Women History Month Children Book Recommendation Part 4: Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel

To conclude, Women's History Month, I would like to end the month by discussing Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 is a 32-page picture book written by Michelle Markel, which was published in 2013 for young children between the ages of 4 - 9 years old.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

Based on a true story, Clara's family, who is a young Ukrainian girl, immigrated to New York. Clara's father unable to seek work finds ways to make money for her family by working at a garment factory with horrible working conditions — working long hours, low pay, being punished for mistakes, etc. Realizing how unfair working conditions are, Clara led one of the biggest strikes with thousands of young women in the winter of 1909.

After reading this story, the book touches on heavy and powerful themes like working conditions, workers' rights,  equality, justice, bravery, and many more. The main theme of this book is centered on Clara, showing her bravery, in fighting for what is right; she led the largest strike in 1909 helping women to fight for fairer working conditions in the garment industry, and she is not afraid to do it since she is strong just like men. Overall, I enjoy reading this book as it encourages women to have the courage in fighting for our rights. 

Lastly, the illustrations were unique, and I thought they reinforced the message of the book. The book was illustrated by Melissa Sweet and the story was beautifully illustrated with the use of hand-drawn illustrations and the use of paper and fabric collages. This reinforced the story of the book as the medium illuminates the thousands of young women sewing their life away working in the garment industry.