"We proudly announce that WHEN THE SKY TURNED TO DUST by Catherine Matthias has been honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers’ Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG. This award is a testament to this book's quality and its impact on readers."

Buy When the Sky Turned to Dust at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

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