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Bread and Roses, Too
Jake and Rosa, two children, form an unlikely friendship as they try to survive and understand the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. By the author of The Same Stuff as Stars.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published July 28, 2006
99 people are currently reading
2,156 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Paterson
158books2,269followersKatherine Womeldorf Paterson is an American writer best known for children's novels, including Bridge to Terabithia. For four different books published 1975�1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. She is one of four people to win the two major international awards; for "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998 and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest monetary prize in children's literature. Also for her body of work she was awarded the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2007 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 2013. She was the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2010 and 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 384 reviews
May 30, 2010
This is a lovely story that deals with the Lawrence Massachusetts mill workers' strike in 1912 that is associated with the song "Bread and Roses". I've always found the song very stirring--especially as sung by Judy Collins.
I was surprised to find a novel written from the perspective of two children about this event. I found the viewpoints of Jake and Rosa very believable.
It's a book that isn't just about the strike. It's about the role of education, ethnic identity and the meaning of family.
Some would find the ending sentimental, but I have a broad streak of sentimentality. I was touched by it.
I was surprised to find a novel written from the perspective of two children about this event. I found the viewpoints of Jake and Rosa very believable.
It's a book that isn't just about the strike. It's about the role of education, ethnic identity and the meaning of family.
Some would find the ending sentimental, but I have a broad streak of sentimentality. I was touched by it.
August 21, 2022
کتاب صوتی بدون اجرای ایوب آقاخانی حرام است!
بعد مدت ها ...
چسبید !
بعد مدت ها ...
چسبید !
November 8, 2013
صفحه 111:
اما اگر مرده بود, دیگر چه اهمیتی داشت که کجا کار می کرده...
اما اگر مرده بود, دیگر چه اهمیتی داشت که کجا کار می کرده...
June 16, 2010
This was a very good YA historical novel. It tells about the Lawrence Strike of 1912. Factories cut the work week back two hours, depriving already hungry and cold families of a couple of badly needed loaves of bread.
We see both sides of the fence so to speak. Rosa is against the strike even tho her mother and sister are a part of it. Her teacher is partly to blame for Rosa's doubts. Also, Rosa is worried that her mother will get hurt or worse, murdered because the strike does get out hand a few times and at least two young people end up dead. But is it the fault of the strikers or the mill owners and their armies?
Jake is the other side. He is for the strike. It makes him feel like a man which a big thing for a kid that sleeps in trash piles to stay warm. He occasionally has his doubts tho too.. especially when he is starving without shelter.
Both Jake and Rosa go to Vermont to wait the strike out. Rosa is worried that the strike will never end. Jake has nothing to go back to except a secret he doesn't want revealed.
I enjoyed it well enough tho I had a hard time with Jake. He is unlikeable at times as he steels from the poor box, hides in churches, and burries himself in trash. Tho it was a good read and I learned a lot about the 1912 strike that I didn't know before, it fails to hit the five star mark cause it never MOVED me. I never laughed, cried, chuckled, or gasped.
We see both sides of the fence so to speak. Rosa is against the strike even tho her mother and sister are a part of it. Her teacher is partly to blame for Rosa's doubts. Also, Rosa is worried that her mother will get hurt or worse, murdered because the strike does get out hand a few times and at least two young people end up dead. But is it the fault of the strikers or the mill owners and their armies?
Jake is the other side. He is for the strike. It makes him feel like a man which a big thing for a kid that sleeps in trash piles to stay warm. He occasionally has his doubts tho too.. especially when he is starving without shelter.
Both Jake and Rosa go to Vermont to wait the strike out. Rosa is worried that the strike will never end. Jake has nothing to go back to except a secret he doesn't want revealed.
I enjoyed it well enough tho I had a hard time with Jake. He is unlikeable at times as he steels from the poor box, hides in churches, and burries himself in trash. Tho it was a good read and I learned a lot about the 1912 strike that I didn't know before, it fails to hit the five star mark cause it never MOVED me. I never laughed, cried, chuckled, or gasped.
March 30, 2008
I didn't know anything about the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912, so reading this book was a learning experience for me. I enjoyed the characters and the way the different ethnic groups were portrayed. The ending was a tad predictable, but that's OK.
November 20, 2023
~ما نان میخوایم.
و گل سرخ.
از هر جهت عالی بود. چقدر خوب چرایی و شرایط اعتصاب‌کنندگا� رو روایت کرده بود. از نیمه‌ها� کتاب فضای داستان تاحدی تغییر کرد و قشنگ‌ت� شد. قلم زیبا و روانی داشت. کارکتر پردازی خوب؛ جیک و روزا عالی بودن :)) دنیای بچه‌ه� چقدر متفاوته.� بچه‌ه� بدون هیچ چشم داشتی خوبی میکنن.
در مجموع یک اثر به یادماندنی👌🏻
و خوندنش رو پیشنهاد میکنم.
|تکه کتاب|
▪︎_من فکر میکنم ما فقط نون برای شکم‌مو� نمیخوایم. ما برای دل‌مون� برای روح‌مو� هم خوراک میخوایم. ما میخوایم... چطور بگم... ما می‌خوای�... خودتون میدونید که ما موسیقی پوسینی هم میخوایم. ما برای بچه‌هامو� کمی زیبایی هم میخوایم. ما گل سرخ هم میخوایم.
▪︎اما اگر مرده بود دیگر چه اهمیتی داشت که کجا کار میکرد...
