Growing Up in Coal Country (1999)

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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Describes what life was like, especially for children, in coal mines and mining towns in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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I would recommend this book to anyone who likes U.S. history and is a fan of Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s other books about the holocaust and the KKK. I liked how this book focused on the impact on the young boys, but also addressed the adult’s trials and tribulations. I felt a very personal connection to this story because Susan quoted personal accounts from people who lived through this time period. It was a hard life and many boys and men died working in the mines. The most devastating parts of the recollections were not left out of this book, which proved very emotional. However, children were still children even though they had to grow up fast to support their families. The book successfully balanced the grim with the childish, describing how the boys would take part in childish activities. A very engaging historical perspective and educational read. (

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clockwork_serenity | Jan 23, 2016 |

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clockwork_serenity | Jan 23, 2016 |

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clockwork_serenity | Jan 23, 2016 |

This is a story of the plight of children who had to work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before there were laws that protected them. Very heart wrenching facts about the hardships they endured. The author had past family members who actually worked in these mines. This is a very good book for educating older children about the history and hardships of our country. (

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dorthys | Mar 15, 2015 |

I enjoyed this book though it was sad to read. I love Bartoletti and how she brings such stark realism to the reader in a way that is easy to understand even if it is not pleasant to know.

barbarashuler | Mar 15, 2015 |

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Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 1997 (Vol. 50, No. 6))
Inspired by the stories her Italian in-laws told of coming to northeastern Pennsylvania coal country, Bartoletti researched primary and secondary sources, from personal family histories to mining inspection records, to piece together this picture of daily life in the Pennsylvania coal mines. The text is a combination of anecdotes and history, covering the division of labor in the mines (breaker boys, nippers, spraggers, and miners), the roles of the "sweethearts of the mines" (the mules) and the "harbingers of disaster" (the rats), the role of women and families, and life in the patch villages owned and run by the coal companies. The context is a bit sketchy (a timeline and a map would have been useful) and Bartoletti doesn't footnote nearly enough, but the danger and tragedy of life in the mines and the bravery and loyalty it engendered have an inherent drama that makes this compelling reading. The layout is clean, spare, and attractive, with black-and-white archival photographs placed generously throughout. A bibliography is included. R--Recommended. (c) Copyright 1997, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1996, Houghton, 147p; illus. with photographs, $16.95. Grades 6-9.

added by kthomp25 | editThe Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Janice M. Del Negro (Apr 20, 1997)

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