School Library Journal Starred Review

K-Gr 3--A fine example of successful historical fiction in picture-book format. Leah's parents are farmers in the Great Plains of the 1930s. Amid locusts and drought, their bank forecloses on its loan, ordering a farm auction. Leah sells her beloved pony and uses the money to bid one dollar for her father's tractor. No one has the heart to outbid her. Her action inspires others at the auction to buy the rest of the goods for ridiculously low-dusty bids and return everything to Leah's family. The oil paintings with subdued color values have great intensity, especially several that catch their subjects full-face and frozen at the peak of strong emotional reactions. Impact is enhanced by the starkness of the setting and the illustrations' stillness. This is a far cry from the brightness of Garland's My Cousin Katie (Crowell, 1989; o.p.). Friedrich adds a one-page historical note describing the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, and "penny" farm auctions. A moving, effective sketch of a child's bravery and its power to trigger generosity in the adults around her.-- Liza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MA

ALA Booklist (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 1996)

Using spare text and eloquent pictures, this book focuses on the difficulties that families encountered in the dust bowl, when the wind blew so hard it turned the sky black with dust. Leah sees her parents' fear when the stock must be sold and the bank plans an auction. Readers will empathize with the girl when she sells her pony and bids her one dollar on the all-important tractor, thus setting off a penny auction, in which neighbors buy the struggling family's assets for tiny amounts but then return them. Friedrich personalizes the history without making it too painful for young readers, and Garland's paintings, which keep detail to a minimum, focus attention on the people and the sweeping landscape. Pair this with Ann Turner's Dust for Dinner , an I Can Read book on the same subject. (Reviewed March 1, 1996)

Horn Book

When drought in the 1930s turns their farm land into dust, Leah's papa has to put everything they own up for auction. Knowing how much he needs his tractor, Leah makes the decision to sell her beloved pony and bids all her money for the tractor--one dollar. Neighbors follow her example, placing penny bids and returning things to Leah's parents. The moving story of people helping one another through hard times is captured in evocative oil paintings.

Kirkus Reviews

Friedrich (The Story of God's Love, 1985, not reviewed, etc.) tells a moving story of family love and gives a reminder of what matters. Leah is a young girl living in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. When times were better, her father had given her ``the finest pony in the county.'' Now the bank is about to auction off the entire farm, including the tractor, without which her family's future on the land is impossible. On the day of the auction, Leah sells her pony and bids the money—a dollar—on the tractor. No one in the close-knit community tops her bid, and she secures the vehicle. The neighbors bid—a nickel for a cow, a quarter for a plow—settling the debt and returning the goods to Leah's family. Capturing these moments are Garland's beautiful oil paintings. This is a poignant tale of a difficult time in US history; the sentiments are underplayed, rendering them more powerful than if they'd been milked for effect. An afterword places the story's events historically. (Picture book. 6-9)"