Barbara Greenwood,
Factory Girl
Kids Can Press, 2007

Rating: E*

With the blend of fact and fiction for which she has become well know, Barbara Greenwood takes us into the lives of the immigrant poor of 1912. Twelve-year-old Emily Watson is forced to quit school and go to work in a clothing factory when her father stops sending them money and the family has to move out of their home and into a two room apartment in the slum area of the city.

As we follow Emily through her working days in the factory with many other underage immigrant girls - most of whom do not speak English - we see the squalid conditions in which these young women were forced to work. Standing for 10 -12 hours a day on an assembly line the girls were docked pay if they made the slightest mistake, if they were late or if they spent too long at the lavatory. The factory itself was overcrowded, poorly lit and no attention was paid to fire and safety regulations. When a young newspaper reporter approaches Emily to ask about working conditions in the factory she is warned by the other girls not to say anything or they might all lose their jobs. However, when a disastrous fire destroys the factory and some of her friends are killed, Emily has to make a decision which may cost her dearly.

Without any reference to a particular city, Greenwood brings us the reality of what life was like for many immigrant families in the early years of the 20th century in many cities in North America. Interspersed with the story of Emily are factual accounts of family life, how factories operated, city conditions, other jobs available to women, and the fight for improved social conditions. A time line of "the long fight" is included as well as a glossary and an index.

Historical black and white photographs by Lewis Hine and others who documented the slums and child workers in various cities in North America add to the reality of the text.

This book would be a great addition to social studies programs which focus on immigration and social conditions at the elementary and junior high level.

Thematic Links: Immigrant Life; Social Conditions; Factory Workers

Victoria Pennell
Vol. 13, number 1
October 2007

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.