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Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor
Little boys, some as young as 6, spent their long days, not playing or studying, but sorting coal in dusty, loud, and dangerous conditions. Many of these breaker boys worked 10 hours a day, six days a week all for as little as 45 cents a day. Child labor was common in the United States in the 19th century. It took the compelling, heart breaking photographs of Lewis Hine and others to bring the harsh working conditions to light. Hine and his fellow Progressives wanted to end child labor. He knew photography would reveal the truth and teach and change the world. With his camera Hine showed people what life was like for immigrants, the poor, and the children working in mines, factories, and mills. In the words of an historian, the more than 7,000 photos Hine took of American children at work aroused public sentiment against child labor in a way that no printed page or public lecture could.
64 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
January 28, 2014
Using this as our central text for a study of the evolution of child labor in the U.S. Well written, engaging, and I LOVED the focus on photographs and how they led to social change. This is really helpful with the Common Core's new emphasis on source texts, viewing, and using print and media texts. A good book just to read or as a teaching text in the classroom!
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April 28, 2017Photographic Essay: Breaker Boys
• Book Title/Author and Illustrator:
o Breaker Boys
o Written and Illustrated by: Michael Burgan
• Two Professional Recommendations:
1) Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Nov. 1, 2011 (Vol. 108, No. 5) )
The Captured History series poses the question, Can a photograph change the world? The answer, as explicated by these two outstanding volumes, is a resounding yes. Looking at an iconic image through the lens of history, culture, and media, the series gives readers a complete overview of how pictures can change perceptions. The famous photo on the cover of Breaker Boys shows a group of boys, covered with coal dust, after a day in the dirty, dangerous mines. Taken by Progressive Lewis Hine, this photo helped expose the plight of children working dangerous jobs. The book is well stocked with information about such topics as coal mines, the lives of miners, and child labor in these mines as well as in broader society. How society at large changed its mind about child labor is also given due consideration. This series is model of nonfiction. Each volume takes an issue and looks at it creatively. The design is fresh and inviting, the writing is clear, and the back matter (including source notes) is useful and extensive.
2) Erin (Children’s Literature)
This book is a part of the Captured History series; each of the books is about a photograph that changed the nation. The photographs of Lewis Hine featured in this book are amazing. I would recommend this book based on the photographs of child labor but I would try to find additional information to supplement if I were going to use this text with children. The text is informative but lacking at the same time. I would have loved it if early in the book there was a description and a diagram of a breaker. After all, the title is Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor, I expected to see pictures of breakers and learn about them. As an adult who is unfamiliar with coal mining I had very limited background knowledge when I started this book and I feel as though I learned a lot, but the book did not do a very good job explaining the coal mining concepts, especially if the intended audience is children or young adults. There were only the three pictures of the inside of the breaker and they are on pages 31-33. The book only has 64 pages. I had to read over half the book to finally get to pictures of breaker boys working in a breaker. It was a difficult concept for me to imagine until I got to those pages and I could see where a younger audience would give up on this book early into it. As a formatting note, the book does have a glossary. However, there is nothing to indicate to children that words will be defined at the back of the book. It is always nice when words in the text are bold or italicized to mark them as ones the children can look up in the glossary. It would also have been nice if more of the specific coal mining terms were listed in the glossary.
• Brief Book Summary:
o This book reveals real life images of young boys working in coal mines. These boys spent their days sorting coal in loud and highly dangerous conditions. These photographs were taken by Lewis Hine and show the heartbreaking conditions that children were working in, and that immigrants faced. It also shows the lifes of the poor. These photographs were taken in an act to end child labor and slavery.
• Personal Response to Reviews:
o Both reviewers mention how the book does a fantastic job at capturing history. The way the book does this is through its touching photos that let you relive history. The second reviewer mentions how this book is “lacking.” I do not agree with this because I strongly think that this book does everything in its power to show the history of child slave labor. Although there isn’t a history lesson within the book, the photos do a great job at retelling history. This book is extremely informative and can teach individuals solely through photographs which is not something that is seen often.
