by Matt Phelan (2009)
2010 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
The Storm in the Barn is an unusual combination of Dust Bowl history, American folklore, and fantasy. Most of the story is told through the illustrations that follow the main character Jack -- and most of the frames lack text. A majority of the artwork uses light washes in browns and grays that is evocative of the past, while the fables told within the book are told in vibrant colors. The juxtaposition of colors and style seem to represent the difference between the harsh reality and the beauty of escape. This opposition is furthered through Jack's sister Dorothy's story -- as she escapes her illness by becoming "the other Dorothy" in the Land of Oz. The fantasy elements in the text are a little abstract for me, but they offer a creative outlet in the midst of what some students may consider a dry piece of historical fiction.
I would use this book in a classroom to introduce social studies history concepts like the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. This book shows a number of the difficulties families faced during this terrible time in American history. This book could also be an introduction for students into the art of the graphic novel -- where students could analyze what elements the believe are important in books like this. They could consider what they would improve in the story and try writing their own graphic novel or adapting a previously written story into this illustrated format. The epigraph at the beginning of the book is well-chosen yet unusual ("Every theory of the course of events in nature is necessarily based on some process of simplification of the phenomena and is to some extent therefore a fairy tale" Sir Napier Shaw, Manual of Meterology) -- and could be used to discuss how this element is used in literature to further the story or encourage a certain viewpoint.
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