▪︎چقدر عجیب بود، چقدر شگفت‌انگی� بود که آدمی درحال دویدن باشد. نه دویدن و دور شدن از ترس یا گریز از جرمی بلکه دویدن به سوی زندگی نو، به جایی که غم نان نباشد. به جایی که گل‌ها� سرخ روی سنگ برویند.
و گل سرخ.
از هر جهت عالی بود. چقدر خوب چرایی و شرایط اعتصاب‌کنندگا� رو روایت کرده بود. از نیمه‌ها� کتاب فضای داستان تاحدی تغییر کرد و قشنگ‌ت� شد. قلم زیبا و روانی داشت. کارکتر پردازی خوب؛ جیک و روزا عالی بودن :)) دنیای بچه‌ه� چقدر متفاوته.� بچه‌ه� بدون هیچ چشم داشتی خوبی میکنن.
در مجموع یک اثر به یادماندنی👌🏻
و خوندنش رو پیشنهاد میکنم.
|تکه کتاب|
▪︎_من فکر میکنم ما فقط نون برای شکم‌مو� نمیخوایم. ما برای دل‌مون� برای روح‌مو� هم خوراک میخوایم. ما میخوایم... چطور بگم... ما می‌خوای�... خودتون میدونید که ما موسیقی پوسینی هم میخوایم. ما برای بچه‌هامو� کمی زیبایی هم میخوایم. ما گل سرخ هم میخوایم.
▪︎اما اگر مرده بود دیگر چه اهمیتی داشت که کجا کار میکرد...
▪︎چقدر عجیب بود، چقدر شگفت‌انگی� بود که آدمی درحال دویدن باشد. نه دویدن و دور شدن از ترس یا گریز از جرمی بلکه دویدن به سوی زندگی نو، به جایی که غم نان نباشد. به جایی که گل‌ها� سرخ روی سنگ برویند.
December 13, 2013
Bread and Roses,Too is a great book about two kids and their different yet very similar lives through the 1912 Lawrence Labor strike. This historical fiction novel showed the many hardships and challenges children living in Lawrence, Massachusetts had to overcome. The daily struggle of the logistics of the strike, safety, and your life were all things the two main characters, Rosa and Jake had to face.
Throughout the book there were some moments I couldn't put it down and other parts through which I had to persevere. I felt that looking back on the book that it had the historical essence in parts and in different moments it was a regular fiction book, however not integrated into a great historical fiction read. Although I learned so much about the Lawrence strike I didn't know, it sometimes made me feel like I was reading a History book. The inner story of Rosa and Jake and their life evolving around the strike is one I will remember. It made me look at my life and see how easy I have it and lucky I am. The people of Lawrence's fight opened up so many opportunities for the American worker to regain their voice which we fought do hard for.
The overall book was one that has a great story about the difficulties faced by families and children alike and showing when people work together, anything can be accomplished.
Throughout the book there were some moments I couldn't put it down and other parts through which I had to persevere. I felt that looking back on the book that it had the historical essence in parts and in different moments it was a regular fiction book, however not integrated into a great historical fiction read. Although I learned so much about the Lawrence strike I didn't know, it sometimes made me feel like I was reading a History book. The inner story of Rosa and Jake and their life evolving around the strike is one I will remember. It made me look at my life and see how easy I have it and lucky I am. The people of Lawrence's fight opened up so many opportunities for the American worker to regain their voice which we fought do hard for.
The overall book was one that has a great story about the difficulties faced by families and children alike and showing when people work together, anything can be accomplished.
July 11, 2009
Carefully crafted tale about two children caught up in the Lawrence, MA mill workers' strike of 1912, based on fact. The girl is Rosa, from a struggling Italian immigrant family. The other is Jake, a native-born who has learned to steal and lie to survive. The children are sent to Barre, VT to stay with sympathetic families during the turbulent strike, where each one learns a life lesson about themselves.
I loved the two characters and how they represented two victims of the workers' strike. We could see the life of the immigrant family through Rosa, and the life of the native-born "street rat" through Jake. Each character has his or her own issues, and the story is blunt and not sentimental. Boys and girls will be able to relate to these characters, and learn about the hard living conditions of children during this time.
Highly recommend to grades 5 and 6 -- also deep enough for grade 7.
I loved the two characters and how they represented two victims of the workers' strike. We could see the life of the immigrant family through Rosa, and the life of the native-born "street rat" through Jake. Each character has his or her own issues, and the story is blunt and not sentimental. Boys and girls will be able to relate to these characters, and learn about the hard living conditions of children during this time.
Highly recommend to grades 5 and 6 -- also deep enough for grade 7.
November 11, 2012
If you enjoy historical fiction, this book is really good! The two main characters are Jake and Rosa, children who live in Lawrence, MA, during the historical period of the bread and roses mill strikes.
At first I thought this was a book of different short stories because of the chapter titles such as "Shoe Girl" and "The Best Student" and "The Beautiful Mrs. Gurley Flynn" that sounded unrelated. However, each chapter provided more insight into the lives of the main characters and the trials they went through their experiences.
While Rosa's family has immigrated to the U.S. and is barely making ends meet, Jake is dealing with the death of one parent and the abuse of another. It's heart-warming to follow them and see how each one handles his or her plight in life. I'd say completely differently.
Recommendation: I'd recommend this book to anyone, but if you enjoy history don't miss this one.
