Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932 (Dear Am

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Description: To 11-year-old Minnie Swift, Christmas, 1932, is not going to be the time of bounty she's used to. Instead, it has become the "Time of the Dwindling." The Great Depression has changed everything: Minnie's father is working fewer and fewer hours, her hungry family eats more and more aspic and "rumor of pork" (high up on the Vomitron, a zero-to-ten scale Minnie and her brother have invented to determine the vileness of their meager dinners), and a tiny orphan girl has joined their family from Heart's Bend, Texas. Minnie finds a worthy outlet in her daily journal, in which she records the sometimes troubling, sometimes exhilarating experiences of one winter month in Indianapolis during the depression. Nothing can subdue Minnie's lively spirit, although the disappearance of her father challenges her sorely. Kathryn Lasky's latest addition to the Dear America series is chock-full of period details: Greta Garbo's hairstyle, The Shadow radio program, Charlie Chan, Hooverville shantytowns, Buck Rogers, Amelia Earhart, and phrases like yee gads and go-to-the-dickens. Minnie is an exuberant and witty chronicler of her family life, as well as the world outside. Young readers will come away from Christmas After All with a strong image of life in the 1930s, and a sense of the resiliency and ingenuity of many Americans during that deeply troubled time. A historical note and photos follow the diary, providing background to help readers understand the era in which the fictional Minnie lived. (Ages 9 to 14) --Emilie Coulter

Genre: American history: from c 1900 -; Social history; Inter-war period, 1918-1939; Fiction; Juvenile Historical Fiction; Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Fiction; Holidays and Festivals - Christmas; Children: Grades 4-6; USA; Historical - United States - 20th Century; Historical - United States - General; Holidays and Celebrations - Christmas and Advent; Social Issues - General; Juvenile Fiction / Historical / General; Juvenile Fiction; Social Situations - General; 1929; Depressions; Family life; Indiana;

Average Review: 4.5 stars

Review: Zully's Review : Imagine you have to live with an orphanage girl that doesn't know what an adjective is. This is what Kathryn Lasky in the book Christmas After All talks about. It's a masterpiece of love ness. The love ness of the main character, Minnie is that she helps an orphanage girl that goes to live with them. Minnie Swift is a young girl who is in 4th grade she is 11 years old. Minnie Swift lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. One day an orphanage girl name Willie Faye got to their house she didn't know anything, so Minnie's parents put her in school and Minnie couldn't believe that they put Willie Faye in fourth grade, Minnie was so embarrassed. Minnie's fingers were tired from poking cloves into oranges. Do people always help orphanages? Can we break our friendship with a person? Minnie faces these issues in the book Christmas After All. Is four dollars a lot of money for you, well I don't think so, but in the book Christmas After All they think it's a lot of money. Would you use a fancy dress like a curtain? Well Minnie's sister wanted to do that, she wanted to put it in their room because they didn't have a lot of money to buy a curtain. Minnie didn't like that idea, and she didn't say anything because if she says that she doesn't like that idea lady her sister will get mad at her. Jackie is Minnie's maid house. Jackie is kind of the color cinnamon, and Minnie wishes she could be that color of skin. In school Minnie was bored in Geography. When they got back from school Willie Faye went to her room and start getting stuff so she could make earrings for lady that goes with her dress. Christmas After All is a book of how people of the past help orphanage people. This book shows honesty for a lot of people. Christmas After All is for these who love a heart felt story and for those who have read this book before. For those people who help people will be a really, really good book. I felt a good affection for this book, and you will too. " We have had Christmas after all."- Christmas After All.