[Franzilla Posts: 998 Status: Offline Gah! WWW]

I'm just doing some research for a picture book and have been looking through photos of the 1920s and 1930s and it's given me a sudden desire to read fiction or non-fiction based in that time period. Something about how women were breaking free of corsets, having to be housewives (not that there's anything wrong with that role if you choose it!) and so on... I just have a hankering to spend some time there.

Any recommendations?

[CyndyHenzel Posts: 96 Status: Offline WWW]

You looking for mg or YA? Corsets and housewives sound more like adult material.
But for mg: Out of the Dust

[writerjenn Posts: 309 Status: Offline WWW]

For an older audience (probably would've been "New Adult" if such a thing existed back then), Betty Smith's books Tomorrow Will Be Better and Joy in the Morning. The Sinclair Lewis book Free Air is set a bit earlier, but in it a young woman drives cross-country--quite an adventure for a single girl at that time. Also for adults: The Group, by Mary McCarthy.
For YA: Sirens, by Janet Fox.
For MG, Marilyn Sachs wrote a bunch of books set in the 1930s ... since they're for kids, they don't have anything to do with women's roles or corsets. But if you want to read about the younger set, there were these connected books (in order: Amy Moves In; Laura's Luck; Amy and Laura; Veronica Ganz; Peter and Veronica.

[LMES Posts: 44 Status: Offline]

Blue Willow by Doris Gates (mg) was a Newbery honor. It's set in California's Central Valley.

[ChristinefromCorona Posts: 806 Status: Offline]

The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (MG)
 
I see a lot of kids' nonfiction on Amazon.

[Franzilla Posts: 998 Status: Offline Gah! WWW]

You looking for mg or YA? Corsets and housewives sound more like adult material.
But for mg: Out of the Dust

All age ranges, including adult. Just looking for really good reads.

Thank you!! Will check these out now...

[Lwrites Posts: 159 Status: Offline]

MOON OVER MANIFEST by Clare Vanderpool, the Newbery winner from a few years ago, is set during the Depression.

[Anne Marie Posts: 2,855 Status: Offline VAMPIRINA season 3 is on Disney Junior now! WWW]

If you liked CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, take a look at the lesser-known sequel, BELLES ON THEIR TOES--lots of stuff about Lillian Moller Gilbreth trying to support her family as an engineer during a time when most women were housewives.  Sweet, quick read.

[TH Posts: 220 Status: Offline]

Also a MG, Turtle in Paradise set in Florida Keys.

[austen Posts: 190 Status: Offline Patience is everything.--Rilke]

I just finished and really enjoyed The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis.
It's set during the Great Depression.

[ChristinefromCorona Posts: 806 Status: Offline]

Of course, there's also The Grapes of Wrath.

[217mom Posts: 1,243 Status: Offline "Keep the child in view"- Charles Dickens WWW]

Bud, Not Buddy immediately came to mind.

[Pons Posts: 2,643 Status: Offline]

Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder and Far from Chicago

[Franzilla Posts: 998 Status: Offline Gah! WWW]

Thanks! These are great. Some are e-books now too so I can read them RIGHT NOW. Love technology some days.

[LeslieG Posts: 174 Status: Offline WWW]

Milton Meltzer's Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? ("...a fresh and human approach to America's past, written for junior high and high school age readers")  is an oldie but goodie. Also, there's a beautiful two-volume set put out by Reminisce magazine that has memoir-type essays. One volume is called We Had Everything But Money, and the other is When the Banks Closed, We Opened Our Hearts.

[MysteryRobin Posts: 690 Status: Offline]

Tennyson by Leslie Blume
I HIGHLY recommend it. So, so good. It's listed as MG, but honestly I think it's better for an adult than for a child. Still, beautiful and brilliant.
http://www.amazon.com/Tennyson-Lesley-M-Blume/dp/0440240611/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370135983&sr=1-13&keywords=blume