BRAVE GIRL Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

Lesa Lockford's narration is as quiet and firm as heroine Clara Lemlich, who resolved to change the working conditions of American women and girls in the New York garment industry. In the early twentieth century, immigrant Clara navigates the hardships facing young factory workers and steels her determination to better herself through night school. She then sets out to improve the lives of her female co-workers through labor strikes. Lockford's use of inflection underscores Clara's grit as shown in her pursuit of literacy and her admonition to "stand fast, girls" when it comes time to strike. Through well-timed pauses, Lockford illuminates key facts of Clara's story, for example, that the 1909 walkout was the largest women's strike in United States history. A.R. [Published: JANUARY 2015]