If you enjoy having Labor Day off of school to relax and have a good time, check out these books about all kinds of jobs and worker’s rights. You'll learn about the hard jobs children had to do and how workers came together and demonstrated for better pay and working conditions.
Brave girl : Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909
Michelle Markel
jE Markel
Kids, Nonfiction, Picture Books, History
Animal strike at the zoo, it's true!
Karma Wilson
jE Wilson
Kids, Picture Books
The zoo animals go on strike until the tears of a disappointed little girl make them realize that they actually like what they do.
LMNO peas
Keith Baker
jE Baker
Kids, Picture Books
Busy little peas introduce their favorite occupations, from astronaut to zoologist.
The detailed illustrations showcase many different jobs that both peas and people can do. Best for one on one exploration or small groups.
- Morgan
On our way to Oyster Bay : Mother Jones and her march for children's rights
Monica Kulling
jE Kulling
Kids, Picture Books
In 1903 eight-year-old Aidan, who dreams of going to school instead of working in a cotton mill, finds inspiration in Mother Jones, a labor activist who plans to protest unfair child labor laws by marching from Kensington, Pennsylvania, to Oyster Bay, New York.
Clothesline clues to jobs people do
Kathryn Heling
jE Heling
Kids, Picture Books
Provides a fun guessing game based on the clothes a person might wear to perform their job.
- Morgan
Click, clack, moo : cows that type
Doreen Cronin
jE Cronin
Kids, Picture Books
When Farmer Brown's cows find a typewriter in the barn they start making demands and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want.
A great introduction to the concept of striking for better working conditions, but full of humor and silliness.
- Morgan
Side by side : the story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez = Lado a lado : la historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chávez
Monica Brown
j468.6 Brown
Kids, Nonfiction, History
Something special happened when Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez met. Together, they fought for the rights of countless farmworkers. Side by side, inspiring hope, they changed history. Algo especial sucedió cuando Dolores Huerta y César Chávez se conocieron. Ellos lucharon juntos por los derechos de los campesinos. Lado a lado cultivaron esperanza, cambiando el curso de la historia.
Fannie never flinched : one woman's courage in the struggle for American labor union rights
Mary Cronk Farrell
jBIOGRAPHY Sellins, Fannnie
Kids, Nonfiction, Biographies, History
Fanny Sellins was a union activist who fought and gave her life for equality and labor reform.
For older elementary readers, this is the story of a remarkable woman who refused to back down from fighting for the rights of workers.
- Morgan
Dolores Huerta : a hero to migrant workers
Sarah E Warren
jE Warren
Kids, Nonfiction, Biographies, Picture Books
Whose hands are these? : a community helper guessing book
Miranda Paul
jE Paul
Asks young readers to identify the occupation of each community helper from the type of tasks they perform and explains how these helpers work together to keep communities clean and safe and people healthy.
Learn about Clara Lemlich and her role in helping workers come together and demonstrate for better pay and working conditions in 1909.
- Morgan