Synopsis
A young girl and her older sister, working in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, an early twentieth-century sweatshop on the Lower East Side of New York City, join a protest to ...
School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-Like many immigrant children of the early 1900s, Rachel, 11, and her teenage sister Leah work in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory on the Lower East Side of New York City. This simple-to-read historical novel effectively portrays issues pertinent to the time period. Through Rachel's experience, readers see the courage and determination, success and failure of the workers' efforts to unionize for better and safer working conditions. At the same time, the Jewish heroine befriends an Italian boy, the brother of one of the factory girls involved in the organizing. Their very different backgrounds are a minor concern as they learn from one another and develop a bonding relationship. Lastly, the reasoning behind child labor laws and equal education for boys and girls is nicely interwoven throughout the story. A postscript gives further information about the events in the book. A worthy addition.-Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI