Module 10 - Historical Fiction

Ingold, J. (2005). Hitch.
Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books.

Summary:
This novel tells the story involving the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Depression in Montana.  The creation of the CCC was to provide employment for young men to aid their families financially while improving various parts of the US by planting trees, building dams, and other land improvement projects.  These young men accomplished much while learning many of life's lessons.

My Impression:
This book was very engaging as these young men helped our nation through some tough times.  The day to day occurances were very typical lessons that young people can only learn through daily experiences.  I enjoyed reading about some of the projects that the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were involved in.

Reviews:
Hitch
Booklist
Gr. 8-11. Ingold does something quite interesting here. She takes a topic, the Civilian Conservation Corps, that few teens have heard of and even fewer are interested in and works a credible, involving story around it. Moreover, both her writing style and her 1930s setting feels totally true to the time. Often teens in historical novels seem like today's youth, merely plunked down in a different era. That's not true of protagonist Moss Trulawany, who seems utterly of his time. After being laid off from his job at an airstrip, Moss sets out to find his father, who is supposed to be working to help his family. But Mr. Trulawany is really an unemployed drunk, so it's up to Moss to find work. Through a string of fortunate events in which some people care enough to help him, Moss finds a job in Montana with the CCC, where, to his surprise, his leadership qualities surface. Some of the characters and situations are stock (as they might have been in 1930s books or movies), but the good versus bad simplicity of many of the incidents works in context. The story is often moving as Moss, through the CCC, changes lives, especially his own.
Cooper, I. (2005). Hitch. Booklist, 101(18), 1669.

Suggested Library Use:
Sharing this book with students could be used as an extension of their study of US history in the 1930's.  This historical fiction books will engage students in events that took place in the history of America.