Mother Jones and her army of Mill Children

A doughty white-haired woman, arms akimbo, nearly steps off the opening page of this book: "My name is Mother Jones,/ and I'm MAD./ And you'd be MAD, too, if you'd/ seen what I've seen." Using Jones's folksy voice, Winter whirls readers into descriptions of abominable working conditions, where "children YOUR AGE... worked like grown-ups." To protest, Jones leads a march of child mill workers in 1903 from Pennsylvania to the Long Island summer home of President Theodore Roosevelt. Though the march doesn't trigger immediate action, over the next 40 years, the cause prevails through legislation. Carpenter's illustrations adroitly capture both the grim reality of children at work and the irresistible hope of people coming together to demand change. Supplemental materials note that "worldwide, there are 215 million child workers" yet today. Ages 4--8. (Feb.)

Gr 1--4--Young readers are introduced to labor union organizer Mary Harris Jones (1837--1930), aka Mother Jones. The narrative begins by revealing that Jones was angry, then lists the issues that angered her: the conditions that coal miners experienced and children working in the mills for long days and little pay. When newspapers would not run her stories, she led the children, all dressed like people from the American Revolution, on a march from Philadelphia to New York City. While the laws were not changed immediately, Jones helped set the framework for the labor laws passed years later that kept children out of factories and in schools during the day. Pre- and post-story author's notes explain the selected quotes and the life of Jones. A bibliography discusses the featured sources. Winter's words will encourage young activists to fight for what is right. Carpenter's illustrations capture both the bleakness of children working in factories and the joy and hope of young people with her use of color and light and dark. VERDICT An inspiring story about the fight against child labor. Recommended for children's nonfiction collections.--Lia Carruthers, Gill St. Bernard's School, Gladstone, NJ

Creating a first-person narration (partly adapted from the labor activists letters and speeches, as explained in an introductory note on the copyright page), Winter introduces readers to Mother Jones: My name is Mother Jones, and Im MAD. And youd be MAD, too, if youd seen what Ive seen. Winter focuses mainly on the activists work against child labor at the turn of the twentieth century, outlining the long hours, physical dangers, and low pay the children endured (while outside the birds sang and the blue sky shone). After visiting factories, notifying newspapers, and leading protests, Mother Jones decides to lead the child workers on a march from Philadelphia to Oyster Bay, New York (President Theodore Roosevelts fancy-schmancy Long Island summer home). Throughout the text, frequent capital letters and bold fonts emphasize Mother Joness strong message. Carpenters watercolor and digital illustrations, created from a palette of blacks, grays, and tans, emphasize the dismal conditions and only begin to lighten as workers unite into unions. As the march progresses, she begins to include more color, culminating in a bright tableau when the children reach Coney Island and experience the pleasures there. That only three children make it all the way to Oyster Bay does not signal failure; the Childrens Crusade paved the way for reforming child labor laws. The themethat progress is worth fighting for and may not show immediate successis there for the taking. Front and back endpapers showcase some of Mother Joness precepts, such as No matter what your fight, dont be ladylike; the book concludes with an authors note providing more information on Jones, and a bibliography. Betty Carter March/April 2020 p.108(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Winter focuses on Mother Jones' Children's Crusade to introduce young readers to the history of protests against child labor."My name is Mother Jones and I'm MAD. And you'd be MAD, too, if you'd seen what I've seen." Thus begins Mother Jones' first-person narrative about her long career fighting child labor practices in the early 20th century. The first pages depict Mother Jones in front of smoky factories, in West Virginia coal mines, and in Philadelphia fabric mills, where white and brown children toil "for TEN HOURS STRAIGHT." Her anger at what she saw led Mother Jones to organize the central event of the volume, a children's march from Philadelphia to New York City to dramatize the plight of child laborers. The march proved unsuccessful, but was it a failure? "HECK, NO!" Mother Jones assures readers. But Winter is careful to have Mother Jones state on the penultimate page that "the wheels of justice grind slowly" and that it took 40 more years of work to get laws changed. His protagonist/subject speaks with fervor in a folksy idiom with the occasional dropped G and a great many capital letters. Carpenter depicts Jones as an apple-cheeked, silver-haired white woman in full-length black dress, white lace collar, and an aura of indestructibility. There is racial diversity among both child marchers and onlookers.A stellar introduction to an important and ongoing social issue. (author's note, photographs, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.