The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Summary: The year is 1937  and Jack’s Kansas town has been taken over by Dust. Some families leave, if they can, and head towards the coastal cities. Jack’s family decided to stay a little longer, to watch over their farm, but the thing is there are no farms left to take care of. However, despite that the farm is covered in dust, Jack’s father does other work, but he never let’s Jack help. Jack never helps. Whenever he goes into town there are rowdy older boys who like to beat jack up whenever they can. Jack goes to town anyway so he can  stop by the general store for a story from Ernie who works at the store, and a soda. Ernie always tells him stories about other boys named Jack who defeat giant Kings and monsters. The Jack in those stories are always brave and always a hero. Jack doesn’t feel that way about himself though. At home, are Jack’s sisters. One is Dorothy, who is bedridden with Dust pneumonia, and who likes to stories of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Jack talks to Dorothy about anything. Jack’s baby sister’s name is Mabel, and he is always watching after her, and she is always playing with an old black umbrella. One night Jack is looking out the window at the barn of a family who left town a while ago, and then suddenly there are the brightest lights shining from the blue barn. Jack blinks and the light is gone, he lays back down and thinks about the doctor had said earlier about Dust dementia. The next day Jack finds Mabel playing over by the barn, but when he tries to open it, he can not because doors are stuck. He tries again, but gives up and goes home. A another day later, Jack is walking back from town and he tries to open the blue barn doors again and this time he opens it. He looks around and then spots the weirdest thing, a puddle of water on the floor, and the barn smelt really funny, too. He hears something from on the second floor of the barn and decided he should run out of there. That night jack see the light come from the barn again and this time he decides it’s time to go see what it is. When he get there he finds a bag that rumbles and discovers that this is where the light is coming from. And when he looks up there is a face that looks like rain staring right back at him, so Jack bolts out of that barn. The next day Jack is coming home and hear his baby sister playing the barm. When he goes to get her he find the rain faced man again he fights him away, grabs Mabel and takes off toward home. He tells Mabel that they are to never go back in there. The next time the barn begins to shine, Jack stays in bed. The next day, Jack’s father still will not let him help with anything. And jack is tired of it all. Not helping. No rain. Dorothy’s sickness. So that night he goes into the barn and confront the monster living there. The monster reveals himself as the rain and that he is not letting any rain fall so that he can become more powerful so that he can eventually rule the Earth. Jack manages to take his bag, of what he realizes now is thunder, and races to the of a wind tower. Jack was going to make it rain again. He once heard from a man selling a thunder machine that wherever there is thunder, there is rain. The rain king comes up and fights Jack for the bag, but jack never lets go, not even as he starts to fall off the tower, causing the bag to rip open. Thunder pours out into the sky, taking the rain with it. And in second, it begins to rain. Rain begins to cover the whole town, and every rejoices. Jack’s family begins to look for him and they find him walking back from the tower. His father bends down, gives Jack a hug, and asks him to hello on the farm when the crop grows back.

Review: This book was an interesting way to tell about the dust storms in the 1930’s. I believe that children will relate to young Jack, the main character who feels like he can’t help anybody, but in the end he saves his whole town. It’s important that the students know, especially in Grades 4-8 as they become more involved in their communities, that  they can make a difference. I would use this book in a lesson about the period of the dust storms, the great depression, and what life was like for children and families during that time.