Customer Reviews

Counting on Grace

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When a children's author wishes to write a piece of historical fiction, there are a number of ways to do so. They can write about a specific historical moment. The fall of Pompeii, for example, or perhaps a battle during the Civil War. They can also just pick a period in time rather than any one single moment. The most difficult historical fiction, however, is when an author decides to incorporate a real person into their fictional narrative. This technique is a staple of poorly written children's books. You know what I mean. The old idea that falls along the lines of Martin Luther King Jr. meets a kid from the future and teaches him a valuable lesson, yadda yadda yadda. Ugh. It takes a careful hand and a steady talent to do what Elizabeth Winthrop has accomplished with, "Counting On Grace". Winthrop knows that if you were going to write a book where, for example, a small girl meets someone like Lewis Hine, you're going to have to give your hero (not the historical figure) enough of a backstory and life to make her just as real as Hine himself. The joy of "Counting On Grace" is that even though this is a story about a horrific time concerning horrific events, it's not depressing or much in the way of a downer. It's a beautiful, emotional, remarkable little book. Mangled hands and all.

Grace can't stand still. Every day her family goes to work in a Vermont cotton mill while she goes to school with the other mill children. She's a good student, of course, but she can't even read without her feet dancing about. That changes fairly soon, however, and much to her delight. She and her friend Arthur are going to go work on their mothers' machines in the mill, she willingly, he unwilling. But finally making some money for her family isn't as much fun as Grace had anticipated. She's incredibly tired and Arthur seems to have a dangerous plan in mind for getting out of working. It isn't until the two kids help their former teacher Miss Lesley contact the authorities about the working conditions of the mill that something begins to change. Something in the form of a photographer by the name of Lewis Hine. Now Grace needs to decide what to do with the rest of her life. Spend her days working in the mill or seek something more?

The inspiration for this tale, author Elizabeth Winthrop says, came in the form of a picture of a young girl named Addie. The photograph, taken by Lewis Hine, was on display in the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont. The photograph is shown at the back of the book, and Winthrop tells the story of the real girl shown there. Her tale is just as interesting as that of Grace's and "The Story Behind the Photograph" worthy reading in and of itself. Add in Winthrop's meticulous Bibliography and you've got yourself some well-researched top-notch writing.

Part of the wonder of this book is that Grace's parents are neither heroes nor villains. There's a great deal of respect given to their difficult situation. They love their children, of course they do! But these are poor people who need as much money as they can get, given their circumstances. Sure, their kids could get seriously hurt tending to the machines in the mill, but there's always the thought that the attentive ones will survive the "lazy" or inattentive ones. At one point the schoolteacher Miss Lesley complains that she's tired of wanting more for the mill children than their own parents want. This lack of ambition for a better life could easily have turned the story into a children = good, parents = bad tale. But life itself is not that simple. Nor, for that matter, is this book. Grace's mother is a rough woman with a great deal of violence to her, but you understand why she does the things she does. Still, it's hard not to agree with Grace when she happens to remark, "Suddenly, I don't like the family God gave me".

I learned a great deal from "Counting On Grace" about why these children worked in the mills as often as they did. At first I couldn't understand why Arthur's mother insisted that he help her in the mill when it was clear that the two of them preferred him in school. It becomes far more understandable when you see that the mill owners owned their employees' homes. A child that didn't work in the mill could place his or her parents' jobs in danger. Lewis Hine probably said it best when Winthrop quotes him saying, "I have always been more interested in persons than in people".

I know I said that the book wasn't depressing, but not all endings in this book are happy ones. They're there to give the novel a feeling of authenticity. Winthrop doesn't employ any miraculous occurrences or deus ex machina. Still, there is happiness here. And as Winthrop herself says of historical fiction, "I'm not saying it happened, I'm saying it could have happened". A remarkable novel.

Although identified as a children's book, "Counting on Grace" is a book that should reward readers of all ages. The author, with great skill and sensitivity, weaves a fictional account of a young girl who is forced to work in the local cotton mill with historical fact about the documentation of these conditions. especially by the renown photographer of working children, Lewis Hines. With three grandchildren exactly the age of Grace, I found this gripping story provided a rare look at how some children were forced to enter the adult world, with its difficulties and dangers, and were summarily deprived of their childhood and education. This is a unique look at mill towns and the people and families who struggled there at the turn of the 20th century. I highly recommend "Counting on Grace" for readers whatever their age.

