This is a fictionalized history of the 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts, factory strike. The main characters are two children, a girl whose family is active in the strike, and a homeless boy. Aspects of the strike itself and of outsiders' attempts to help the strikers are featured.
Teaching Ideas:
Matrix or Venn diagram would be useful in comparing blue collar work-related issues then and now and poverty then and now. Students might debate the pro's and con's of strikes in bringing about change. Readers could perhaps supplement the book with online research of early strikes.