Which Side Are You On?: The Story of a Song

Lyon, George Ella

ISBN 10: 1933693967 / ISBN 13: 9781933693965

Published by Cinco Puntos Press, 2011

Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G1933693967I4N10

Synopsis:

Which Side Are You On? tells the story of the classic union song that was written in 1931 by Florence Reece in a rain of bullets. It has been sung by people fighting for their rights all over the world. Florence's husband Sam was a coal miner in Kentucky. Many of the coal mines were owned by big companies, who kept wages low and spent as little money on safety as possible. Miners lived in company houses on company land and were paid in scrip, good only at the company store. The company owned the miners sure as sunrise.

That's why they had to have a union. Miners went on strike until they could get better pay, safer working conditions, and health care. The company hired thugs to attack union organizers like Sam Reece.

George Ella Lyon tells this hair-raising story through the eyes of one of Florence's daughters, a dry-witted, pig-tailed gal whose vantage point is from under the bed with her six brothers and sisters. The thugs' bullets hit the thin doors and windows of the company house and the kids lying low wonder whether they're going to make it out of this alive; wonder exactly if this strike will make their lives better or end them, but their mother keeps scribbling and singing. "We need a song," she tells her kids. That's not at all what they think they need. Graphic novelist Christopher Cardinale brings Florence's triumphant story to life in true rip-roaring union style.

Selected as an IRA Notable Book for a Global Society and a 2012 Skipping Stones Honor Book.

About the Author: George Ella Lyon grew up in Harlan County, Kentucky, where Florence Reece wrote “Which Side Are You On?” The daughter of a dry-cleaner and a community worker, she grew up with one older brother in a house full of music, stories, and books. Her first ambition was to be a neon sign maker. Much later, she planned to be a folk singer in Greenwich Village. While she chose the path of words, Lyon still writes songs. For several years, she was part of a band called Public Outcry, formed to make people aware of the devastation caused by mountaintop removal coal mining. Among Lyon’s recent books are All the Water in the World, illustrated by Katherine Tillotson; The Pirate of Kindergarten, illustrated by Lynne Avril, Schneider Family Book Award winner; and You and Me and Home Sweet Home, illustrated by Stephanie Anderson, a Jane Addams Honor Book. For information about her books for older readers and for adults, visit www.georgeellalyon.com Married to musician/ writer Steve Lyon, she lives in Lexington, Kentucky, and has two sons.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Which Side Are You On?: The Story of a Song
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Publication Date: 2011
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrator: Cardinale, Christopher
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket