Ruby's Hope: A Story of How the Famous "Migrant Mother" Photograph Became the Face of the Great Depression

by Monica Kulling, Sarah Dvojack (Illustrator)

Overview

A Junior Library Guild Selection!

Dorothea Lange’s Depression-era “Migrant Mother” photograph is an icon of American history. Behind this renowned portrait is the story of a family struggling against all odds to survive.

Dust storms and dismal farming conditions force young Ruby’s family to leave their home in Oklahoma and travel to California to find work. As they move from camp to camp, Ruby sometimes finds it hard to hold on to hope. But on one fateful day, Dorothea Lange arrives with her camera and takes six photographs of the young family. When one of the photographs appears in the newspaper, it opens the country’s eyes to the reality of the migrant workers’ plight and inspires an outpouring of much needed support.

Bleak yet beautiful illustrations depict this fictionalized story of a key piece of history, about hope in the face of hardship and the family that became a symbol of the Great Depression.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781624148187
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,081,200
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Sarah Dvojack grew up in Washington State, where she developed a passion for all things history, circus, and Irish dance. She graduated from Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts with a degree in Graphic Design and went on to study in the School of Visual Arts' MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program. She currently works as a book designer and lives in New York. She is the author-illustrator of Rosie the Riveter and the illustrator of Madame Alexander: The Creator of the Iconic American Doll.

Editorial Reviews

10/28/2019

Billed as “partially imagined,” Kulling creates a backstory for one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century—Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother. Kulling’s telling focuses on seven-year-old Ruby, one of the children pictured in the image, and relates how the family was forced to migrate from the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma to the insecurity of life as itinerant farmworkers in California. As the family suffers—“Days passed and food dwindled. Ruby’s hope dwindled, too”—a photographer shows up at the migrants’ camp. Ruby leads the photographer—Lange—to her mother, the image is snapped, and its publication triggers relief efforts. An author’s note clarifies that this is not what happened. Readers will have to look elsewhere to learn the true story of the woman in the picture—Florence Owens Thompson, a member of the Cherokee Nation—which may raise questions. Dvojack’s digitally colored graphite illustrations evoke lost moments of dust and tenderness. Ages 6–10. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"[A] compassionate lens for this moving story." – Kirkus Reviews

"A great introduction to the photography of Dorothea Lange; a must-have for your Dust Bowl units." – School Library Journal

"[Ruby's Hope] offers an introduction to the era from a child’s perspective...An unusual historical picture book." –Booklist

From the Publisher

09/06/2019

Gr 2–5-This story is a fictional account of the family behind Dorothea Lange's famous photograph, Migrant Mother. Ruby is a young girl growing up in Oklahoma during the midst of the Great Depression. Her family decides to go to California to become migrant farmers since their farm is nothing more than dust. They make it to their latest camp, coasting on fumes, only to have a frost destroy the pea crop. The family is stranded due to the fact that they cannot afford gas, and Ruby's father and brother begin to take on odd jobs to earn money. Enter Lange, whose photograph of Ruby's mother alerts the government to their plight. The illustrations, a mix of graphite and digital color, invoke a past era with their soft hues. Lange's actual photograph is used in the story. The back matter includes more information about Lange and the actual migrant mother, Florence Owens Thompson. VERDICT A great introduction to the photography of Dorothea Lange; a must-have for your Dust Bowl units.-V. Lynn Christiansen, Wiley International Studies Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC

School Library Journal

2019-05-22
Kulling and Dvojack bring the migrant history of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to life for young readers.

A young girl and her family navigate hard times after the stock market crash of 1929. Food on Ruby's farm is scarce, but that doesn't mean she wants to leave it. She loves the big sky above her family land and is devastated when drought forces her parents to load up their car and take her and her siblings to California. Like many Midwesterners, they must work as migrant field hands, picking lettuce in exchange for food. Illustrations dominated by grays and sepia capture the dry wasteland as well as the etched lines of worry on the farmers' faces. Even a flat tire can be dangerous in a time of extreme poverty, and the author creates a satisfying depiction of people sharing what little they have in migrant camps. The book turns on an added element of history when a photographer arrives at Ruby's makeshift community and decides to photograph her mother. The presence of the iconic photo entitled "Migrant Mother" lends a metaliterary element to the story as the author imagines the photographer recording history. An endnote on Roosevelt's handling of the crisis adds to the book's appeal.

The eyes of a loving daughter make a compassionate lens for this moving story. (bibliography) (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews