- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Sandpiper; None edition (Aug 30 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0395979145
- ISBN-13: 978-0395979143
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 20.2 x 0.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#463,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #78 in Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > 1800s
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8. Bartoletti uses oral history, archival documents, and an abundance of black-and-white photographs to make turn-of-the-century mining life a surprisingly compelling subject for today's young people. Zooming in on northeastern Pennsylvania in general, and the perspective of children in particular, she writes of the desperate working conditions, the deplorable squalor found in the "patch villages," and the ever-present dangers of the occupation. Stories of breaker-boy pranks and the roles of the animals at work bring some comic relief, but even they point out the enormous hardships suffered before there were effective unions and child-labor laws. The words and work of children are weighted equally with the efforts of the Molly McGuires, Mother Jones, and other adult players. Captioned, black-and-white photographs, with attributions, appear on almost every page, allowing the images to play a powerful role in the gritty story. The bibliography reveals the depth of Bartoletti's research. An introduction conveys her motivation (fascination with family stories), while a brief conclusion touches upon the region in the post-World War I era. For a first-rate, accessible study of a time and place that played an important role in American economic and social history, look no further.?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Gr. 5 and up. With compelling black-and-white photographs of children at work in the coal mines of northeastern Pennsylvania about 100 years ago, this handsome, spacious photo-essay will draw browsers as well as students doing research on labor and immigrant history. The story of these boys' lives are a part of Russell Freedman's general overview Kids at Work (1994) and of Betsy Harvey Kraft's biography Mother Jones (1995); but there's a wealth of personal detail and family story here that focuses on what it was like in the mines and in the homes and communities of these working children. Lewis Hines' famous pictures will grab readers, and Bartoletti has also gathered dozens of archival photos and heartbreaking oral histories. They show what it was like for eight-year-old breaker boys sorting coal surrounded by deafening noise and black clouds of dust, steam, and smoke; what it was like to be a mule driver underground; what it meant to be a spragger, a butty, a nipper. Drawing on personal interviews, archival tapes and transcripts, and a wide range of historical resources, Bartoletti finds heartfelt memories of long hours, hard labor, and extremely dangerous working conditions, as well as lighter accounts of spirited rebellion, mischief, and bonding. The immigrant experience is an integral part of this "coal culture": the strength of ethnic groups and the prejudice against them, and their banding together to form strong labor unions. As with most fine juvenile nonfiction, this will also have great appeal for adults. Hazel Rochman
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating!,
By
This review is from: Growing Up in Coal Country (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: Read aloud to my son as part of our history curriculum.This book centres on Pennsylvanian coal country in the late 1800s to early 1900s. It also mainly focuses on the child workers though it doesn't exclude the men, nor the women back at home. The book is also profusely illustrated with contemporary photographs, some from the author's family as it was personal history that inspired her to write the book. During the author's research she listened to many interview tapes and read transcripts and has included many quotes from men who were once the boys described in the book. This makes for very interesting reading and brings the book closer to reality for the juvenile reader. The book is incredibly thorough, going through all the different jobs involved in working at the mine. Then moving on to the company village and day-to-day life for the women and such things as scrounging for scraps of coal, the company store and school. Then the book moves on to recreation after working hours. A chapter on dangers and tragedies and common accidents prefaces a final chapter on the beginning of unionization and the big strike in Pennsylvania. A conclusion then follows up with the reasons coal mining ended as such a big industry. While the book is centred on Pennsylvania, the majority of the information is general in nature and can be applied to anywhere coal mining took place in North America. The photographs are amazing and add volumes to the book's enjoyability. The text is narrative, interesting and while never written down to its audience does keep topics lively remembering who it's audience is. My son loved this book so much. Often when I read to him he will sit in another chair than me and I will hold the book up for him to look at pictures, or he likes to walk around the room but whenever I brought this book out he jumped up and ran right over to snuggle right next to me so he wouldn't miss the pictures. For myself, this is a topic I really knew little about and I enjoyed the book very much as well. A tremendously, enjoyable read about an industry once so important to everyday life and the terrible working conditions, child labour, and oppression workers had to face and in spite of it all they grew up to actually have fond memories and say it wasn't all bad. Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
growing up (or not) in coal country,
By
This review is from: Growing Up in Coal Country (Hardcover)
i've been researching the history of the anthracite region and specifically the experience of miners and their families, and this was one of the most useful books i've seen. by detailing the different jobs the boys in the mines did, bartoletti also manages to describe how a mine worked in ways that other books on mining don't really explain. it covers the whole process by telling stories about the different jobs the kids did.the photos too are wonderful. you get a real sense of how much these kids are both children and yet so remarkably grown up, just from the looks in their eyes. the stories about them range from terrifically sad (i cried a few times) to heartwarming and sweet. the book doesn't come off as bombast or pure sentiment, but keeps a very journalistic view of these kids & their reality. i highly recommend it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Glimpses from a bygone era,
By A Customer
This review is from: Growing Up in Coal Country (Hardcover)
This is a fascinating book about the life and times of the coal miners in Pennsylvania when "coal was king" and child labor laws were things of the future. The photographs, especially those involving children, are haunting; and Susan Bartoletti's text is lucid and poignant. Impressions of the "breaker boys", "nippers", "spraggers", and the "fire boss" lingered in my mind long after I finished reading this book.
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