This book is probably one of my favorites. It is based on a picture, which is very unique. Some parts were confusing, like the parts about the equipment and how Grace had to do her job, but once reread was clearer. I also wish something more would have happened between her and Aurther.
A great book, though. I reccomened it for all ages.

For the sake of full disclosure: I did have an agenda in selecting the CD of "Counting on Grace" for our last family road trip. I hoped that a story about the tragedy of child labor might convince my 10-year-old that she's really not being worked to death by having to clean her room. That being said, our whole family was captivated by the story. The author avoids all the traps that she could have fallen into, such as creating characters who are angelic or evil caricatures, or milking a series of tragedies just to catch the reader's sympathy and calling it "realism". Grace's life is hard - almost unimaginable to our modern sensibilities - but she still has people who care for her, moments of fun, and even reasons to hope. And despite the drudgery of millwork, she keeps us eager to find out what happens next.

If you share this story with your children, be sure to go farther. Find a book of Lewis Hines' child labor photos, or go to the Library of Congress website, which has 5,000 of them. Listen to the author's NPR interview, where she talks about her research and discovered the family history of Addie Card, the girl in the photo. And take away from your reading experience a sense of just how much we have to be thankful for.

The ending is satisfying enough to provide some closure, though the author states in her interview that she has some ideas of how the story could continue. Ms. Winthrop, if you're reading this, please give us a sequel - you know you want to!

An outstanding book that I picked up in the children's section of my local library. The haunting photo on the book jacket drew my attention, and I just had to read the story.

It turns out that the photograph is rather famous; it was taken by Edward Hines and still resides in a museum. He had taken pictures of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, and became curious about what happened to them after arriving in the U.S. He "followed" them to the towns they settled in and discovered the issues of child labor laws that were not enforced. He used subterfuge to get access to some of the mills, and took photographs of the children who worked there for long hours in terrible conditions. Because of his efforts, social change eventually came.

The author's story is the account of fictional characters (other than Mr. Hines, who visits their town and mill). It is well written, from the viewpoint of a young girl who describes what life is like for her and her friends and family. I ached for Grace as she struggled to please her parents and do well in the mill, and ached for her to find the better life that she longer for

Twelve-year-old Grace, daughter of immigrant parents from Canada, is a bouncing, energetic, vivacious rural Vermonter. Grace is torn between her teacher's desire for her to make a better life through education and her mother's desire for her to work in the mills to support her family. Highly intelligent Grace is eager to grow up and go to work, but discovers that, being left handed, she is less capable than the other workers. One day, Lewis Hine, a photographer, comes to secretly investigate the mill and takes Grace's picture. This fantastically well-written book (completely in Grace's voice) is one of the best young adult novels I've ever read. Grace's world is very real, from the detailed descriptions of the mill to the characters that surround her and determine her destiny. The historical tale (set in 1910) makes us, as Lewis Hine's photographs do, look directly into the eyes of the child labor issue. Grace, in her excitement and need to work in the mills to provide for her family, but her even deeper need to do more with her life. Grace--as all young teenagers do--must face her domineering mother's expectations for her life and to become her own person. A beautiful, funny, clever, well-characterized, poignant, and powerful novel. Grade: A

As you will probably all find out, the true story of Addie is in this month's issue of the Smithsonian Magazine. I have not yet read Counting on Grace but I will do so now that I have seen the magazine article.

Good book for kids in Grades 4-8 who want to know what life was like for kids at the turn of the century. WORK, WORK, and more work ... if you come from a poor family. But Grace overcame the odds. Read the book and find out how.
Nice surprise ending.

This book is perfectly done. The author portrays Grace very well, and you really get a sense of her character. Sometimes when books are focused on a topic as heavy as child labor, you can lose the individuality of the protagonist and the way they deal with the situation. You really get to know all of the characters in this story, which I liked.

I have to admit when I started this book I wasn't sure if I could finish it. Grace is a poor child of the early 1900's and speaks that way which is something thats kind of a turn off for me. But I'm glad I made my way through the beginning because as soon as the story unfolds, it becomes harder and harder to put down. I rooted for Grace and Arthur to make it out of the mill and to be able to make a real life for themselves as the smart children they were and the intelligent adults they could become if given the chance. The author paints a vivid portrayal of a time when children really were put to work in dangerous situations just to ensure the survivial of their families.

I think this is a book every middle school child should read. Not only to help them appreciate their education but also the life they are able to live thanks to the sacrafices of people like Lewis Hine who cared enough to help bring this issue of child labor to public attention. And also people like Grace, who was fictional but had many, many real life counterparts that shared her struggle. I hope this book becomes a classic.