Books 34 and 35
34. My Name is America: The Journal of Finn Reardon, a Newsie, by Susan C. Bartoletti. Finn lives with his family in cramped quarters in New York City. He goes to school in the morning, but at evening and night, he works as a newsie. He buys newspapers, then takes them to the street corner to sell. This is written in journal format, and covers just less than a year. This is short, and pretty easy to read, and is more of a "slice of the life" of a boy who may have grown up in that period, rather than a streamlined narration. There were a couple loose ends I would have liked to have seen addressed, such as what happened with the grandfather and the snowshovelers. But the bits of history, such as the newsie strike, seem accurate. Most of the characters, like Finn's family, are fictional, but there are historical figures mentioned. There's a nice afterwards going more into the history, plus some good pictures, at the end.
35. Kids on Strike! by Susan C. Bartoletti. This is a really neat, well-laid out book on the various strikes held by children and teens -- sometimes with adults and sometimes on their own. It covers the newsie strike in 1899, the Lawrence strike and introduces readers to figures such as Mother Jones. This gives an eye-opening account on how awful child workers had it; the book not only tells the story of these children in clean, consise text but has many pictures throughout. Some of the stories are heartbreaking, such as the Lawrence strike and, of course, the tragedy of the Triangle fires. This book serves not only as a lesson on how well we have things now, but as a warning that things could slip back to these times if we are not careful. Readers will see the pitfalls and the problems with overcoming the top brass, the mistakes that were made -- and how some strikes were won.
35. Kids on Strike! by Susan C. Bartoletti. This is a really neat, well-laid out book on the various strikes held by children and teens -- sometimes with adults and sometimes on their own. It covers the newsie strike in 1899, the Lawrence strike and introduces readers to figures such as Mother Jones. This gives an eye-opening account on how awful child workers had it; the book not only tells the story of these children in clean, consise text but has many pictures throughout. Some of the stories are heartbreaking, such as the Lawrence strike and, of course, the tragedy of the Triangle fires. This book serves not only as a lesson on how well we have things now, but as a warning that things could slip back to these times if we are not careful. Readers will see the pitfalls and the problems with overcoming the top brass, the mistakes that were made -- and how some strikes were won.