• Literary Merit:
o This book fits its genre of a photographic essay by taking the reader through the lifes of children suffering through poverty, slave labor, and working in harmful conditions. According to Molly Bang, black and white pictures make people feel disconnected from the text or meaning of the book. I feel as if this is true for this book because these photos were taken back 19th century. Children will feel disconnected from the text because it is not something that they can relate to. The photos being in black and white allow readers to see the history behind child slave labor. The author allows provides background on child labor laws and the Progressive movement which can allow readers to see how laws have changed since the 19th century.
• Instructional Application:
o This is yet another book that can be used with a history lesson. For this lesson, we could a lesson on comparing and contrasting. The students can compare their lifes now to the lifes of the children in this photographic essay. This would allow the children to thoroughly analyze the photos as well as learn how to compare and contrast two different topics. To add history into this lesson, the class could review laws that were created against child labor to see how it ended.
• Book Title/Author and Illustrator:
o Breaker Boys
o Written and Illustrated by: Michael Burgan
• Two Professional Recommendations:
1) Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Nov. 1, 2011 (Vol. 108, No. 5) )
The Captured History series poses the question, Can a photograph change the world? The answer, as explicated by these two outstanding volumes, is a resounding yes. Looking at an iconic image through the lens of history, culture, and media, the series gives readers a complete overview of how pictures can change perceptions. The famous photo on the cover of Breaker Boys shows a group of boys, covered with coal dust, after a day in the dirty, dangerous mines. Taken by Progressive Lewis Hine, this photo helped expose the plight of children working dangerous jobs. The book is well stocked with information about such topics as coal mines, the lives of miners, and child labor in these mines as well as in broader society. How society at large changed its mind about child labor is also given due consideration. This series is model of nonfiction. Each volume takes an issue and looks at it creatively. The design is fresh and inviting, the writing is clear, and the back matter (including source notes) is useful and extensive.
2) Erin (Children’s Literature)
This book is a part of the Captured History series; each of the books is about a photograph that changed the nation. The photographs of Lewis Hine featured in this book are amazing. I would recommend this book based on the photographs of child labor but I would try to find additional information to supplement if I were going to use this text with children. The text is informative but lacking at the same time. I would have loved it if early in the book there was a description and a diagram of a breaker. After all, the title is Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor, I expected to see pictures of breakers and learn about them. As an adult who is unfamiliar with coal mining I had very limited background knowledge when I started this book and I feel as though I learned a lot, but the book did not do a very good job explaining the coal mining concepts, especially if the intended audience is children or young adults. There were only the three pictures of the inside of the breaker and they are on pages 31-33. The book only has 64 pages. I had to read over half the book to finally get to pictures of breaker boys working in a breaker. It was a difficult concept for me to imagine until I got to those pages and I could see where a younger audience would give up on this book early into it. As a formatting note, the book does have a glossary. However, there is nothing to indicate to children that words will be defined at the back of the book. It is always nice when words in the text are bold or italicized to mark them as ones the children can look up in the glossary. It would also have been nice if more of the specific coal mining terms were listed in the glossary.
• Brief Book Summary:
o This book reveals real life images of young boys working in coal mines. These boys spent their days sorting coal in loud and highly dangerous conditions. These photographs were taken by Lewis Hine and show the heartbreaking conditions that children were working in, and that immigrants faced. It also shows the lifes of the poor. These photographs were taken in an act to end child labor and slavery.
• Personal Response to Reviews:
o Both reviewers mention how the book does a fantastic job at capturing history. The way the book does this is through its touching photos that let you relive history. The second reviewer mentions how this book is “lacking.” I do not agree with this because I strongly think that this book does everything in its power to show the history of child slave labor. Although there isn’t a history lesson within the book, the photos do a great job at retelling history. This book is extremely informative and can teach individuals solely through photographs which is not something that is seen often.
• Literary Merit:
o This book fits its genre of a photographic essay by taking the reader through the lifes of children suffering through poverty, slave labor, and working in harmful conditions. According to Molly Bang, black and white pictures make people feel disconnected from the text or meaning of the book. I feel as if this is true for this book because these photos were taken back 19th century. Children will feel disconnected from the text because it is not something that they can relate to. The photos being in black and white allow readers to see the history behind child slave labor. The author allows provides background on child labor laws and the Progressive movement which can allow readers to see how laws have changed since the 19th century.