At first I thought this was a book of different short stories because of the chapter titles such as "Shoe Girl" and "The Best Student" and "The Beautiful Mrs. Gurley Flynn" that sounded unrelated. However, each chapter provided more insight into the lives of the main characters and the trials they went through their experiences.
While Rosa's family has immigrated to the U.S. and is barely making ends meet, Jake is dealing with the death of one parent and the abuse of another. It's heart-warming to follow them and see how each one handles his or her plight in life. I'd say completely differently.
Recommendation: I'd recommend this book to anyone, but if you enjoy history don't miss this one.
March 3, 2021
Happy ending
December 22, 2018
Mostly listened to the audio, but finished with print. Good narration and nice to have Italian and Irish dialects. Jake not as good - a bit too Bart Simpson-as-a-juvenile-gangster.
When it comes to the fiction, Paterson's writing is superb. I felt her integration of the history wasn't as perfect. I never really got the feeling that I was living at the time. It had a modern slant to it.
I wish the book had given the year (1912) earlier on - I had a rough idea, but wasn't exactly sure whether this was pre- or post-WWI. While Paterson's historical note (which is shamefully NOT included in the audio book!) shows the accuracy of much of the book, I'm not sold on some of the details. The sumptuous feasts that were prepared for these stranger children seem excessive. Was every Vermont immigrant sympathetic to the IWW cause a millionaire? Elsewhere, Jake's obsession with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn seems overblown - and then it never comes up again. I suppose it was designed to be a mechanism to get him to bathe (leading to a significant episode), but it is clunky.
I'm also not buying that Jake knows not a single word of Italian. He apparently hangs out all the time with the Italian workers at the mill. I suspect he would have picked up quite a bit, being immersed in that setting.
The book is very one-sided, making out that the strikers are all good and anyone who opposed them even a little bit (including the Irish Catholic priest and the schoolteacher) was on the wrong side. While the socialists in 1912 weren't exactly the same as those in 1917 or later, I strongly suspect that kids reading this won't be able to get that subtlety and will have "socialism = good" in the back of their heads when they encounter it again with regard to Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Guevara, Castro, Chavez, et al.
There is a good amount of Catholic content in the book. It's not poorly presented and is fairly accurate, although it does often seem to be set in a less-than-positive light. Most of the time it seems to be viewed from the perspective of Jake, an outsider. So we get the somewhat offensive term "funny little pieces of dry crackers" and elsewhere, members of the Catholic family make their own judgments as to what constitutes breaking the required fast before receiving communion. Rosa is shocked, but we are led to believe that she is a weirdo who doesn't understand how the real world works. And there is none of the necessary rationale to explain why what Jake does is considered a sin or why the priests take particular positions that are unpopular with some.
I could see the ending coming a mile off, but it's nice and satisfying.
When it comes to the fiction, Paterson's writing is superb. I felt her integration of the history wasn't as perfect. I never really got the feeling that I was living at the time. It had a modern slant to it.
I wish the book had given the year (1912) earlier on - I had a rough idea, but wasn't exactly sure whether this was pre- or post-WWI. While Paterson's historical note (which is shamefully NOT included in the audio book!) shows the accuracy of much of the book, I'm not sold on some of the details. The sumptuous feasts that were prepared for these stranger children seem excessive. Was every Vermont immigrant sympathetic to the IWW cause a millionaire? Elsewhere, Jake's obsession with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn seems overblown - and then it never comes up again. I suppose it was designed to be a mechanism to get him to bathe (leading to a significant episode), but it is clunky.
I'm also not buying that Jake knows not a single word of Italian. He apparently hangs out all the time with the Italian workers at the mill. I suspect he would have picked up quite a bit, being immersed in that setting.
The book is very one-sided, making out that the strikers are all good and anyone who opposed them even a little bit (including the Irish Catholic priest and the schoolteacher) was on the wrong side. While the socialists in 1912 weren't exactly the same as those in 1917 or later, I strongly suspect that kids reading this won't be able to get that subtlety and will have "socialism = good" in the back of their heads when they encounter it again with regard to Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Guevara, Castro, Chavez, et al.
There is a good amount of Catholic content in the book. It's not poorly presented and is fairly accurate, although it does often seem to be set in a less-than-positive light. Most of the time it seems to be viewed from the perspective of Jake, an outsider. So we get the somewhat offensive term "funny little pieces of dry crackers" and elsewhere, members of the Catholic family make their own judgments as to what constitutes breaking the required fast before receiving communion. Rosa is shocked, but we are led to believe that she is a weirdo who doesn't understand how the real world works. And there is none of the necessary rationale to explain why what Jake does is considered a sin or why the priests take particular positions that are unpopular with some.
I could see the ending coming a mile off, but it's nice and satisfying.
December 13, 2013
Bread and Roses too was a great book about two young kids with two very different backgrounds. Their similarities and differences all make up the unique relationship that these two characters develop.
This book takes place in the time period of the Bread and Roses Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Jake and Rosa, the two main characters, are both living in Lawrence during the time of the strike. The strike affects Jake and Rosa in two very different ways but it all works out in the end.
Rosa is one of the two main characters in the book. She is a dynamic character and is the type of girl that always follows the rules and is a bit of a perfectionist. She is the only on in her family that is being educated and she is the best student in her class. Her mother, sister, and housemates are all participating in the strike but Rosa believes school comes first so she decides to attend school during all the chaos. As time goes by, Rosa becomes torn on if she should stay in school or help support her mom and sister in the strike. Her teacher and her mother have two very different opinions about the strike and cause Rosa to become confused about whether or not to join the union. Throughout the novel, Rosa becomes very close with Jake and eventually plays a huge role in Jake’s life.
