Sunday, February 18, 2007

Counting on Grace, by Elizabeth Winthrop

A story just like this one could have taken place in any mill town in North Carolina. It is a gripping narrative of a spunky heroine named Grace Forcier. She lives in a textile mill town in Vermont and works with her mom as a doffer in the spinning room. The author describes the many hardships of the textile workers while weaving Grace's story of self-discovery and growth all the while. She and her friend Arthur are the best readers in school and Miss Lesley their teacher wants to keep them out of the dangerous mill. She is fired for her meddling and Grace is given the substitute teaching position. The Lewis Hine photo on the dusk jacket is of a real mill rat from 1910 - an "anemic little spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill." In this book Grace writes a letter to Mr. Hine about working conditions for children in the mill and he arrives and takes pictures to document the terrible conditions . You will remember Grace long after you put this book down - she is the star among many wonderfully drawn characters. This book will be an excellent companion to Bread and Roses by Katherine Paterson and of course, Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor. SLJ starred review.

Grades 5 - 8

1 comment:

Kimmels said...

I really enjoyed this book. It's compelling historical fiction especially with the inclusion of just two of Lewis Hines' photographs. The photo of the young girl on the cover is what inspired the author. The author's note about the photo and about the writing of the novel offers great insight into the writing process. The inclusion of Lewis Hines as a character in the story is plausible and may lead readers to find out more about him. Educators will have to love the teacher in this book and the book's ending as well. READ THIS!!!