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Reviewed by Carma Dutra
Title: The Locket, Surviving the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Author: Suzanne Lieurance
Hardcover: 160 pages
Cover Illustration: Original Painting by Corey Wolfe
Ages: 9 - 12
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
ISBN 13: 978-0-7660-2928-6
ISBN-10: 0-7660-2928-X
The Locket, Surviving the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is a historical novel written for ages 9 to 12. It tells the story of Galena, an eleven-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant who lives in New York City in 1911 with her family and works at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory with her older sister, Anya. The factory pays low wages, has horrendous working conditions and employs underage children like Galena.
In the early 1900’s, joining the union is a dangerous thing to do, but Anya longs to improve working conditions for abused workers. Soon a horrible fire erupts and destroys the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and shatters a young girl’s dream.
Author Suzanne Lieurance weaves together the fictional and non-fictional aspects of this historical story with ease. By blending dramatic factual accounts of a historical event with realistic fictional characters, Lieurance brings the reader inside the ill-fated factory. Lieurance’s account is truly a step back in time to understand how a young Jewish immigrant girl uses the support of her Jewish traditions, family and friends for inspiration to fight for workers’ rights.
The Locket also has an educator’s guide available for teachers and parents. This guide is a fantastic supplement with additional reading suggestions, discussion questions and other activities.
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Carma Dutra is a children’s writer. She offers author interviews, book reviews, writing tips, and other information for fellow children writers at her blog.
If you’d like to learn to write historical fiction for kids, check out this new CD called Bringing the Past to Life: Writing Middle Grade Historical Fiction.
Bringing the Past to Life: Writing Middle Grade Historical Fiction, this week’s teleclass for members of the 
Every week, members of the Children’s Writers’ Coaching Club are given the opportunity to attend a LIVE 55-minute teleclass about some aspect of children’s writing. 