You Wouldn't Want to Be a Victorian Mill Worker!: A Grueling Job You'd Rather Not Have

You Wouldn't Want to Be ...

by John Malam, David Salariya (Creator), David Antram (Illustrator)

Describes the many dangerous jobs performed by children who worked in the cotton mills of industrial England in the nineteenth century, work that included long hours, low pay, and no provision for school work.

Genres: History, Childrens, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

John Malam is a British historian, archaeologist, and author of numerous children's non-fiction books. He attended the University of Birmingham.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 There is some good content in this book, but it felt a little disjointed. It is a nice book for students to get an introduction to the conditions in the textile mills of the Industrial Revolution, but I just kept feeling like it was missing the mark and a little dry at times.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids who complain about doing their chores, read this with them. The work of any person, adult or child, in the mill industry was very unsafe and very unhealthy.
The series does a great job of taking an unknown generic child/young person in that time, sharing the hardships of the times, the work, but also shares the historical facts/changes/events of the time surrounding this industry, as well the very in-depth details of what people did back then. That was the fascinating part for me. I knew about some of it, but not as far as in-depth as this book took it, but they made it so easy for kids to understand. The other cool part is they teach you some of the slang/dialects of the time and its silly and fun.
Even with how dangerous, difficult and deadly this job was, the illustrators keep the pictures more about the industry and less about the accidents, though they do mention the fires and the hazards of the job, but they keep it more light-hearted in the imagery conveyed.

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't get enough of this series! I'm a history buff and this is a fun and fast way to learn more about different eras. The Victorian Period was particularly interesting and this book details the dangers faced by the children working in industrial settings.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief account of life for a Victorian child labourer.

This book was a bit too brief to bring the period / experience to life.

Reading time around thirty minutes.

[Loretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this series is solid: these jobs are hard. The book is quite readable while being chock full of facts.

[Spinster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indeed I would not.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because a branch of my family tree passes through Lowell, MA, a center for textile production during the 19th century, I was intrigued by the colorful treatment of a potentially dreary subject. The book describes the working conditions in Victorian-era mills in Manchester, England, where children aged 9-13 were permitted to work nine hours a day and earned about $20 a week in today’s dollars.

Although the book attempts to follow the journey of an 11-year-old boy through the mills, the story isn’t particularly compelling in that it focuses more on the machinery than on the people. The humorous cartoon-style illustrations (in which all of the adults look alike) are inconsistent with the gravity of the subject matter, but they may attract reluctant readers.

The book could have been more interesting if there had been a strong central character – perhaps an actual 11-year-old whose story could have been followed and supported with historical facts and period photos or artifacts.

Also diminishing the book’s effectiveness is its odd layout. Page 1 presents an out-of-context cost-of-living list of common items cross-referenced to page 13, which shows typical wages. The list should have been better incorporated into the text; its placement seems like an after-thought.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Malam and Antram’s main focus is to teach about the social conditions of the Victorian mill workers, children will also be able to learn a significant amount about cotton processing in general. Malam writes as if he is talking with the reader, presumably a boy or girl between 9 and 13 years old, which is the age of the children represented in the story. This point of view makes for an engaging reading experience as it places the reader in the shoes of the children who worked in the mills. Antram’s illustrations compliment the text well as they convey the issues workers faced inside and outside the mills. Some readers will want to learn more about how cotton is processed but this book does not include a bibliography or other list of how readers can find more information. However, it does have an index, glossary, table of contents, and helpful information about currency and the cost of living so readers can make comparisons. Overall, this book provides a good opportunity for young people to gain insight into one of history’s troubled times.

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book for parents who either want to teach their kids history, or get them to go to school and do the dishes without quite so many arguments. My 6yo was taken in by the cartoon-style illustrations, which were fun but also informative. The text was detailed enough to answer pretty much all his questions. We still have the odd argument over the dishes but it did buy us at least a temporary lull.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another excellent book from the "You Wouldn't Want" crew. This one looks at the life of a Victorian Mill Worker, mostly children of that variety. The hours, the horrible pay, the deplorable working conditions. Filled with all the gruesome bits that make these books such a treat, it will be popular with the reluctant readers you know.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the humor in history it gives

[Deb Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these books. I think the facts combined with the empathic words really give kids the perspective of what life may have been like if they had been a factory worker.

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you think going to school every day is bad, read this book to see how it could be much, much work. You could be working long hours in a factory for little pay.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahser (8yo) read.