There are some haunting images in this tall tale about a boy facing down the terror of the Dust Bowl. But it didn't feel like a satsifying story to me. I liked the connections to the Wizard of Oz, tall tales, and the detail about the jackrabbits--but I never really got into it. Maybe I read it too fast (I tend to do that with graphic novels). Or maybe first-time author Matt Phelan overused familiar tropes: the disappointed father, the sickly but brave sister, the kindly storekeeper who protects our hero from one-dimensional bullies. The art was great, but a story like this could have had a lot more depth. I felt like it ended before it really began. ( )

I loved this graphic novel. With very few words it swept me completely into Jack's world in the middle of the dust bowl where he is bullied by other kids and rejected by his dad. One of his sisters is sick with the dust pneumonia, and people are saying that he has the dust dementia just because he is different from the other boys. The artwork is amazing and the story is a great blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and American folklore. ( )

Kansas, 1937. It has not rained for 4 years, and massive dust storms are killing people, choking them to death slowly by “dust pneumonia.” Jack’s family plans to leave the farm they’ve always loved and Jack feels useless, unable to help – until he finds a mysterious, dark, dripping figure in an abandoned barn. Is Jack a victim of “dust dementia?” Or is the figure real – and what can Jack do? Amazing drawings! Phelan gives us a vivid glimpse of life during the Dust Bowl. Easy read, 201 pp. ( )

A beautiful, touching and sad story about the dust bowl and how it really beat down everyone involved, even the kids.

The point about Jack growing up "useless" since he couldn't help on the farm is poignant and not really something you'd think about when thinking of the tragedy of the Dust Bowl - I also didn't know about the rabbit drives, and the series of red panels and silent men were incredibly effective. ( )

Phelan has illustrated other books, including a Newbery Medal winner. This is his first attempt at a graphic novel. Inspired by the “stark photography of Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein” he decided to focus on the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

It’s a little bit of historical fiction, mixed with fantasy. Jack Clark is a young boy on a Kansas farm, bullied at school and not considered bit enough to really help by his father. He feels dejected and useless. In addition, the family is worried about his sister, Dorothy, who has a lingering cough and escapes reading various Oz books by Frank L Baum. When a neighboring farm is abandoned, he begins to notice odd occurrences in the shut-up barn.

There are some very spooky goings on in this book, with a fantastical Storm King that the young Jack must defeat in order to get the rains to come again.

The illustrations are marvelously detailed, and yet stark enough to give a feel for the desolation and destruction of the 1930s dust storms. They also lend to the feeling of uselessness and despair that Jack experiences.

The fight with the Storm King is terrifying enough, but the scene that really disturbed me (more hinted at than graphically depicted) is one where the men get together to kill the jackrabbits that are eating what little the farmers are able to grow. I know this is a realistic scene, as I’ve read other books that depicted this. But those books were for adults, and I find it really disturbing in a children’s book. At least Phelan shows that everyone feels remorse over their actions … even the mean bullies who participate seem to realize that they ‘ve been unnecessarily cruel, and shed a tear or two. ( )