• Instructional Application:
o This is yet another book that can be used with a history lesson. For this lesson, we could a lesson on comparing and contrasting. The students can compare their lifes now to the lifes of the children in this photographic essay. This would allow the children to thoroughly analyze the photos as well as learn how to compare and contrast two different topics. To add history into this lesson, the class could review laws that were created against child labor to see how it ended.
February 28, 2012
Child labor was common in the United States in the 19th century. Children, sometimes as young as five or six, worked in tobacco companies, mills, and mines. The worst places were the mines, where young boys spent long days sorting coal in dirty and dangerous conditions. These young workers, called breaker boys, worked 10 hours a day, six days a week, for as little as 45 cents a day. And their existence was unknown beyond their mining towns.
It took the photographs of Lewis Hine and others to expose these harsh working conditions. Like this fellow Progressives, Hine wanted to end child labor. Knowing photography could reveal the truth better than speeches or newspaper articles, Hine used his camera to show the harsh working and living conditions of immigrants, the poor, and the children working in mines, factories, and mills. His more than 7,000 photos of American children at work aroused public sentiment against child labor.
Breaker Boys is one of six titles in the Captured History series, which not only tells the history of various periods of the past, but also explains how a photograph or a series of photographs changed people’s thoughts and opinions. While learning about the difficulties of passing and enforcing child labor laws, students can discuss the debate over the role of government in business and homes, a debate that is still going on today. Students can also compare the use of photography in the case of the breaker boys and the use of the media today. In collaboration with Language Arts classes, students can write about how different their lives would be without the child labor laws.
Breaker Boys contains a table of contents, a timeline, a glossary, and an index, as well as additional resources, source notes, and a select bibliography. (Originally written for and posted on Mackin Books in Bloom at http://mackinbooksinbloom.com)
It took the photographs of Lewis Hine and others to expose these harsh working conditions. Like this fellow Progressives, Hine wanted to end child labor. Knowing photography could reveal the truth better than speeches or newspaper articles, Hine used his camera to show the harsh working and living conditions of immigrants, the poor, and the children working in mines, factories, and mills. His more than 7,000 photos of American children at work aroused public sentiment against child labor.
Breaker Boys is one of six titles in the Captured History series, which not only tells the history of various periods of the past, but also explains how a photograph or a series of photographs changed people’s thoughts and opinions. While learning about the difficulties of passing and enforcing child labor laws, students can discuss the debate over the role of government in business and homes, a debate that is still going on today. Students can also compare the use of photography in the case of the breaker boys and the use of the media today. In collaboration with Language Arts classes, students can write about how different their lives would be without the child labor laws.
Breaker Boys contains a table of contents, a timeline, a glossary, and an index, as well as additional resources, source notes, and a select bibliography. (Originally written for and posted on Mackin Books in Bloom at http://mackinbooksinbloom.com)
April 3, 2014
I debated between giving this book three or four stars. I personally didn't find it an entirely intriguing or great read. Just like a historical fiction, this informational text genre just isn't my cup of tea. Admittedly, I did more skimming of the pages than a detailed, engaged reading, and finished it pretty quickly. However, from the perspective of using this book in the classroom, I could have given it four stars rather than three.
It tells about child labor in the coal mines in 19th century America. Boys as young as 6 were hired to work right along side men doing dangerous work in the mines as breaker boys. The investigative photographer Lewis Hine wanted to end this child labor and worked to expose these conditions through photographs. It was his photographs that helped lead to the exposure of these awful conditions and the passing of child labor laws in the future. He was a teacher and placed a high value on kids getting an education, which these children in the coal mines were not.
The books is broken up into four short chapters that talk about coal mining, the children working in the mines, about Lewis Hines, and about the labor laws and the changes made with those. It wouldn't take long to assign a chapter a day for maybe middle schoolers to read, and could be easily incorporated into a lesson about child labor during this time.
There are many pictures throughout the book, which help a lot. I personally have little to no background in coal mining and had I just had to read about it, it would have been harder to get through. The pictures are a very valuable aspect and could be incorporated into a school lesson easily. As they say, a picture speaks 1000 words.
