Reviews
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel, Melissa Sweet
zusy's review against another edition
5.0
K chose this book at the library.
"What made you choose this book?"
"I like stories that are real."
"What made you choose this book?"
"I like stories that are real."
alexisnc's review against another edition
5.0
I usually wouldn’t review a picture book since I am beyond that reading level but this book was incredible. I fell in love with this book when I was very young and I still really enjoy it. I think this book teaches a great lesson. Bad things aren’t going to change unless someone is willing to fight for change. Clara fought until she got what she wanted. After the story ends, there is more information in the back which I found interesting. Regardless of your age, you should read this book.
katy_irene's review against another edition
4.0
Makes a complicated historical event accessible and engaging. It's more about the Shirtwaist Strike than Clara herself (sometimes shelved in bio).
wiseowl33's review against another edition
4.0
Very cool book. Will love using it for Women's History month. Great story!
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Children's picture book biography about a non typical subject. Art was not all that impressive, nor the writing. But the subject was interesting and the afterword was fine. 3.5 of 5.
the_lobrarian's review against another edition
- Illustrations are watercolor, gouache, and mixed media
pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
I had my doubts. Labor history? Garment workers? But I read this to my sons tonight and they were spellbound. I think the young protagonist, present-tense storytelling, and straight talk about working conditions brought this story home to them. Melissa Sweet's vibrant water colors, collaged with found paper and stitched together on a machine, put the reader at the worktable alongside Clara.
What more could I ask for? A photograph of Clara Lemlich.
What more could I ask for? A photograph of Clara Lemlich.
misspentdays's review against another edition
5.0
Immigrant Clara Limlich works in the garment district by day and attends school by night. Disgusted by working conditions, Clara leads the largest strike of female garment workers the United States had seen to that point. This strike led to improved working conditions and the ability to unionize for many, but not all, garment workers.
Michelle Markel, who began her writing career as a freelance journalist, grounds her story in fact. By including a "More About the Garment Industry" afterword and a selected bibliography of sources for readers to investigate, she improves an already interesting biography for elementary school students. Using short sentences and energetic phrasing, Markel moves the story along at a good pace.
Melissa Sweet, recipient of a string of awards including a Caldecott Honor, often illustrates non-fiction material like personal favorite Balloons Over Broadway. Here she uses a mixed media background on some pages, combining it with watercolors to create high interest illustrations. A favorite two page spread uses time sheets, checks, and ledgers to form New York's tall buildings, while the workers are non-descript dark ink marks- with the exception of Clara, in a vibrant pink hat, heading the march. These rich backgrounds really help fill out the story visually.
Brave Clara does an excellent job conveying the tribulations and trials faced by workers in the early twentieth century without feeling like a lecture. This book, a 2015-16 Louisiana Young Reader's Choice nominee, is a great introduction to inequality, worker's rights, and social unrest without being "scary" to the target audience. Aside from the obvious lessons, Clara's story is excellent for teaching "stick-to-itiveness" and introducing historical context for refugees and immigrants (many of the workers were fleeing religious persecution in Russia and Eastern Europe) without knocking the reader over the head with these concepts.
As a LYRC nominee, it is an essential purchase for elementary school libraries and public libraries. However, it is an excellent supplemental purchase for middle or high schools that teach the worker's movement in their curriculum.
Michelle Markel, who began her writing career as a freelance journalist, grounds her story in fact. By including a "More About the Garment Industry" afterword and a selected bibliography of sources for readers to investigate, she improves an already interesting biography for elementary school students. Using short sentences and energetic phrasing, Markel moves the story along at a good pace.
Melissa Sweet, recipient of a string of awards including a Caldecott Honor, often illustrates non-fiction material like personal favorite Balloons Over Broadway. Here she uses a mixed media background on some pages, combining it with watercolors to create high interest illustrations. A favorite two page spread uses time sheets, checks, and ledgers to form New York's tall buildings, while the workers are non-descript dark ink marks- with the exception of Clara, in a vibrant pink hat, heading the march. These rich backgrounds really help fill out the story visually.
Brave Clara does an excellent job conveying the tribulations and trials faced by workers in the early twentieth century without feeling like a lecture. This book, a 2015-16 Louisiana Young Reader's Choice nominee, is a great introduction to inequality, worker's rights, and social unrest without being "scary" to the target audience. Aside from the obvious lessons, Clara's story is excellent for teaching "stick-to-itiveness" and introducing historical context for refugees and immigrants (many of the workers were fleeing religious persecution in Russia and Eastern Europe) without knocking the reader over the head with these concepts.
As a LYRC nominee, it is an essential purchase for elementary school libraries and public libraries. However, it is an excellent supplemental purchase for middle or high schools that teach the worker's movement in their curriculum.