Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Most writers specialize in either nonfiction or fiction. Award-winning children's author Susan Campbell Bartoletti, however, is one whose love of history crosses genre with ease. For her, every book starts with a distinctive character voice and an intuitive feeling as to how to best tell that character's story. "I let my instinct tell me whether the story is fiction or nonfiction, picture book or novel."
She points out that both fiction and nonfiction require a strong narrative voice, compelling characters, believable plot and an active writing style. She also reminds us that "story" is an integral part of history. "It doesn't matter whether it's historical fiction or nonfiction," Susan notes, "or how well-researched your book is...unless kids can relate to the story you're telling and really care about your characters, they won't read it."
Her first published children's book, Silver at Night (1994, Crown), is a case in point. The picture book grew from stories told around her in-laws' dinner table about the lives of her husband's grandparents. Her research on the coal industry at the turn of the century was so extensive that she decided to write a nonfiction version-Growing Up In Coal Country (1996, Houghton). It has also received numerous awards. Another book which grew from family history is Dancing with Dziadziu (1997, Harcourt). Although the plot revolves around the impending death of a beloved grandmother, it is far from sad.
The initial idea for No Man's Land: A Young Soldier's Story grew out of a Civil War history course that Susan had taken. "I was drawn to the Southern point of view because it was a viewpoint that hadn't been covered in the history classes I took as a kid. History is often told from the vantage point of the winners."
Susan continues to research and spin her well-woven tales of ordinary people living extraordinary lives, putting the "story" into history for children.
Her young readers will enjoy her latest books, Kids on Strike, and a middle grade historical novel, Dear America: Annetka Kaminski, Coal Miner's Bride also scheduled to be published is a picture book, A Christmas Promise.
Contributor: Dianne Ochiltree
Further information about this author is available on her website www.scbartoletti.com
Reviews
A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska: Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The fictional account of a thirteen-year-old Polish girl's immigration to America in 1896 is based upon the political and social turmoil in Poland and the economic and social hardships of the coal mining life in Lattimer, Pennsylvania. The difficulties faced by Anetka Kaminska are told in an immediate, poignant story put down in the girl's diary. She buys the blank book though it is considered frivolous and even dangerous since she plans to write in Polish, a language now forbidden by the Russian Czar. Motherless and living with a young brother and grandmother in Sadowka, she expects her father to return to Poland from the coalmines of Pennsylvania. His letter calling for her to come and marry a coal miner is a shocking turn of events. How Anetka copes during and after the loveless marriage is particularized in telling detail. The diary ends soon after the Lattimer massacre of 1897 and with Anetka and Leon Nasevich, her true love, finally united. Photos and drawings of Lattimer and Poland, a Polish glossary, a recipe for potato dumplings, a coal mining song, maps, and notes from the author are all included. This is part of the "Dear America" series. 2000, Scholastic, Ages 12 up, $10.95. Reviewer: Carol Raker Collins
ISBN: 0-439-05386-2
Dancing With Dziadziu
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Illustrated by Annika Nelson
Gabriella dances for her beloved Babci (grandmother). She's a snowflake, and Babci says she's wonderful, but Gabriella knows she isn't-she just can't melt right. Easter is coming, but Babci is too sick to wait until spring, so Gabriella's family will celebrate two months early. Babci tells Gabriella stories of life in the old country, and even if Gabriella has heard the stories hundreds of times, she always wants to hear them again. She especially loves to hear of Babci's beloved Diadziu, with whom she will "soon be dancing...again." The illustrations suggest the old country, beautifully. A wonderfully moving story, a loving look at a family celebrating Easter with a beloved grandmother for the last time. 1997, Harcourt Brace, Ages 5 to 8, $15.00. Reviewer: Judy Silverman
ISBN: 0-15-200675-3
Growing Up in Coal Country
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
This is a fascinating history of the anthracite coal industry in Pennsylvania from the point of view of child laborers. How boys grew from "breakers" (who sorted the coal), to "nippers" (keepers of the underground gates), to "spraggers" (human brakes for careening coal cars), to mule drivers, and finally to full-fledged miners is worth the price of admission in itself. But Bartoletti's book goes way beyond this to describe the company towns, the labor disputes, and the ethnic animosity. She recreates a way of life. Wonderfully evocative black and white photos and selected excerpts from oral histories of survivors complete the picture. This book should make any frustrated schoolboy thank his lucky stars for the child labor laws that keep him in school-and not down in the mines. 1996, Houghton, Ages 9 up, $16.95. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
ISBN: 0-395-77847-6
Kids On Strike!
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Were America's child workers silent victims of inhumane working conditions...or did they sometimes fight back? Bartoletti, author of the critically acclaimed Growing up in Coal Country, studies this complex issue. Starting with an 1836 "turn-out" of New England mill girls led by eleven-year-old Harriet Hanson, the author tells the story of children who stood up for their rights against powerful company owners throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth century with her characteristically accessible style. This book includes a timeline of federal child labor laws, complete index, and extensive bibliography. The text is illustrated with more than one hundred photographs from yesterday's newspapers and journals, as well as prints from the archives of noted photo-essayist Lewis Hine. A product of years of in-depth research, this hardcover book is an invaluable resource tool for a school or public library. Today's children, reading about the social impact that these youth-led strikes made in the past, may be inspired to make their own voices heard on contemporary issues which will impact their future well-being. 1999, Houghton Mifflin Company, Ages 10 to 14, $20.00. Reviewer: Dianne Ochiltree
ISBN: 0-395-88892-1
No Man's Land
Susan Bartoletti
No matter how hard he tried, Thrasher just couldn't get Pap to see him as anything but weak and cowardly. Plagued by guilt after failing to save Pap from an alligator attack, Thrasher, though under age, joined the Okifinokee Rifles, a Georgia regiment, scheduled to join General Jackson. In the spring of 1862 the young boy embarked on a journey that would forever change his life. Through the long hot marches to Virginia, the tedium of camp life, and the overheard swaggering of fellow soldiers, Thrasher both longed for and feared the test of his mettle on the battlefield. While Thrasher questioned the meaning of honor and loyalty, he forged a deep friendship with a gentle soldier named Tim whose quiet ways taught Thrasher much. Under a truce flag, the Yanks and Rebs engaged in a spirited baseball game, further causing Thrasher to reflect on this war that pitted young poor boys against each other. When the day of battle came with all of its horrific sounds and smells, Thrasher discovered what the reader has known along, "there are some who are men at fourteen." Played out against the backdrop of the Civil War, this novel packed with action and introspection is a heartfelt coming-of-age story. The carnage of war, the brief friendships made, and the playful moments of lonely boys far from home are woven into a tight plot with careful writing that moves the gentle heart. 1999, Blue Sky Press/Scholastic, Ages 12 to 15, $15.95. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey
ISBN: 0-590-38371-X
Added 2000
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