It tells about child labor in the coal mines in 19th century America. Boys as young as 6 were hired to work right along side men doing dangerous work in the mines as breaker boys. The investigative photographer Lewis Hine wanted to end this child labor and worked to expose these conditions through photographs. It was his photographs that helped lead to the exposure of these awful conditions and the passing of child labor laws in the future. He was a teacher and placed a high value on kids getting an education, which these children in the coal mines were not.
The books is broken up into four short chapters that talk about coal mining, the children working in the mines, about Lewis Hines, and about the labor laws and the changes made with those. It wouldn't take long to assign a chapter a day for maybe middle schoolers to read, and could be easily incorporated into a lesson about child labor during this time.
There are many pictures throughout the book, which help a lot. I personally have little to no background in coal mining and had I just had to read about it, it would have been harder to get through. The pictures are a very valuable aspect and could be incorporated into a school lesson easily. As they say, a picture speaks 1000 words.
November 27, 2013
This book is a part of the Captured History series; each of the books is about a photograph that changed the nation. The photographs of Lewis Hine featured in this book are amazing. I would recommend this book based on the photographs of child labor but I would try to find additional information to supplement if I were going to use this text with children.
The text is informative but lacking at the same time. I would have loved it if early in the book there was a description and a diagram of a breaker. After all, the title is Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor, I expected to see pictures of breakers and learn about them. As an adult who is unfamiliar with coal mining I had very limited background knowledge when I started this book and I feel as though I learned a lot, but the book did not do a very good job explaining the coal mining concepts, especially if the intended audience is children or young adults. There were only the three pictures of the inside of the breaker and they are on pages 31-33. The book only has 64 pages. I had to read over half the book to finally get to pictures of breaker boys working in a breaker. It was a difficult concept for me to imagine until I got to those pages and I could see where a younger audience would give up on this book early into it.
As a formatting note, the book does have a glossary. However, there is nothing to indicate to children that words will be defined at the back of the book. It is always nice when words in the text are bold or italicized to mark them as ones the children can look up in the glossary. It would also have been nice if more of the specific coal mining terms were listed in the glossary.
The text is informative but lacking at the same time. I would have loved it if early in the book there was a description and a diagram of a breaker. After all, the title is Breaker Boys: How a Photograph Helped End Child Labor, I expected to see pictures of breakers and learn about them. As an adult who is unfamiliar with coal mining I had very limited background knowledge when I started this book and I feel as though I learned a lot, but the book did not do a very good job explaining the coal mining concepts, especially if the intended audience is children or young adults. There were only the three pictures of the inside of the breaker and they are on pages 31-33. The book only has 64 pages. I had to read over half the book to finally get to pictures of breaker boys working in a breaker. It was a difficult concept for me to imagine until I got to those pages and I could see where a younger audience would give up on this book early into it.
As a formatting note, the book does have a glossary. However, there is nothing to indicate to children that words will be defined at the back of the book. It is always nice when words in the text are bold or italicized to mark them as ones the children can look up in the glossary. It would also have been nice if more of the specific coal mining terms were listed in the glossary.
April 7, 2014
This book was very informational. It really caught my attention the way author was actually telling two stories at the same time. The first story is written to demonstrate the harsh conditions and exploitation of child labor in the 1800’s and the early 1900’s. The second story is about a journalist/photographer at that time who was trying to change things through the use of education with his photographs.
I especially liked how the author used a lot of the photos to describe the conditions to the reader it really made it clear what those children had faced. His descriptions of the changes that were being put in place and mostly ignored were very emotional.
Another aspect of the book that I liked is that the author would take other little stories about some of the photos from that time and put them on their own pages, setting them off with what could be described as picture frames. It was also very helpful that the author included a timeline of events at the back of the book, I was able to look at this and then go back and re-read his story about each event and what had caused.I did enjoy this book and I learned a lot of history that I had never known. I am glad I did not live in those times.
I especially liked how the author used a lot of the photos to describe the conditions to the reader it really made it clear what those children had faced. His descriptions of the changes that were being put in place and mostly ignored were very emotional.
