Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
Presentation by Mary Hopkins, IS 195
Lyddie, is a novel for Young Adults, written by
Katherine Paterson. This book is the story of a
thirteen- year-old Vermont farm girl who is forced
to seek work in a textile mill in Lowell,
Massachusetts in 1843.
Lowell, Massachusetts
A Typical Textile Mill of the 19th Century
Scenes from Lowell Textile Mills
Child Labor in America
• Do you think Lyddie’s story could have
happened?
• Was child labor a social problem in American
during the 1800s, the time of the American
Industrial Revolution? Did it affect many
children?
• What were conditions like for children in the
mills?
• Were factory girl able to better themselves, to
get an education?
Your task
• Define the social problem:
Demonstrate that
Lyddie is an accurate
was Child Labor a social
depiction of that time.
problem during the 19th
Write a two-page
persuasive essay
arguing your points
century?
• Gather evidence to show
that child labor was a social
problem?
Some places to look for information:
Websites:
• History.com: Child Labor
• The Social Studies Help Center
• TALES OF FACTORY LIFE, No. 1 [from Lowell
Offering, 1841]
Books
• Freedman, Russell. Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the
Crusade Against Child Labor. New York: Clarion, 1994.
• Greene, Laura Offenhartz Greene. Child Labor: Then and
Now. New York: Franklin Watts, 1992.
• Robinson, J. Dennis. Striking Back: The Fight to End Child
Labor Exploitation. Mankato, MN: Compass Point, 2010
• Sioux, Tracee. Immigration, Migration and the Industrial
Revolution. New York: Power Kids Press, 2004.
• Arnold, James R. and Roberta Weiner. The Industrial
Revolution. (Ten Volume Set). Danbury, CT: Grolier, 2005.