What reading level is What Was the Great Depression??

What Was the Great Depression? by Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ is at a Level 5-6 reading level (Lexile 790L). Recommended for Middle Grades readers (Ages 9-12).

What age is What Was the Great Depression? appropriate for?

What Was the Great Depression? is recommended for Ages 9-12. HootRating: 10ME (Moderate — Emotional). Content flags: Poverty & Hardship, Loss & Grief, Economic Hardship.

What genre is What Was the Great Depression??

What Was the Great Depression? is nonfiction — Juvenile Nonfiction. Part of the What Was.../What Is...? series.

Does What Was the Great Depression? have any content warnings?

What Was the Great Depression? has a HootRating of 10ME (Moderate — Emotional). Content flags include: Poverty & Hardship, Loss & Grief, Economic Hardship. On HootRated, every book is rated across four dimensions — emotional, physical, social, and thematic — to help parents make informed choices.

How many pages is What Was the Great Depression??

What Was the Great Depression? by Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ is 114 pages (approximately 8,049 words).

Reviewed by HootRated editorial · Last updated May 18, 2026

What Was the Great Depression?

Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ

What Was the Great Depression?

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Janet B. Pascal, Who HQ

What Was.../What Is...?

Reading Level 5-6 10ME Ages 9-12 Matched Page-Turner Rich Discussion

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content has moderate intensity with some emotionally heavy themes.

Buy on Amazon Listen on Audible Find on Bookshop.org

We may earn a commission from these links. Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores with every purchase.

About This Book

Discover the story behind the Great Depression, a time when millions of Americans lost their jobs and homes after the stock market crashed in 1929. Learn how people faced hardship, lived in makeshift towns, and struggled to rebuild during one of the toughest periods in U.S. history. Engaging illustrations bring this important era to life for young readers.

Themes

HistorySocial Justice Family Survival

Quick Assessment

This is a Level 5-6 book with moderate content intensity. Content themes include poverty & hardship, loss & grief, economic hardship. Written for readers ages 9-12.

Why we rated What Was the Great Depression? 10ME

What Was the Great Depression? is written at a Level 5-6 reading level with a Lexile measure of 790L across 114 pages (approximately 8,049 words). Strong independent readers around grade 6.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, What Was the Great Depression? works for readers up to grade 7.5.

Read aloud, What Was the Great Depression? takes about 54 minutes, which fits within a single read-aloud session.

We rate What Was the Great Depression? as 10ME ("Moderate — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Moderate" range — moderate conflict that may involve loss, scary scenes, or interpersonal stakes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, social complexity — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Poverty & Hardship, Loss & Grief, Economic Hardship.

Thematically, What Was the Great Depression? explores history, social justice, family, and survival — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers. Each of these themes is concrete enough to seed a real conversation, not just a moral lesson.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Reluctant readers who need fast-paced, hook-heavy stories to stay engaged.
✓ Family book clubs, classroom read-alouds, and parents who want a strong conversation hook.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about history, social justice, family.
✓ Readers who fall hard for one book and want a long series to live in — there are 5 more books in the What Was.../What Is...? series.
✓ Curious kids who prefer real-world topics over made-up stories.

Maybe not for

! Readers who get easily upset by emotional or moderately dark scenes — the conflict here is real, not just background flavor.
! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.