Jake is also a dynamic character in the novel. Jake is a young boy who lives on the streets of Lawrence and with no mother, no one in his family participates in the strike. He steals a lot of things like food, water, money, and whiskey for his pa. He meets Rosa and she is very generous and understanding of him and tries her best to help him out of his dangerous situation. He doesn’t learn his lesson and continues to steal things to provide for him and his unemployed pa.
Rosa gets sent to another place to stay away from the strike and Jake wants to come but he can’t. Rosa unwillingly helps Jake and in the end, changes him for the better. The book is a little slow at first but just keep reading, it gets better.
This book takes place in the time period of the Bread and Roses Strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Jake and Rosa, the two main characters, are both living in Lawrence during the time of the strike. The strike affects Jake and Rosa in two very different ways but it all works out in the end.
Rosa is one of the two main characters in the book. She is a dynamic character and is the type of girl that always follows the rules and is a bit of a perfectionist. She is the only on in her family that is being educated and she is the best student in her class. Her mother, sister, and housemates are all participating in the strike but Rosa believes school comes first so she decides to attend school during all the chaos. As time goes by, Rosa becomes torn on if she should stay in school or help support her mom and sister in the strike. Her teacher and her mother have two very different opinions about the strike and cause Rosa to become confused about whether or not to join the union. Throughout the novel, Rosa becomes very close with Jake and eventually plays a huge role in Jake’s life.
Jake is also a dynamic character in the novel. Jake is a young boy who lives on the streets of Lawrence and with no mother, no one in his family participates in the strike. He steals a lot of things like food, water, money, and whiskey for his pa. He meets Rosa and she is very generous and understanding of him and tries her best to help him out of his dangerous situation. He doesn’t learn his lesson and continues to steal things to provide for him and his unemployed pa.
Rosa gets sent to another place to stay away from the strike and Jake wants to come but he can’t. Rosa unwillingly helps Jake and in the end, changes him for the better. The book is a little slow at first but just keep reading, it gets better.
October 6, 2007
Bread and Roses, Too is about a girl named Rosa and a boy Jake, two different people who met once in an alley where Jake slept. They live in a place where many people are going on strike because of the little pay they recieve at the Mills.
Rosa is a good school girl without a father, who knows better, but is caught up in the strikes. Her mother and sister go along with the crowds of people striking. Jake, a boy who lives on the street, works at the mills, and gets beaten by his alcoholic father, goes along with the strike also.
The author really knows how to make a book very interesting to the reader, and makes you want to keep reading to learn more about the way life was for the people in those days and condisions, and also she keeps you wanting to read to know what will happen next!
Also, she made it so that it went back and forth telling what's going on with the boy, and with the girl at times you would never guess, most likely to make the book more interesting and tell it from different points of view.
I would highly suggest this book to anybody who likes works of literature about the hardships of people's lives and how those people deal with things that happen in their lives!
-Savannah Channell
September 11, 2007
Rosa is a good school girl without a father, who knows better, but is caught up in the strikes. Her mother and sister go along with the crowds of people striking. Jake, a boy who lives on the street, works at the mills, and gets beaten by his alcoholic father, goes along with the strike also.
The author really knows how to make a book very interesting to the reader, and makes you want to keep reading to learn more about the way life was for the people in those days and condisions, and also she keeps you wanting to read to know what will happen next!
Also, she made it so that it went back and forth telling what's going on with the boy, and with the girl at times you would never guess, most likely to make the book more interesting and tell it from different points of view.
I would highly suggest this book to anybody who likes works of literature about the hardships of people's lives and how those people deal with things that happen in their lives!
-Savannah Channell
September 11, 2007
March 23, 2010
Jake at 13, use to work in the mills but now there is a strike going on. His father who doesn't work, takes Jake's money to buy booze and beats Jake. Jake is fed up with the beatings and lives where he can. Most of the time, on the streets but also at the shoe girl's house and sometimes in one of the two local Catholic churches where he takes coins from the money box. He's tried more than once to go back to work but gets stopped by the strikers.
Rosa lives with her mother, sister, brother and boarders. Her mother and sister work for the mills but are on strike and attend meetings as though it was their entire life. They picket along with the other strikers but it is against the law to strike and a few young people get shot. The strikers are blamed for that. Some of the picketers end up in jail while the masses are threatened.
Rosa is scared for the lives of her mother and sister. Because this strike takes place in Lawrence, MA, it is local history for my husband who grew up around there. He is familiar with the streets and other locations spoken of in this book.
Rosa lives with her mother, sister, brother and boarders. Her mother and sister work for the mills but are on strike and attend meetings as though it was their entire life. They picket along with the other strikers but it is against the law to strike and a few young people get shot. The strikers are blamed for that. Some of the picketers end up in jail while the masses are threatened.
Rosa is scared for the lives of her mother and sister. Because this strike takes place in Lawrence, MA, it is local history for my husband who grew up around there. He is familiar with the streets and other locations spoken of in this book.
December 16, 2008
I enjoyed this historical fiction for young readers, recommended by my daughter, who chose to write about it for a school assignment. Interestingly, she focused on the Italian-American and Roman Catholic background of one of the main characters, rather than on the book's recounting of the early 20th century Labor movement.
