Jake and Maggy lived on a farm where they loved to sing and dance to the music from Mama's radio. Then terrible dust storms came and ruined the land. The family had no choice but to auction off the farm and make the long, hard journey west to California-away from the dust storms, where the land is still green. Along the way, Papa tries to find work, and Jake and Maggy try to help too. But what if Papa can't find a job? What if California isn't better after all? Ann Turner's dramatic story about the dust bowl, set during the Great Depression and beautifully captured in Robert Barrett's paintings, shows how one family stays together during difficult times.

"When terrible winds and dust storms ruin the land on the farm that Jake and Maggie call home, the family must sell and move. Ann Turner tells the story of the Dust Bowl years from one child's perspective. Through their journey, Mama holds on to her music and Jake to his hopes, and the family finally finds better times. Presented in an easy reading format, this slim book is a competent fictionalized representation of a difficult time in the history of many farming families in the 1930's."
--Children's Literature