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Lyddie
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
7 posts | 17 read | 6 to read
Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.
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review
BarbaraJean
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Pickpick

I had great plans for #MiddleGradeMarch and I‘ve only read two. 🤷🏻‍♀️ This was one of them! I LOVED Paterson‘s books when I was a kid—The Great Gilly Hopkins, Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved—so I picked this up a while ago out of nostalgia for a favorite author. Of course it sat on the shelf for years. 😆 This is so different from the ones I loved as a kid, but it has the same depth of characterization that I responded to back then.⬇️

BarbaraJean 13-year-old Lyddie leaves rural Vermont to work in the city—hoping to help pay off her family‘s debts quickly then reunite the family on her beloved farm. The novel demonstrates Lyddie‘s growth & determination in the midst of the terrible working conditions she encounters. As historical fiction, this does a fantastic job: painting a vivid picture of what life was like for women & girls working in the textile mills in Lowell, Mass. in the 1840s. ⬇️ 7mo
BarbaraJean Not a major issue, but my one quibble was that the writing felt aimed at middle grade readers, but also referenced some topics that seemed a bit above that age level, specifically: sexual harassment/attempted assault and a character who gets pregnant out of wedlock. I don't necessarily feel any of the content was inappropriate, but it felt like an audience/tone mismatch. 7mo
BarbaraJean This one checks off 1991 for #192025. 🎉 @librarybelle 7mo
See All 7 Comments
sblbooks This sounds so good. I stacked it. 7mo
Librarybelle I read this so long ago, probably around the time it was published! 7mo
BarbaraJean @sblbooks I really liked it. Paterson is solid!! @Librarybelle I think I was only a couple years past the age of ordering this from a Scholastic book club when it was published! The edition I have is from the Trumpet Book Club and is signed by the author, dated 10/1/92. Her note opens with: “Dear Trumpet Club Reader“ 😍 7mo
Librarybelle So cool!! I have my copy somewhere…I‘m sure I picked it up at a Scholastic book fair. 7mo
37 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
Roary47
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Mehso-so

Recommended to me by a student. A story about a young girl determined to provide for her family. She learns a lot as she works with the machines in the factory. She is also not spared heartache throughout.

review
ImperfectCJ
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Pickpick

I enjoyed listening to this novel about a young woman forced to move out into the world and make her way in 1840s New England. The characters are somewhat overly simplistic but not ridiculously so, and the story itself is engaging. The novel also ended at the right time in that it stopped before I grew bored and at a point where I really wanted to know what happened next.

(This is a title from the Build Your Library Level 5 curriculum booklist.)

49 likes1 stack add
review
ravenlee
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Pickpick

A qualified pick, this isn‘t age-appropriate for my kiddo this time through our history studies, so I‘ll put it aside for next time. Specifically I‘m not ready for a conversation with a 7-year-old about workplace sexual assault and unwed pregnancy “ruining” a girl.

Trying to salvage her family farm, Lyddie must leave her home and enter service. After a stint as a maid she goes into factory work to earn a better wage. (Cont)

ravenlee Blurb makes it sound like Lyddie becomes a union organizer, which is misleading. Most of the story focuses on Lyddie working her butt off for two years trying to pay off a debt on her farm. Not much resolution and uncertain passage of time bothered me, but there‘s a lot to discuss in this novel, so I‘d recommend it as a book to read in conjunction with other studies, probably not alone. 4y
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review
B00kNerd746
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Pickpick

Good book

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blurb
Mlegg
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Lyddie is a great historical fiction book for young readers to experience. It dives deep into the lives of Lyddie and her little brother as they work to try and support their family and bring them all back together, but soon their friend gets sick and Lyddie has to help her. Here is a lesson plan to go along with the reading: http://www.econedlink.org/teacher-lesson/702/Work-Earnings-Economics-Using-Lyddi...
UCFLAE3414sp17

DrSpalding Economics and quality children's literature; I love it! The ECONED link is excellent. This would be an excellent choice as a literature circle during an economics unit, 8y
AnastasiaH I loved this book when I was younger! What a great connection you can make to history and children working in factories. 8y
Langlied I have never heard of this book but based on your review for it I would definitely consider reading this and using it as a lit circle book in my future classroom. 8y
2 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
SGB
Lyddie | Katherine Paterson
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this historical fiction account of a Vermont girl who must leave Vermont to earn a living in a Massachusetts mill. Details were real as they were horrifying. I highly recommend it.