(N.B., I was frustrated by a tantalizing typo within the final paragraphs of this hardcover edition: a 3-line paragraph was included twice, and about the same number of lines of a subsequent paragraph were obviously omitted! Poor copy editing, complains one who does it for a living.)
(N.B., I was frustrated by a tantalizing typo within the final paragraphs of this hardcover edition: a 3-line paragraph was included twice, and about the same number of lines of a subsequent paragraph were obviously omitted! Poor copy editing, complains one who does it for a living.)
February 14, 2019
This book should be required reading for students, for anybody pro-union and for anybody anti-union. So basically everyone.
This book is a fictional account of the 1912 labor strike in the US which we see through the eyes of two children Rosa and Jake. Had it not been for the strike these two would never have met.
This book is beautifully written. Each and every character in this book left an impression on me. It was such a touching story.
I picked up this book after watching Bridge to Terabithia, also written by this author. Sadly, I watched the movie not knowing it was based on a book. I look forward to reading that and anything else I can get my hands on by this author.
This book is a fictional account of the 1912 labor strike in the US which we see through the eyes of two children Rosa and Jake. Had it not been for the strike these two would never have met.
This book is beautifully written. Each and every character in this book left an impression on me. It was such a touching story.
I picked up this book after watching Bridge to Terabithia, also written by this author. Sadly, I watched the movie not knowing it was based on a book. I look forward to reading that and anything else I can get my hands on by this author.
November 16, 2011
This was interesting since I didn't know much about the strike at the Lawrence mills. Now that I'm an adult, I hardly read young adult books anymore (Harry Potter and Hunger Games don't count) so it was a blast from the past to read such a simple book about good and evil.
However, now that I'm an adult, it would be interesting to read about this in a book written for grown-ups - I'm sure it would be complex.
However, now that I'm an adult, it would be interesting to read about this in a book written for grown-ups - I'm sure it would be complex.
June 25, 2019
This is a sweet and moving book--but it's definitely written for a younger audience. ("The Given Day" remains one of the best books I've read that gives a front-row perspective to a powerful labor dispute.) Some YA authors write for younger people seamlessly in a way that you don't feel like you're being talked down do. This one definitely reads like it was written for younger readers, so I was a bit disappointed--I was expecting more finesse from an author like Katherine Paterson.
October 11, 2007
This is a great book. It takes place during the strikes in wool mills in Massachusetts. The main character is a young Italian immagrant named Rosa, who lives with her mother, sister, and little brother. Her mother sends her to Burre, Vermont on a train with other children, to live with a foster family during the strike.
February 3, 2017
Classic story of redemption for a young boy stuck in poverty in an early 20th century mill town.
Enjoyed reading about the struggles of two hungry children as they lived through lean times during a mill strike. Have not read a story like this in a very long time.
Enjoyed reading about the struggles of two hungry children as they lived through lean times during a mill strike. Have not read a story like this in a very long time.
February 20, 2017
This book is a good book to read because its based on a large strike for more money and the girls mom is on strike and she is mad because they are poor with 5 people liveing in her house with her dad just passing away and she finds out her mom is sending her away.
October 6, 2018
Interesting to learn about the history of immigrants working in factories in the early 1900's and how a strike against terrible working conditions for both adults and children affected the families.
Interesting story, I did not see a lot of depth.
Interesting story, I did not see a lot of depth.
March 23, 2016
This book explores the struggle of factory workers as unions were forming. The tone of the book is light enough that the weighty material doesn't seem traumatic, and the ending is hopeful.
September 4, 2018
Solid historical fiction piece that any age can read, but I’m reading it for tween book group (grades 5-7) and I think that’s the exact right level for a discussion.
December 20, 2019
Katherine Paterson writes this story of a boy and a girl who are sent to be cared for in Barre, VT during the Lawrence Mass. textile workers strike of 1912. This was also called the Bread and Roses Strike, thus the title of the book. She describes the life they were living in Lawrence before being sent to Barre, and also their life with the family in Barre. The boy and girl are not related, but knew each other slightly in Lawrence.
This is a well written book, telling a good story. My book group of older educated women really liked it and so did I. It generated a good discussion.
This is a well written book, telling a good story. My book group of older educated women really liked it and so did I. It generated a good discussion.
December 25, 2020
Years ago, when I was around the age range for this book, I picked it up and read it. I fell in love with it, but that was in part because I was fascinated by the time period and history. For Labor Day, I decided to go back into the depths of my memory and review this book as best as I could. I don't remember all the details and I might be leaving out some, but I reread this book over and over again for a few years so I have a relatively solid memory of it.
In 1912, Rosa is a twelve-year-old schoolgirl who lives with her mother, older sister, and baby brother. Her mother and older sister work in a large factory where the pay is very low and the conditions are terrible. Rosa is a good student at school and is very much an obedient child in school - sometimes to the point of annoyance for me. She adores her teacher and wants to emulate her. Her teacher is American born and does not understand the immigrant experience, so she conveys ideas to her students about their families that one may find problematic, such as assimilation. Rosa is a first generation Italian American and so is living the immigrant experience with her family. But she wants to be like her teacher and she is therefore ashamed of her family.
Jake is a thirteen year old boy who lives with his father in a shack. His father often gets drunk and beats him severely. Jake spends a lot of time wandering around Lawrence. He used to go to school but then dropped out. I thought his personality was a bit stronger. He has prejudices against immigrants, taught to him by his dad, who is American born.