Another aspect of the book that I liked is that the author would take other little stories about some of the photos from that time and put them on their own pages, setting them off with what could be described as picture frames. It was also very helpful that the author included a timeline of events at the back of the book, I was able to look at this and then go back and re-read his story about each event and what had caused.I did enjoy this book and I learned a lot of history that I had never known. I am glad I did not live in those times.
February 25, 2015
Understanding history through an image is a wonderful exploration-- many youth nonfiction titles do that like Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration. And that precise focus gives the rest of the story meaning. This title focuses on child labor, specifically how the Pennsylvania Coal Mines were extremely good at harnessing the labor of boys ages five and older to break coal, run mules, open doors down in the mines, leading to death, injury, a lack of education and opportunities and health risks for life. Likewise, the book touches a bit on factory life as well. The focus is on Hine, a photographer who won numerous awards for his capture of child labor issues and his fight for it's disappearance.
Through some of his award-winning images, especially the cover image, he helped shape and mold American sentiment on the topic. No one wanted to see it, but they had to to know what was going on. Thought-provoking and informative, seeing how the development of a Department of Labor, child labor laws, immigration, and many other factors played in to American history.
Through some of his award-winning images, especially the cover image, he helped shape and mold American sentiment on the topic. No one wanted to see it, but they had to to know what was going on. Thought-provoking and informative, seeing how the development of a Department of Labor, child labor laws, immigration, and many other factors played in to American history.
January 26, 2015
This book seems to be pitched at about a grade 2-3 reading level but also seems to have been bleached of all passion.
Coal mines in 19th and 20th century America employed young boys to break up ore fresh from the mines, separating slate and other impurities from the anthracite. Even if breathing the coal dust all day hadn't been disastrous for human health, the job was physically dangerous. Handling rocks all day was painful, bloody toil, and the kids worked around heavy machinery that maimed, mangled, and murdered more than just a few of them.
There's more righteous indignation in those two sentences than in all 60 pages of this book. So we do get a fair sampling of Lewis Hine's photographs of the breaker boys and other child laborers of the era, and we even get a timeline of the legislation designed to regulate child labor and the Supreme Court rulings that repeatedly dismantled the legislation, but how a reader is supposed to comprehend that this is anything worth caring about or bearing any relation to life in the 21st century is difficult to fathom.
Coal mines in 19th and 20th century America employed young boys to break up ore fresh from the mines, separating slate and other impurities from the anthracite. Even if breathing the coal dust all day hadn't been disastrous for human health, the job was physically dangerous. Handling rocks all day was painful, bloody toil, and the kids worked around heavy machinery that maimed, mangled, and murdered more than just a few of them.
There's more righteous indignation in those two sentences than in all 60 pages of this book. So we do get a fair sampling of Lewis Hine's photographs of the breaker boys and other child laborers of the era, and we even get a timeline of the legislation designed to regulate child labor and the Supreme Court rulings that repeatedly dismantled the legislation, but how a reader is supposed to comprehend that this is anything worth caring about or bearing any relation to life in the 21st century is difficult to fathom.
February 24, 2013
I've long been an admirer of Lewis Hine and the photographs he took of kids at work, and this book brings much attention to one of those photographs. Hine took pictures of the coal mines in Pennsylvania, and this particular shot shows mostly children with blackened faces as they leave their dirty jobs. The author provides background on child labor and child labor laws and the Progressive movement that supported education for children rather than hard labor. Hine's photographs, including this one, presumably were influential in changing the attitudes of many toward child labor, but then again, the author points out that the work the boys did began to be accomplished more efficiently by machines, which makes me wonder if the change would have occurred so easily had it not been for those innovations. I wanted to know more about the boys' working and living conditions and hear more of their voices. Still, I find this image particularly haunting.
April 7, 2014
The whole time I was reading this book I was wondering at what age, what grade, and in what situation would I read this long book? I figured that this book would be ideal for independent reading, maybe even research on coal or child labor, for a student in a higher elementary level. I enjoyed all the historical pictures because I enjoy history and I would recommend this book to a student who also is interested in history. I think this book would be best for a student who is doing research on this particular time period because to me the book seemed to be a little long and I don't think a student would be able to finish the whole book by themselves unless they were interested in the topic. I also feel that this book was too long to be able to read it in a read aloud, even though it did have a lot of fascinating photos. I think I would have liked the book a lot more if it was a little bit shorter, but over all I enjoyed reading the book because I thought the topic was very alluring.
