The Dust Bowl Through The Lens: How Photography Revealed And Helped Remedy A Natural Disaster

Brandi Meineke, Collection Development Specialist at Booksource

11/29/2011 9:53:58 AM
The Dust Bowl: Through The Lens is a high-interest

picture book filled with impactful photographs and information from a dusty time in American history. The format consists of a page of text on the right side paired with a full-page photograph on the left. The text is often interrupted with smaller images of photographs and propaganda from the era. Each of these pairings can be used individually to teach a small part of this history, but when read as a whole the entire of story of the Dust Bowl comes to life.

Mixed within the economic history, this book also provides a history of photography and its effect on America during this time. Readers will learn that it was these desolate images shared with the country that convinced the public and lawmakers that something needed to be done to help. Martin Sandler begins this book with information about the policies and history that paved the way for the Dust Bowl to be possible. He takes the reader on a journey through this era, ending with the final pages filled with images of the relief effort.

This book is a great nonfiction addition to any high school or middle school collection. History teachers will find this title most helpful, though Literature and Art teachers can also find many uses in its pages. After reading this text students could be assigned to apply this style of nonfiction to their own work. Students can be asked to gather a large group of images and information from a recent global event, such as a hurricane or earthquake. Then students can pair text and images in a cohesive way. If the class works together, they can make a complete book around a single topic.