After his dad dies, he wanders around the neighborhood, not knowing what to do next. Then he meets Rosa and she let's him sleep in her apartment, with the quid pro quo that he has to be out as early in the morning as possible so that no one else notices. The two keep up close contact.
One day, Rosa is at school when she hears marching and chanting. The workers are going on a strike that will go down in history as one of the pillars of the early 20th century labor movement. Her teacher immediately tries to convince the students not to strike and
Rosa, in a sort of adoration, listens to her. When she comes home, she is horrified to hear that her mother and sister will be striking. She is conflicted and is not vehemently against the strike; however, she tries to convince her family not to strike.
Jake, on the other hand, is not against the strike and follows it with some excitement.
At some point, the town of Barre, Vermont, invites all the children of Lawrence to come to Barre to stay with host families, in support of the strike. Rosa is signed up to go to Vermont. Jake sneaks onto the train to go, but has no permission slip. He encounters Rosa and together they pretend to be brother and sister. They are taken in by a very nice old couple, the Gerbatis. However, the Gerbatis have some sad secrets of their own, too. Their son died and they are still haunted by his death. Jake isn't very good at acting, and eventually his secret is found out by the Gerbatis. However, the Gerbatis take pity on him and adopt him as their son. The book ends with Rosa going back home and Jake staying in a hurried way that leaves you wondering what happens next.
It is a good book - well written, not badly paced, relatively interesting. However, I am going to agree with most critics and say I found the two main characters to be bland - especially Rosa. Realistically, Rosa might well have been anti strike, as a child facing discrimination who just wants to be treated well and who adored her somewhat unfair teacher. She is believable and Paterson does a good job of illustrating both her and Jake's youth. Jake was also believable - his awe and excitement about a heavy protest like the strike truly illustrates the child he is - though with him being thirteen and Rosa being twelve, they understand some of the emotional importance of what is going on, too.
I also feel like the book could have been longer. I didn't like the ending - not that it was bad, it was great! But it was truly a cliffhanger. I wanted to know what happened next and I wish the author had written a sequal.
Reading the book at age 10, I got a sense of the time period, but the emotional importance of the strike was not very understandable to me. I have no idea how well this book could communicate that to older kids, but it seemed relatively well done in terms of that to me. I would say that its reading level is more geared towards fourth or fifth graders; however, to understand the messege the book brings, one would need to be at least in sixth grade to learn a lesson from it about the importance of workers' rights and the discrimination against immigrants from Italy (and other places, though the immigrant experience featured in this book is Italian American). For example, there were a few ethnic slurs in the book. I'm all for teaching children from a very young age to recognize bigotry and understand the severity it brings; however, not every nine and ten year old may understand the weight of these words. Perhaps the author could have done a better job communicating the severity of the discrimination, while tailoring it to younger people.
The book certainly had its pitfalls, but overall it was a good book and seemed relatively well researched.
In 1912, Rosa is a twelve-year-old schoolgirl who lives with her mother, older sister, and baby brother. Her mother and older sister work in a large factory where the pay is very low and the conditions are terrible. Rosa is a good student at school and is very much an obedient child in school - sometimes to the point of annoyance for me. She adores her teacher and wants to emulate her. Her teacher is American born and does not understand the immigrant experience, so she conveys ideas to her students about their families that one may find problematic, such as assimilation. Rosa is a first generation Italian American and so is living the immigrant experience with her family. But she wants to be like her teacher and she is therefore ashamed of her family.
Jake is a thirteen year old boy who lives with his father in a shack. His father often gets drunk and beats him severely. Jake spends a lot of time wandering around Lawrence. He used to go to school but then dropped out. I thought his personality was a bit stronger. He has prejudices against immigrants, taught to him by his dad, who is American born.
After his dad dies, he wanders around the neighborhood, not knowing what to do next. Then he meets Rosa and she let's him sleep in her apartment, with the quid pro quo that he has to be out as early in the morning as possible so that no one else notices. The two keep up close contact.
One day, Rosa is at school when she hears marching and chanting. The workers are going on a strike that will go down in history as one of the pillars of the early 20th century labor movement. Her teacher immediately tries to convince the students not to strike and
Rosa, in a sort of adoration, listens to her. When she comes home, she is horrified to hear that her mother and sister will be striking. She is conflicted and is not vehemently against the strike; however, she tries to convince her family not to strike.
Jake, on the other hand, is not against the strike and follows it with some excitement.
At some point, the town of Barre, Vermont, invites all the children of Lawrence to come to Barre to stay with host families, in support of the strike. Rosa is signed up to go to Vermont. Jake sneaks onto the train to go, but has no permission slip. He encounters Rosa and together they pretend to be brother and sister. They are taken in by a very nice old couple, the Gerbatis. However, the Gerbatis have some sad secrets of their own, too. Their son died and they are still haunted by his death. Jake isn't very good at acting, and eventually his secret is found out by the Gerbatis. However, the Gerbatis take pity on him and adopt him as their son. The book ends with Rosa going back home and Jake staying in a hurried way that leaves you wondering what happens next.
It is a good book - well written, not badly paced, relatively interesting. However, I am going to agree with most critics and say I found the two main characters to be bland - especially Rosa. Realistically, Rosa might well have been anti strike, as a child facing discrimination who just wants to be treated well and who adored her somewhat unfair teacher. She is believable and Paterson does a good job of illustrating both her and Jake's youth. Jake was also believable - his awe and excitement about a heavy protest like the strike truly illustrates the child he is - though with him being thirteen and Rosa being twelve, they understand some of the emotional importance of what is going on, too.
