The Storm in the Barn

 The Storm in the Barn

Bibliography

Phelan, Matt. 2009. THE STORM IN THE BARN. Ill. by Matt Phelan. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763636180

Plot Summary

Jack Clark and his family are living through the Dust Bowl, a period where dust storms ruled the plains and rain was nowhere to be seen. With a sister who has become sick with the dust in her lungs and a father who doesn't understand him, Jack just wants to help his family and find the rain. When he discovers a sinister figure lurking in his neighbor's old barn, Jack must find the courage in himself to end the curse that plagues his town. With the author taking inspiration from the infamous 1930s Dust Bowl, this is a story about finding bravery and facing your fears. 

Critical Analysis

Matt Phelan's book, The Storm in the Barn, combines real life events with fairy tale to create a story about a young boy and his quest to bring the rain back to his small town. Phelan takes inspiration from the infamous Dust Bowl times in the 1930s. He does not sugarcoat how hard it was for the people living during that time. The main character's sister is sick and dying from the amount of dust in her lungs, and a family leaves their home and everything they know behind, which goes to show just how dangerous the amount of dust in the air could be to those living in the area. Phelan also took inspiration from a documentary called Surviving the Dust Bowl, where he viewed real live footage of people trying to gain cover from the massive dust clouds and a brutal jackrabbit drive, one he illustrates grotesquely in the book. So while the inclusion of a sinister ghost figure stopping the rain might be fictional, everything else is close to what really happened during those times.

The character of Jack is one that kids can relate to; he is desperate to seek his father's approval and show just how strong and brave he can be. He loves his siblings enough to conquer his fears and seek out answers on how to bring the rain back so that his older sister is cured. Jack is most likely a figure that resembles many kids in those times, fearful of the future and seeking answers. Phelan illustrates the setting with the use of shaded and dark colors, which smartly shows the reader how the dust covered up the sky and the sun. Our only indication of what the setting is comes at the beginning of the book, with the words Kansas, 1937 at the top of the page. Taking the location and times into account, we can imagine what times were like in that area.

The theme of this book centers on courage and strength, which we see in the young character of Jack. His struggles and fears only make him stronger, especially in the face of the adversary which we see at the very end of the book on top of the windmill tower. Jack shows great bravery and becomes the hero of the town when he defeats the shadow man and ends the drought. Readers will root him on and see that you can face your fears even if you are small. Phelan's small word count also shows the plight in those times, as more action was needed than words, and dust can easily fill the lungs, so speech was limited. His illustrations are front and center and greatly illustrate the difficulty of those times and the darkness that surrounded those in that small town.

The Storm in the Barn beautifully displays how the Dust Bowl years affected people and their physical and mental health, and how an act of courage can bring a town hope even in difficult times.

Review Excerpts

Library Media Connection: " This is the first graphic novel by Phelan, whose full-color illustrations in pencil, ink, and watercolor, convey the desperation of the townspeople, requiring only a limited amount of text to tell the story... Highly Recommended."

School Library Journal Starred: "Written with simple, direct language, it’s an almost wordless book: the illustrations’ shadowy grays and blurry lines eloquently depict the haze of the dust. A complex but accessible and fascinating book."

Publishers Weekly: "The big novelty here is the Dust Bowl setting, and Phelan's art emphasizes the swirling, billowing clouds of fine grit that obscure even nearby objects. Older readers might have appreciated more text to make up for the lack of visual clarity, but kids will identify with Jack and appreciate his success."

Connections

More by Matt Phelan: Bluffton: My Summers with Buster

                                    Around the World

                                    Turtle Walk

More Historical Graphic Novels: They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

                                                     March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin

                                                      Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love by Patricia and                                                                                                                                     Frederick McKissack

Activity: Have your students choose a historical event and write and draw a small comic depicting the event.