I realize I’m a bit late to the party with this one. I always intended to read it, and then oh look, it’s three years after it was published and I still hadn’t picked it up. I rectified that problem this evening, and I’m glad I did.

It’s Kansas during the dust bowl. Jack is eleven years old and lives on what used to be a prosperous farm. Since the rain stopped, though, the farm has stopped as well, and Jack feels useless. He’s also being bullied and his older sister is sick with pneumonia. One day, he spots a strange shape in an abandoned barn near his home. He initially ignores it, but he eventually investigates…and what he finds there has huge ramifications for the whole town and Jack’s own sense of self.

There’s a big emphasis on storytelling here, which I dig. At the local store, Ernie tells Jack stories about the King of the West Wind, the King of the Blizzards, the King of the Northeast Winds, and so on. These folktales are then reflected in Jack’s own adventures facing off against the being in the barn.

Part of the reason I never actually sat down to read the book is because the art did not speak to me initially. I’m not normally a fan of the kind of art found here: sketchy, with loose lines and washed out colors. For this story, though, it works. In Jack’s world, the dust and wind have invaded everything, so it’s fitting that even the people look a bit swept away. Phelan is also great at creating facial expressions with some very simple lines – with just a small curve, he can show frustration or happiness or anything else necessary to the story.

I think it’s important to note that The Storm in the Barn has more wordless frames than you normally find in a graphic novel. I struggle most with wordless panels, and at times I found it a little hard to follow. Due to the sketchiness of the art, a lot of the figures kind of melted together and it was difficult to tell what was really going on. This was particularly true during some of the scenes in the barn where Jack fights the being there.

The book hasn’t seen huge circulation at my library. I’m not really surprised. Most (note most, not all) kids that are drawn to graphic novels at my library like the ones that are cute or funny or exciting or gross (or all of the above). The Storm in the Barn isn’t any of those, but it will hold appeal for kids who like their stories a bit quieter. For fans of historical fiction, it’s dynamite. The historical setting doesn’t overwhelm the story. Instead, it enhances it, letting the plot and characters shine. Historical fiction is a big awards darling with less popular appeal, but there will always be the kids who dig it. (I was one.) Hand them this one.

Bonus: Jack’s older sister read Ozma of Oz while she’s sick in bed. She relates a lot of that story to what she sees going on around her, which is great, but what’s even better is that Phelan has brought some attention to a lesser-known Oz book.