I also feel like the book could have been longer. I didn't like the ending - not that it was bad, it was great! But it was truly a cliffhanger. I wanted to know what happened next and I wish the author had written a sequal.
Reading the book at age 10, I got a sense of the time period, but the emotional importance of the strike was not very understandable to me. I have no idea how well this book could communicate that to older kids, but it seemed relatively well done in terms of that to me. I would say that its reading level is more geared towards fourth or fifth graders; however, to understand the messege the book brings, one would need to be at least in sixth grade to learn a lesson from it about the importance of workers' rights and the discrimination against immigrants from Italy (and other places, though the immigrant experience featured in this book is Italian American). For example, there were a few ethnic slurs in the book. I'm all for teaching children from a very young age to recognize bigotry and understand the severity it brings; however, not every nine and ten year old may understand the weight of these words. Perhaps the author could have done a better job communicating the severity of the discrimination, while tailoring it to younger people.
The book certainly had its pitfalls, but overall it was a good book and seemed relatively well researched.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2020
I love this book so much. It was written so well. One of my favorite things about this book is that the ending is so wholesome. It’s just perfect. Definitely a five star.
July 7, 2023
Read this book if you enjoy younger perspectives of historical events alternating between different point of view.
This book was not quite how I remembered it, but then again, I last read this in middle school. I felt that the main characters were indecisive and immature, and I had to remind myself that they were also children. Would be better suited to a younger audience; however, it still displayed a unique perspective.
This book was not quite how I remembered it, but then again, I last read this in middle school. I felt that the main characters were indecisive and immature, and I had to remind myself that they were also children. Would be better suited to a younger audience; however, it still displayed a unique perspective.
January 12, 2020
While this is a story about a worker's strike in 1912, the themes of exploitation, politics and immigrant rights are nearly identical to today's world. While some things had improved in the intervening 107 years, in many ways we have regressed, especially when it comes to "othering" recent immigrants. I thought that had improved, but in reading this story, it's clear that the shaming of people for their culture of origin and the rush/push to make them as American (essentially English) as possible has gone back to nearly 1912 levels.
I was amazed and disheartened to read the same rhetoric against unions, workers, strikers, immigrants, and poor people in this book that I'm also hearing and reading in today's world.
For example, Rosa's teacher is convinced that only violence will come from the strike and that any violence that occurs is caused solely by the strikers (even though it's well known that the mill owners are creating the violence to make the striking people look, well, violent).
Rosa internalizes the hate expressed towards her ethnicity (Italian) and their entire way of being. At one point she decides, "She would be an American, an educated, civilized, respected American, not a despised child of an immigrant race. When she grew up, she'd change her name and marry a real American and have real American children. She wouldn't go out to work in a mill and leave them in the care of someone's old granny who couldn't even speak English. She'd stay home herself and cook American food and read them American books and . . . "
It became clear in the book by 'real American' she meant someone native born (not a recent immigrant) and also English and thus 'high-class.' I found that perspective incredibly sad since she struggled to retain her joy and appreciation of her mother singing opera in Italian and cooking Italian food. She wanted to keep some parts of being who she is, but was afraid she wouldn't be American enough if she did. What awful decisions for a child to have to make.
One thing I loved about this book was the origin of the title; the people went on strike when wages were cut but work was expected to continue as usual. They had been paid barely subsistence wages and couldn't move forward economically. In fact hunger, homelessness, inadequate clothing, and being cold (not enough for fuel) were common prior to the strike because wages were so low. The wage cut condemned every worker to starvation and homelessness, so they literally had no choice.
But when they went on strike, the sign Rosa created said "Bread and roses, too" because they wanted beauty in their lives in addition to having basic necessities met. Roses represented having enough money to be warmly clothed, enough fuel to be comfortable, enough to interact as citizens within their community, enough to be able to have an occasional treat rather than being completely consumed by survival.
One paragraph that really caught my eye was, “All the big-city papers is there � Boston, New York, Philadelphia. They tell the whole country about shame of Lawrence, beating up women and little children, snatching babies from mamma’s breast, throwing innocent women in jail. Everybody in America’ll be mad, be mad as hornets by tomorrow morning.�
Yes, except when half of America is told the strikers are criminals and immigrants and trouble-makers. Americans will ask for justice, as long as people behind the cause are perceived as 100% justified and with 100% pure intentions and clean hands. If there’s anti-union propaganda that says differently, then Americans will turn their back on the suffering of others, clearly showing they feel it must be the victims� fault. This is where it appears we stand today.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book � it’s a very well written, well told story with interesting characters and a very happy ending a la Dickens. In today’s world, we definitely need a happy ending.
I was amazed and disheartened to read the same rhetoric against unions, workers, strikers, immigrants, and poor people in this book that I'm also hearing and reading in today's world.
For example, Rosa's teacher is convinced that only violence will come from the strike and that any violence that occurs is caused solely by the strikers (even though it's well known that the mill owners are creating the violence to make the striking people look, well, violent).
