Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky [Library Binding]

Kathi Appelt (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

It's 4:30 in the morning, and the "book woman" and her horse are already on their way. Hers is an important job, for the folks along her treacherous route are eager for the tattered books and magazines she carries in her saddlebags.

During the Great Depression, thousands lived on the brink of starvation. Many perished. In 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progess Administration under his 1933 New Deal initiative. The WPA was designed to get people back on their feet. One of its most innovative programs was the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky.

Thoroughly researched and illustrated with period photographs, this is the story of one of the WPA's greatest successes. People all over the country supported the project's goals. But it was the librarians themselves -- young, determined, and earning just $28 a month -- who brought the hope of a wider world to people in the crooks and hollows of Kentucky's Cumberland Mountains.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-Imagine a cold, steep trip up a mountain path; it is icy and a light rain falls. A woman is riding an old horse and has a bag full of books to deliver. The families she stops to see are waiting for her, a one-room schoolhouse full of children greet her at the door. One woman walks nine miles to meet her and exchange her books and magazines. This is a day in the life of a pack-horse librarian. From 1935 to 1943, local Kentucky women were paid a meager salary as part of the WPA to do just this. Appelt and Schmitzer present an in-depth look at this unusual book-delivery system. With clear, thorough information, they take readers back to Depression-era Appalachia. Details of the project, such as why local women were the best choice to deliver the books, how materials were obtained, and how the delivery circuit worked, are offered in a readable format. The authors capably describe the isolated and poverty-ridden lives of the Kentucky mountain folk. Generously illustrated with black-and-white photographs, this book paints a complete picture of one WPA project. Extensive source notes are included. Pair this fascinating title with Rosemary Wells's Mary on Horseback (Viking, 1999) for an intimate look at the Appalachian region during the Great Depression.
Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Aloha, OR
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Unlike WPA programs that built roads, bridges, and other public projects across the country, the work of the Kentucky pack-horse librarians is practically unknown. These women and men rose before dawn and followed dangerous mountain trails to deliver books, magazines, pamphlets, and scrapbooks to the schools and homes of some of America's poorest people. Appelt and Schmitzer's slim but evocative account finally gives these early outreach librarians their due. The detailed text and accompanying photographs re-create a time of extreme hardship and explain how dedicated folks built a valuable service by pulling together resources from donations and discards. Although not a necessary purchase, this exploration of a forgotten bit of history will add dimension to regional collections and be of value to larger collections of works on the Great Depression. A rich, well-documented bibliography is appended. Randy Meyer
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006029244X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060292447
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,575,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish There Was More, April 8, 2002

By 

Rev Richard B. Cartwright (Clearfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky (Hardcover)

This is the kind of book we all should read, regardless of age. It is well researched, well annotated and well written. I bought it for my wife, a reading specialist, for Easter, and wound up reading it before she got her hands on it. It would be great to have an older version, filled with more info, etc. For now, however, I'll take what I can get!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky, March 31, 2002

By 

Abington-Pitre (Stillwater, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky (Hardcover)

This was a new piece of history that sadly, I was not taught in school. I applaud the ladies and gent who were dedicated to bringing literacy to the masses at all cost. The $28 salary opened doors for the care of their families, it was the love of reading and the people that kept them going back day after day.
Everyone in education or who just loves a good straight forward look at history MUST read this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Down cut shin creek: the pack horse librarians of Kentucky, June 26, 2010

By 

Oma Bucher "Oma" (Williams,OH, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky (Hardcover)

I drive bookmobiles in Colorado, so I am very interested in books about mobile library service. This is about getting materials to the outlying areas of Kentucky during the U.S. Depression. I should never complain again when my laptop service goes down.