Kids on strike!
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Describes the conditions and treatment that drove workers, including many children, to various strikes, from the mill workers strikes in 1828 and 1836 and the coal strikes at the turn of the century to the work of Mother Jones on behalf of child workers.
By the early 1900s, nearly two million children were working in the United States. From the coal mines of Pennsylvania to the cotton mills of New England, children worked long hours every day under stunningly inhumane conditions. After years and years of oppression, children began to organize and make demands for better wages, fairer housing costs, and safer working environments.
Some strikes led by young people were successful; some were not. Some strike stories are shocking, some are heartbreaking, and many are inspiring — but all are a testimony to the strength of mind and spirit of the children who helped build American industry.
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Kids on Strike is a nonfiction account that documents the actions of child workers during the Industrial Revolution. Because many of her sources are drawn from newspaper photographs and articles from the time period, the book is formatted as a series of headlines and and almost-newspaper format. From children working in coal mines to New York paper hawkers (the well-known “Newsies”), Bartoletti illustrates how they organized, what they protested, and the outcome of their strikes. The clear, easy-to-read format and makes this appropriate for middle grade or even upper elementary students, and the photographs are particularly stunning and effective.
