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

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

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 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.

Author: Michelle Markel
Publisher: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Published: 01/22/2013
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 10.68h x 8.95w x 0.34d
ISBN: 9780061804427
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 156055 / Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909


Award: Sydney Taylor Book Award - Notable
Award: Orbis Pictus Award - Honor Book
Award: Jane Addams Children's Book Award - Winner
Award: Children's Book Committee Award - Winner
Award: Lupine Award - Honor Book
Award: Star of the North Picture Book Award - Nominee
Award: Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 11/15/2012 pg. 44
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2012
School Library Journal 01/01/2013 pg. 93
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2013 pg. 107
Publishers Weekly 02/04/2013
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2013 pg. 303
SLJ's Best Books 12/01/2013 pg. 34
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2013 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Markel, Michelle: -

Michelle Markel loves writing narrative nonfiction. She's the author of Brave Girl, which won the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award for Younger Children, and was also chosen as an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book. Her recent titles are Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls Are Born to Lead (on the Amelia Bloomer Project List of feminist literature) and Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children's Books. She lives in Woodland Hills, California. You can visit her online at www.michellemarkel.com.

Sweet, Melissa: -

Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than one hundred books. Her work has been in magazines, on greeting cards, and on her living room walls. Melissa has received the Caldecott Honor Medal twice, among many other awards, including the Sibert Medal, and is a New York Times bestselling author and artist. Melissa lives in Maine. You can visit her at www.melissasweet.net.