Rosa internalizes the hate expressed towards her ethnicity (Italian) and their entire way of being. At one point she decides, "She would be an American, an educated, civilized, respected American, not a despised child of an immigrant race. When she grew up, she'd change her name and marry a real American and have real American children. She wouldn't go out to work in a mill and leave them in the care of someone's old granny who couldn't even speak English. She'd stay home herself and cook American food and read them American books and . . . "
It became clear in the book by 'real American' she meant someone native born (not a recent immigrant) and also English and thus 'high-class.' I found that perspective incredibly sad since she struggled to retain her joy and appreciation of her mother singing opera in Italian and cooking Italian food. She wanted to keep some parts of being who she is, but was afraid she wouldn't be American enough if she did. What awful decisions for a child to have to make.
One thing I loved about this book was the origin of the title; the people went on strike when wages were cut but work was expected to continue as usual. They had been paid barely subsistence wages and couldn't move forward economically. In fact hunger, homelessness, inadequate clothing, and being cold (not enough for fuel) were common prior to the strike because wages were so low. The wage cut condemned every worker to starvation and homelessness, so they literally had no choice.
But when they went on strike, the sign Rosa created said "Bread and roses, too" because they wanted beauty in their lives in addition to having basic necessities met. Roses represented having enough money to be warmly clothed, enough fuel to be comfortable, enough to interact as citizens within their community, enough to be able to have an occasional treat rather than being completely consumed by survival.
One paragraph that really caught my eye was, “All the big-city papers is there � Boston, New York, Philadelphia. They tell the whole country about shame of Lawrence, beating up women and little children, snatching babies from mamma’s breast, throwing innocent women in jail. Everybody in America’ll be mad, be mad as hornets by tomorrow morning.�
Yes, except when half of America is told the strikers are criminals and immigrants and trouble-makers. Americans will ask for justice, as long as people behind the cause are perceived as 100% justified and with 100% pure intentions and clean hands. If there’s anti-union propaganda that says differently, then Americans will turn their back on the suffering of others, clearly showing they feel it must be the victims� fault. This is where it appears we stand today.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book � it’s a very well written, well told story with interesting characters and a very happy ending a la Dickens. In today’s world, we definitely need a happy ending.
November 5, 2018
I have always wanted to read this book and when the Vermont Humanities Council made it the 2018 Vermont Read, I had my chance. Full disclaimer, I am a former History teacher who taught Barre, VT History at Spaulding High School so I am partial to anything written about Barre. I have also taught about the Lawrence Strike and so it was a pleasure to read about these two special places in one book. Paterson's story is based around a real event and an image located in the Barre Historical Society depicting the 35 Lawrence children who arrived in Barre to escape the violence of a national strike in front of the Labor Hall.
The book is based around Rosa who's mother and sister work in the mills of Lawrence MA, and Joe, who also worked in the mills but who became a striker. They are part of a story based around the Lawrence Strike of 1912 in which the mills decided to counter the required lowering of the 56 hour week to 54 hours, but lowering the wages of its workers in order to make up the profit loss. Already desperately poor, the workers struck and in turn produced one of the biggest and most violent strikes in American History. Katherine Paterson does an incredible job describing the living conditions and the absolute poverty experienced by the workers of the mills and illustrating the unscrupulous ways in which the mill owners were able to keep their workers tied to their machines. As Rosa's mother stated, she worked for $6.25 per week, but the mill owner charged $6.00 per week rent which left her with .25 cents to feed her three children. Labor laws allowed children as young as 12 to work in the mills and Joe is another perfect example of how domestic abuse and the impact alcoholism had on families during the early 20th century. Expected to work in order to support his father's drinking habits, young Joe would often rather sleep in a garbage heap than face his father's abuse. As the strike intensified and the threat of violence became real after the death of Anna LoPizzo, many of the strikers sent their children out of the city to be safe with other sympathetic Union towns such as Barre Vermont. When more women and children were beaten and arrested for trying to send more children out of town, national outrage and a Congressional investigation forced the Mill owners to give into the Striker demands.
Katherine Patterson wove an amazing story of the lives of young people with a national historical event. I really loved it and in many respects still wished I taught history so I could use this in my classroom.
The book is based around Rosa who's mother and sister work in the mills of Lawrence MA, and Joe, who also worked in the mills but who became a striker. They are part of a story based around the Lawrence Strike of 1912 in which the mills decided to counter the required lowering of the 56 hour week to 54 hours, but lowering the wages of its workers in order to make up the profit loss. Already desperately poor, the workers struck and in turn produced one of the biggest and most violent strikes in American History. Katherine Paterson does an incredible job describing the living conditions and the absolute poverty experienced by the workers of the mills and illustrating the unscrupulous ways in which the mill owners were able to keep their workers tied to their machines. As Rosa's mother stated, she worked for $6.25 per week, but the mill owner charged $6.00 per week rent which left her with .25 cents to feed her three children. Labor laws allowed children as young as 12 to work in the mills and Joe is another perfect example of how domestic abuse and the impact alcoholism had on families during the early 20th century. Expected to work in order to support his father's drinking habits, young Joe would often rather sleep in a garbage heap than face his father's abuse. As the strike intensified and the threat of violence became real after the death of Anna LoPizzo, many of the strikers sent their children out of the city to be safe with other sympathetic Union towns such as Barre Vermont. When more women and children were beaten and arrested for trying to send more children out of town, national outrage and a Congressional investigation forced the Mill owners to give into the Striker demands.
Katherine Patterson wove an amazing story of the lives of young people with a national historical event. I really loved it and in many respects still wished I taught history so I could use this in my classroom.
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