Middle Grade Fiction
In the midst of America’s Great Depression, a devastating drought and violent winds bring 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.
During the ravages of the Dust Bowl, the largest storm ever recorded sweeps through Kansas, leaving chaos in its wake. Nine-year-old Daniel is separated from his family and must fight for his life. With the fate of her brother in her hands, it’s up to twelve-year-old Caroline to brave the treacherous conditions and bring them both back to safety.
As the storms rage on, their crops fail, and tragedy strikes, the Dolan family must come together like never before to overcome their greatest challenge.
If you enjoyed the heart-wrenching tale of survival in Out of the Dust and Cimarron Girl, you won’t want to miss When the Sky Turned to Dust. Filled with powerful emotions and gripping conflicts, this book will keep you turning the pages.
Available as Ebook or Print
In the brief first chapter, you’ve grabbed me by the lapels and dragged me into the story, and I’m ready to follow you anywhere. As a reader, I sense the solid research that underpins the story.
-Heather Vogel Frederick, author of more than 20 books, including The Mother-Daughter Book Club series
Your depiction of the Dust Bowl is a real triumph. It’s richly imagined and thoroughly researched. You portray these real people as imperfect, but generous and kind… capable of loving through whatever life throws at them, and demonstrating the value above all else of sharing and sticking together in hard times.
-Karen Fisher, author of A Sudden Country, a Pen/Faulkner Finalist.
Readers are taken back in time to the harsh world of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression of the 1930s in Catherine Matthias’s When the Sky Turned to Dust. The story is told through the eyes of young Caroline Dolan and begins in 1934, as she wakes to her Papa handing her a wet cloth to wipe her eyes from the dust that settled overnight. The rest of the Dolan family, Michael (Papa), Abigail (Mama), sister Nell, and brother Daniel, are introduced thereafter. As their daily struggles unfold, the family’s strength and hard-won lessons in resilience come through clearly, especially as they face impossible choices, like Mama taking Nell to New York for her health or figuring out how to cope with failing crops. This novel is all about their fight to survive when everything—weather, land, and money—is working against them.
From the first page, Catherine Matthias masterfully weaves a powerful tale of life during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, drawing readers into the historical setting. Her writing is thoughtful, clear, and deeply reflective, like the way Caroline’s observations vividly paint this scene: “Corn silk yellow washed the sky. Yellow meant the dust blew in from Texas, although sometimes Texas gave us orange and, a couple of times, a pale, sick green. Red came from Oklahoma to the south. It carried an oily stink that could make a skunk jealous. Black was our home state of Kansas, blowing to who knows where.” You can practically feel the dust on your skin while reading that. Concepts such as the economic struggles that led to bank failures and farmers losing their land are explained in an easy-to-understand way, like when Papa tells them, “When you borrow from the bank, the bank owns whatever you bought until you pay back all you owe.” Subtle historical details, like Roosevelt’s fireside chats, add meaningful context and enrich the story.
The honest portrayal of how the Dust Bowl affects the children—the constant health worries, fear of separation, and the devastating loss of one of their own—is compelling. That loss hits Caroline the hardest and stands out as the most heartbreaking moment in the book. Still, there are gentle, uplifting moments throughout, like the kids teaching Wade (who eventually becomes their uncle), choosing a magazine with paper dolls for the train ride, marveling at the big city, or sharing Hershey Kisses with Mama.
I highly recommend When the Sky Turned to Dust for its honest, heartfelt description of living through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era. It belongs in school curricula, offering lessons on resilience, financial responsibility, and the strength of family and community. It’s a beautifully told tale of courage, hope, and finding light even in the darkness.
-Jennifer Sendick, educator with 20 years’ experience & MA in educational psychology. My passion is reviewing children’s books, though I also enjoy YA novels, short stories, and occasional historical fiction or memoirs. I seek stories sparking curiosity, empathy, imagination, and great narratives.