Product Review:  Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 [Hardcover] (Ages 4-9)

Are The Ladies Tough Enough To Strike?  Find Out!  Out 01/22/2013!

How quickly we seem to forget that our country is mostly made up of immigrants and workers who fought for their freedoms and their rights.  I know that I wrote recently about how my dad’s side of the family came to the United States from Ireland.  It is what makes this country great, right?  When standing up for oneself becomes a bad thing, I must admit that scares me a lot.  Perhaps we don’t have as much at risk or stake as we did at one time, but it is really all relative (my opinion, of course) when it comes to each person’s personal situation.  I have seen poverty, depression, bullying, unfairness and all that we would like to think does not exist in the U.S. still present which makes Clara’s story of being a girl during the harsh garment worker times in our country (where you would get fired if you accidentally bled onto a garment if you pricked your finger while sewing) still relevant.  If we and our children do not learn from our past, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes.  Like most people, I want to move forward and get better with age, and I feel the same way about the United States of America.  This is not a political post, it really does not matter what side of the fence you are on to me, the horrible labor conditions that have and can exist were happening right here in America.  Shining a light on our past warts is actually a positive thing to do if you are doing it to advance things and that is why I think Brave Girl does a great job at inspiring young children to stand up when things are not right.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 is a children’s book that focuses on the largest strike in the (then) booming garment industry in the United States that was rampant with employee abuse.  Clara Lemlich’s story of coming to America, not knowing the language as a girl, to find herself working in bad factory conditions is true which is what makes this book so interesting.  During the time of the largest strike (which she organized in her Yiddish tongue), most of the garment workers (around 80 percent) were women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five, although some factories were employing children as young as six to make clothes.  The influx of Eastern European families into the U.S. at the time made up much of the workforce as well as Italian immigrants and other Americans.  At the beginning of 1909, over six hundred young women were arrested (and some beaten) and negotiations only started to happen when the Women’s Trade Union League got involved.  Clara herself was arrested seventeen times and had six ribs broken during one strike.  When we think of today’s five-day work week, weekends and overtime pay, I imagine Clara would have been happy to know that her huge involvement as a garment industry activist (and many others who are not mentioned by name in this book) had a huge role to play in worker’s rights.  And that (stand together, take action and make a difference), my friends, is important to note to our kids.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 [Hardcover] (Ages 4-9)

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

List Price: $17.99 (Currently on Pre-Order through Amazon.com for $ 12.14)