Growing Up in a New Century, 1890 to 1914

by Judith Pinkerton Josephson

Book Overview

The turn of the century brought big changes for America and for American children. Although many children worked in factories and mines, others like President Roosevelt's eight-year-old son, Kermit,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822506572
• ISBN13: 9780822506577
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Lerner Publications
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.3" x 10.4"
• Age Range: 9 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

Growing Up -- It's Hard to Do In Any Era! Great Introduction to Life in the Early 20th Century

If you are in search of ways to realistically illustrate what life was like in the recent past (specifically with regards to children), I don't think you can go wrong with a book fro the Our America series! At the very beginning of the text, Miller points out that "Studying history is a way of snooping into the past." I think this is a very apt description and one that has specific appeal for young readers. I like that this section (Note to Readers) details how and where the author (or anyone who writes about history really) obtained their information, I think young readers can relate to that and be excited by it...because it is something they can apply in their own lives and use it to learn about their own family histories! After the introduction, the text gives a brief introduction the text goes directly into detailing the lives of children starting in the early 20th century and moving forward. Growing Up in a New Century: 1890-1914 covers the lives of children from the very richest (Kermit Roosevelt, for example) to the very poorest and everything in between. Readers get views of life in the city, life in the country, life before schools were common for all children and after public schooling started to become more common. Throughout, readers are treated to actual black and white photos from the time period chosen specifically to illustrate the points made in the text. We get glimpses of the work children were required to do, the play they engaged in, and how they were educated (if they were)...this text is a straight forward, informative introduction to this era in American history and is, I believe a fantastic way for young readers to learn more about people their own age in different times! This book would make fantastic classroom discussion (and/or group project material) and could be extended to assignments given outside of the classroom on researching one's family history during this time period, to see what life was like for their own grandparents or great grand parents! Rounding out the text are some activities that can be done alone or in a group setting, notes on the text, bibliography, further reading selections and even an index! Overall, I think this slim volume (coming in at 60 or so pages) presents a lot of great information in a way that young readers can understand and enjoy it and which would serve as an excellent jumping off point for a study unit on American social life and customs in the early 20th century, I give it 5 stars and 2 thumbs up! I would recommend it in a heart beat and think it (and the rest of the Our America Series) would make a wonderful addition to any classroom library!

Growing up Now-- Compared to Growing Up Then

Ms. Josephson's book is finely researched and beautifully written. The stories she tells and the pictures she provides give the reader a true feel of what it was like growing up a one hundred years ago. I totally enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone. It would be a great gift- and a wonderful addition to everyone's library. BUY IT!!!!!