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Mother Jones: Labor Leader
In graphic novel format, tells the story of Mary Mother Jones, a leading labor union and child labor activist in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 25, 2016
This is a great little bio of Mother Jones, and an important read, I think, for anyone who doesn't have a sense of he historic (ongoing) struggle for less exploitative and more just working conditions and compensation. My cousin fb posted the wonderful Rachel Maddow breakdown of the Rex Tillerson appointment http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/wa... yesterday and described Tillerson's approach to economics as "savage capitalism" and I keep thinking yes! And what are our alternatives. I think Mother Jones is fighting against savage capitalism and perhaps it takes an unflappable, brilliant, tough, charismatic leader like her to organize people. Do we have leaders like her today? I don't know. I'm not sure who to compare her to. But, her work was important and perhaps sacred, and I hope it wasn't a small step forward from which we are about to take giant step back.
August 8, 2018
Why not be wowed by A HERO WITH AN EPIC STORY OF ACHIEVEMENT AGAINST ALL ODDS FOLLOWED BY IMMENSE TRAGEDY THAT SHE REBOUNDED FROM WITH DETERMINATION, STRENGTH, LEADERSHIP AND INSPIRATION WHO STAYED AT THE TOP OF HER TOUGH-AS-NAILS GAME INTO HER 90s?
This is Graphic Library in top form but I FIND THE 100% WHITE PEOPLE VERY INSULTING AND OFFENSIVE!- Shame on you Steve Erwin, your art was even full of large groups of people and there wasn't even black on any coal miner's faces!
I'M FOREHEAD OVER TOES IN LOVE WITH MOTHER MARY HARRIS JONES WHO ENCHANTS ME AND STIRS UP TENDER EMOTION IN MY HEART! SHE IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST OF PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE IDOLIZED!
SHE DESERVES A FULL GRAPHIC NOVEL- GIVE ME AN ARTIST AND I'LL WRITE AN UNDENIABLE SCRIPT.
This is Graphic Library in top form but I FIND THE 100% WHITE PEOPLE VERY INSULTING AND OFFENSIVE!- Shame on you Steve Erwin, your art was even full of large groups of people and there wasn't even black on any coal miner's faces!
I'M FOREHEAD OVER TOES IN LOVE WITH MOTHER MARY HARRIS JONES WHO ENCHANTS ME AND STIRS UP TENDER EMOTION IN MY HEART! SHE IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST OF PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE IDOLIZED!
SHE DESERVES A FULL GRAPHIC NOVEL- GIVE ME AN ARTIST AND I'LL WRITE AN UNDENIABLE SCRIPT.
March 22, 2019
Better writing than the other Graphic Library titles I've read (decided not to review the other 4) and solid and engaging content. Centered on Labor history and the life of Mother Jones -- does an excellent job for a 30 page graphic novel.
August 1, 2025
Great story, but it reads a little clunky at times.
April 17, 2013
I list this one as both "historical fiction" and "nonfiction" because the book is a dramatized presentation of Mother Jones' life in a graphic novel format. Some of the dialogue is fictional, while other parts, which are specifically marked with a color coded background, are real quotations.
This is a colorful, action packed, and highly simplified collection of the highlights in the legendary labor rights activist's life. This could be a good way to introduce her work to reluctant readers, or even be used to encourage students to approach biographies in a new way. I personally loved this, and would be pleased to use it in a text set relating to labor rights, or for Women's History Month.
This is a colorful, action packed, and highly simplified collection of the highlights in the legendary labor rights activist's life. This could be a good way to introduce her work to reluctant readers, or even be used to encourage students to approach biographies in a new way. I personally loved this, and would be pleased to use it in a text set relating to labor rights, or for Women's History Month.
December 11, 2013
Not really a graphic novel, since it's nonfiction. This book tells the story of Mother Jones' life in comic book style. It's easy enough for kids to read, but has many details adults might notice that make it a rich experience to read. Part of a larger Capstone series of illustrated biographies. Great for exposing kids to social justice leaders.
March 4, 2015
It was so interesting! I didn't know most of the information in the book about Mother Jones. She was amazing!
September 24, 2015
What a woman! She went through so much in her life and truly did fight for what she thought was right. Loved learning about her !
December 6, 2016
it was a good book i like it but i want more adventure.
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July 10, 2018This May, I made the monthly poll in my office "your favorite union/labor leader." One faculty member commented approvingly on the poll and said she didn't recognize most of the names so she would have to learn about them. I confided that I had learned about most of them from picturebooks. She said I should make a display, and I said I would make a handout (my cubicle really doesn't have space for a picturebook display).
Mother Jones was the one name I had gotten not from a picturebook, so I looked in my local library catalog -- for a storybook, not a dry nonfiction book like you'd read just to do a school project, and I found this.
I added it to my handout before I'd actually read it (since I had to request a copy from another library in my network), but having read it I feel good about its inclusion.
The text goes in hard on how bad conditions were at the time, the power of the strike, etc., but it doesn't feel over-the-top or heavy-handed to me, just true. It doesn't make any explicit connections to contemporary issues, but it feels to me very much like the kind of book that could radicalize a young reader :)
Mother Jones was the one name I had gotten not from a picturebook, so I looked in my local library catalog -- for a storybook, not a dry nonfiction book like you'd read just to do a school project, and I found this.
I added it to my handout before I'd actually read it (since I had to request a copy from another library in my network), but having read it I feel good about its inclusion.
The text goes in hard on how bad conditions were at the time, the power of the strike, etc., but it doesn't feel over-the-top or heavy-handed to me, just true. It doesn't make any explicit connections to contemporary issues, but it feels to me very much like the kind of book that could radicalize a young reader :)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews