Summer of the Tree Army

The Civilian Conservation Corps arrives in Michigan

Charlie Brightelot enjoys roaming the woods near his family’s northern Michigan home.  On one of his rambles, Charlie encounters several newly constructed, barracks-like structures.  His parents tell him that these will be living quarters for Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers – unemployed young men who are given food, housing, and a job working to preserve America’s natural resources.  Though Charlie’s mother is sympathetic to the plight of these young men caught in the jaws of the Great Depression, his father is more inclined to see them as lazy loafers.  But that view is put to the test when a forest fire erupts near the Brightelot home. 

This is another fine work of historical fiction for early readers by Michigan’s own Gloria Whelan.