January 6, 2024
Stumbled upon this one while going through the recommended books for American middle-schoolers. Thank you Internet Archive for letting me borrow this one for an hour.
Child labour is heinous. Sad, that it still exists in our world. Remember an incident few months back, where an educated family tortured a domestic help, a mere 10 year old…can you imagine? You need to have heart of stone for not moving into tears by looking at the wounded (physically, and multi-times psychologically) girl. How on earth one can do such ….
Truly, some photographs, some poems, some essays, some songs are so iconic that they do change the world.
The impact Lewis Hine's photo had on the policy changes on child labour, quite commendable. Very interesting read.
Child labour is heinous. Sad, that it still exists in our world. Remember an incident few months back, where an educated family tortured a domestic help, a mere 10 year old…can you imagine? You need to have heart of stone for not moving into tears by looking at the wounded (physically, and multi-times psychologically) girl. How on earth one can do such ….
Truly, some photographs, some poems, some essays, some songs are so iconic that they do change the world.
The impact Lewis Hine's photo had on the policy changes on child labour, quite commendable. Very interesting read.
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January 27, 2014Lexile Level: 1020
Pages: 64
Summary: During the 1800s and early 1900s in America, coal was king. Many men spent many hours deep inside dark, dusty mines bringing up coal. But unfortunately, it wasn’t only men in those mines. Many mine owners hired boys as young as 6 to be breaker boys in their mines. These boys would work alongside the men in dangerous and often times deadly conditions. These boys were mostly unknown outside of the mine towns until Lewis Hine helped change that. Hine was an investigative photographer who wanted all of America to know and understand the dangers of child labor.
Recommendations or Comments: Recommended. It’s difficult to believe that children used to work in such conditions. Hines’ pictures really show the conditions these children worked in.
Reviewed By: Jen A.
Pages: 64
Summary: During the 1800s and early 1900s in America, coal was king. Many men spent many hours deep inside dark, dusty mines bringing up coal. But unfortunately, it wasn’t only men in those mines. Many mine owners hired boys as young as 6 to be breaker boys in their mines. These boys would work alongside the men in dangerous and often times deadly conditions. These boys were mostly unknown outside of the mine towns until Lewis Hine helped change that. Hine was an investigative photographer who wanted all of America to know and understand the dangers of child labor.
Recommendations or Comments: Recommended. It’s difficult to believe that children used to work in such conditions. Hines’ pictures really show the conditions these children worked in.
Reviewed By: Jen A.
July 27, 2015
I actually enjoyed learning about how photographs were used to capture the real story behind child labor. I can't help but wonder what those who died in such harsh conditions would say now about children and the opportunities many squander away. The picture that got my attention the most was one of a boy with one leg who was only 17 and had lived that way for four years. I think this is a good book for children to read, maybe more than once. It's a nice reminder of how good they have it. What also stuck out was that many of the children who were Breaker Boys were uneducated, but one boy, William Wilson who started working in the industry at the age of 9 did have some education under his belt and continued to educate himself at home. William Wilson went from being a Breaker Boy at age 9 to working in Congress for six years! The power of an education!
May 19, 2013
I would actually give this book 4.5 stars. It was really, really good. It's a little longer than most juvenile NF (55 pages) but the photographs are excellent! This book is about the photos of Lewis Hine and how they brought national attention to the child labor movement during the late 1800's early 1900's. Specifically, the book focuses on the young boys working in the Pennsylvania coal mines (breaker boys). To this day, Hines' photos are still featured in numerous museums and magazines. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.
August 14, 2013
The books in this Captured History series are fantastic. Using photographs, the author describes how pictures were used to bring awareness to social issues and to educate people.
In this book Lewis Hine used photographs of children working in coal mines to help establish child labor laws. He used brief captions to convey information about the photos, but mostly let the images speak for themselves. Powerful, informative, with a timeline, glossary, further reading section, and bibliography this book is recommended for grades 5-8.
In this book Lewis Hine used photographs of children working in coal mines to help establish child labor laws. He used brief captions to convey information about the photos, but mostly let the images speak for themselves. Powerful, informative, with a timeline, glossary, further reading section, and bibliography this book is recommended for grades 5-8.
