Monday, July 18, 2016

On Our Way to Oyster Bay by Monica Kulling - OPTIONAL

Kulling, Monica On Our Way to Oyster Bay: Mother Jones and her march for children’s rights, illustrated by Felicita Sala.  PICTURE BOOK.  Kids Can Press, 2016.  $18.

In 1903 Mother Jones (Mary Harris) led a group of two hundred adults and children on a 100 mile march from New York City to Oyster Bay, the summer home of President Teddy Roosevelt in order to highlight the inhumanity of making children work in factories instead of letting them play and go to school. 

While the story in the book is true, it does not come off as a book that children will read by themselves.  The best part of this book is the information in the back about Mother Jones, child labor, and the continued presence of child labor today.  The story is presented simply enough that it could be used as a springboard to talk to students about child labor.  I would love to know if elementary teachers anywhere actually address such issues in school.  The CitizenKid imprint from Kids Can Press has an excellent collection of picture books highlighting the concerns of children all over the world.  They would be a great addition to any elementary library collection.

EL – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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