Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

by Michelle Markel (Author) Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

The true story of the young immigrant who led the largest strike of women workers in U.S. history.

This picture book biography about Ukrainian immigrant Clara Lemlich tackles topics like activism and the U.S. garment industry. The art, by Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet, beautifully incorporates stitching and fabric. A bibliography and an author's note on the garment industry are included.

When Clara arrived in America, she couldn't speak English. She didn't know that young women had to go to work, that they traded an education for long hours of labor, that she was expected to grow up fast.

But that didn't stop Clara. She went to night school, spent hours studying English, and helped support her family by sewing in a shirtwaist factory.

Clara never quit, and she never accepted that girls should be treated poorly and paid little. Fed up with the mistreatment of her fellow laborers, Clara led the largest walkout of women workers the country had seen.

From her short time in America, Clara learned that everyone deserved a fair chance. That you had to stand together and fight for what you wanted. And, most importantly, that you could do anything you put your mind to.

This picture book biography about the plight of immigrants in America in the early 1900s and the timeless fight for equality and justice should not be missed.

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$18.99

School Library Journal

Starred Review

K-Gr 3--This picture-book biography of Clara Lemlich, a spitfire who fought hard for better working conditions, is an engaging, informative introduction to her activism as well as to the deplorable state of the U.S. garment industry in the early 1900s. Ukrainian-born Lemlich came to the United States with her parents to escape the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, only to be thrust into another appalling nightmare: the American shirtwaist factories. She began on a small scale to encourage her coworkers to strike, but at a union meeting, when even men wouldn't call for a walkout, she rose and shouted to the large gathering that the time for a strike was now, inspiring tens of thousands of women to leave their stations in the factories. Markel's style is clean and clear, making Lemlich's story accessible to a young audience. Readers are treated to solid information with a buoyant message about standing up for what is right. Sweet has created an outstanding backdrop for Markel's text with a vibrant collage of watercolor, gouache, blank dress-pattern paper, bookkeeping pages, stitches, and fabric pieces. This spirited account concludes with additional material on the garment industry and a solid bibliography. A first purchase.--Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

When immigrant Clara Lemlich arrived in New York City, she was "dirt poor, just five feet tall, and hardly a word of English," but she wasn't short on tenacity and determination. After becoming employed as a garment worker and witnessing firsthand the deplorable factory conditions, she began to organize her fellow workers. Markel doesn't sugarcoat the obstacles and injuries Lemlich faced as she went on to lead the "largest walkout of women workers in U.S. history." Sweet incorporates images of assorted fabrics and stitch patterns into her tender illustrations, brightening the lives of workers whose reality was bleak. Author's agent: Anna Olswanger, Liza Dawson Associates. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"In her simple but powerful text Markel shows how multiple arrests, serious physical attacks, and endless misogyny failed to deter this remarkable woman as she set off on her lifelong path as a union activist."—The Horn Book
Michelle Markel
Michelle Markel writes informative, enjoyable children's books at her home in Los Angeles, California. She's the author of Tyrannosaurus Math (a CCBC Choices Reading List selection), The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau (a PEN/Steven Kroll Award winner and a Parents' Choice Gold Award winner), and Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 (a Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner, a Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award winner, and an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor book). Visit her at michellemarkel.com.

Barbara McClintock has written and/or illustrated over forty books for children, including her highly acclaimed Adèle and Simon series. Her books have received five New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book awards, three ALA Notable Children's Book citations, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor, and two Golden Kite honors, as well as many other accolades, best book selections, and starred reviews. A self-taught artist, McClintock discovered the work of Randolph Caldecott when she was in her early twenties, and he became a mentor, inspiration, and kindred spirit to her. McClintock lives in Windham, Connecticut, with her partner, the illustrator David A. Johnson, and their four demonstrative cats. You can find her online at barbaramcclintockbooks.com.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780061804427
Lexile Measure
760
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Publication date
January 22, 2013
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007110 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Social Activists
JNF025210 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | United States/20th Century
JNF007120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Women
JNF023000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Girls & Women
JNF010000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Business & Economics
Library of Congress categories
New York (State)
New York
Women in the labor movement
Lemlich, Clara
Strikes and lockouts
New York.
Shirtwaist Makers' Strike, New York, N.Y., 19
Clothing trade
Women clothing workers
Sydney Taylor Book Award
Notable 2014 - 2014
Orbis Pictus Award
Honor Book 2014 - 2014
Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Winner 2014 - 2014
Children's Book Committee Award
Winner 2014 - 2014
Lupine Award
Honor Book 2013 - 2013
Star of the North Picture Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

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