December 31, 2013
Progressive, Lewis Hine, took photos of all kinds of children workers, but his most famous photo is one of breaker boys outside a Pennsylvania coal mine. As a former teacher, he valued education and wanted to improve the lives of children. He thought photos showing what conditions they worked in would do more than anything else to convince people that laws needed to change.
This book does a good job explaining the conditions many new immigrants to the US faced in pursuit of the American dream.
holiday #bookaday
This book does a good job explaining the conditions many new immigrants to the US faced in pursuit of the American dream.
holiday #bookaday
April 3, 2014
This book was incredibly interesting, informative, and educational. I loved the layout of the book. The large and precisely placed pictures were evocative and fascinating. The text was informative and accurate. Some of the facts and horrible stories of the conditions of child workers from this time were horrifying. The book does a great job of illustrating how Hine used his pictures to raise awareness throughout the country and eventually change laws. The timeline at the end of the book was a great way to visualize all of the events of the book. I learned a lot from this book!
September 6, 2015
Most of the photographs discussed in this book are taken by Lewis Hine and are about child labor at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The main story is about how the photograph influenced child labor laws. Great nonfiction reference book that can be used for projects on art and history.
In the series there are 5 other topics accompanied by famous photographs discussing a historical subject claiming that a photograph can change the world. My personal view is that the photograph might not have changed the world it definitely influenced perspectives
In the series there are 5 other topics accompanied by famous photographs discussing a historical subject claiming that a photograph can change the world. My personal view is that the photograph might not have changed the world it definitely influenced perspectives
April 2, 2014
Although this is not my favorite type of book I thought it was interesting to read. I found the photographs to be very interesting to see the pictures and I can see how these pictures made an impact on Child Labor at the time. I also was interesting in reading about the children working in the coal mines becasue my extended family were coal miners. Overall, it wasnt a bad book it just wasn't my favorite genre becasue I prefer a good fictional story to get lost in.
May 7, 2018
Quick read with plenty of visual images on the topic of Breaker Boys. It is a perfect source for my 7th graders to use for research because it is easy to understand and the pictures speak a thousand words. Bonus: the most important photo was taken in South Pittston, just across the river from my school district and where my students live! Who knew one of the most important photographs to change child labor was taken right across the river?!?!
July 15, 2013
Child labor was not unusual in the early 1900s. Photographer Lewis Hine captured images of children as young as five working as breaker boys in the Pennsylvania coal mines, and in turn, the photos helped lead to child labor laws being passed by the federal government. The photos are captivating and the story is clear.
October 16, 2013
The photographs are what truly make this book worth reading. By themselves they tell a powerful tale and make a stronger impact than text could. The text is easy to follow and very informative, though the content was pretty hard to read simply because of the subject matter. I wouldn't use this particular text with younger children.
April 1, 2015
This book is about little boys of all ages who spent their days working in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. It also describes how child labor was a big problem in the early 1900's and how Lewis Hines and many other Americans tried to stop child labor. This book helped me a lot with my project to get a real understanding of what child labor was really like.
December 22, 2013
This books focuses on Lewis Hines' photographic work of child labor, specifically coal mining in Pennsylvanian in The early 1900s. In addition to the valuable information on children working in mines, we also learn about Hines' work with the National Child Labor Committee.
December 2, 2015
I found this to be fascinating, and it was really accessible to middle school students. A great companion to the Lyddie unit for grade 7 (Common Core Modules) or any unit of labor rights, industrial revolution, progressive era, etc.
October 25, 2011
Social photography and a photo claimed to be one of the 100 that changed the world. Recommended ages 9-12 yrs.
February 15, 2012
A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. I would've liked more on the living and working conditions of the boys. A good starter book for those in middle school or intermediate school.
August 2, 2012
This is a fascinating account of how the Progressives tried to end child labor. I had not read about this topic before.
May 12, 2013
This book was informative and interesting. It's amazing how photographs can really show so much more than words.
February 1, 2014
A fantastic read for anyone in 5th grade or above. Parents and children need to sit together with this one. The photography is amazing and given the space it deserves on each page.
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