In 1929, twelve-year-old Woody thinks little about money. Then the stock market crashes, crumbling his father’s business with it. Suddenly, money becomes very important to Woody, so he searches for ways to help his family. Sometimes his efforts earn him a few coins. At other times, his efforts remove letters from an imaginary chocolate “RESPECT” bar, that his father uses to keep track of Woody’s mistakes.

In the end, woody learns about hard work, true friendship, and earning respect. But, will his efforts ever be enough to earn the respect of his father?

Woody’s World is loosely based on the escapades of my father, as he grew up in Princeton, NJ.  I have also added snippets of my mother's life during this tumultuous time in American History. 

To order, go to the Character Publishing website

Here are links to primary sources that will help teachers plan a unit on The Great Depression, which would incorporate the lessons learned in Woody's World:

1. Poetry from the Great Depression
2. Letters from children to Mrs. Roosevelt
3. Photographs from the Great Depression
4. Lyrics of songs from the Great Depression

And here is a link to assorted plans on the Great Depression: http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/depression.htm

Also look for the teacher's resources at the Character Publishing website: http://www.characterpublishing.org/blog/category/parents-teachers/

 

Reviews:

Lynn C. |

Got this for my homeschooled kids who are 12, 7 and 5. All of them liked it, but my 7-yr-old adored it! It was hard for my 5-yr-old to pay attention to some of the chapters, but I was pleasantly surprised that she did listen and comprehend most of the book. My 12-yr-old has caught on to my way of sneaking history lessons into stories, so he approached the book with great bias. He was not enthusiastic about beginning it, but after he started reading it, I had to make him put it down at lights out! I heard him laughing in his room as he read. Personally, I loved it, and I am very happy with the purchase. Renee Heiss does a great job of making a serious topic fun while still conveying the gravity of the situation (the Great Depression of the 1920s) to children. I have a feeling we will come back to it many times during the course of our lessons.

Emily D., age 12 |

I fell in love with this book from the first page alone. With insightful situations of the great depression from a child's point of view, you can see how devastating these times were, but yet how people adapted and pushed through when the going got tough. With times when you can't help but laugh and others when you are on the verge of tears, this book has everything. It was truly wonderful!