Lyddie (A Puffin Novel)

Paterson, Katherine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140373896 ISBN 13: 9780140373899

Publisher: Puffin, 1995

Her parents are gone, and her brother and sisters sent to live with other people. Lyddie Worthen is on her own. When Lyddie hears about the mill jobs in Lowell, Massachusetts, she heads there with the goal of earning enough money to reunite her family. Six days a week from dawn to dusk Lyddie and the other girls run weaving looms in the murky dust - and lint-filled factory. Lyddie learns to read - and to handle the menacing overseer. But when the working conditions begin to affect her friends' health, she has to make a choice. Will she speak up for better working conditions and risk her job - and her dream? Or will she stay quiet until it is perhaps too late?

Review:

* "Rich in historical detail . . . a superb story of grit, determination, and personal growth."

About the Author:

Katherine Paterson was born in China in 1932 - she was the middle of five children. Her parents were missionaries and during her childhood the family travelled extensively. After graduating she was a teacher in Virginia and later she travelled to Japan where she lived for four years. Katherine Paterson is twice winner of the Newbery Medal: in 1978 for BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA and in 1981 for JACOB HAVE I LOVED. Katherine now lives in Vermont, USA and loves to teach, read and cook.