Books like Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop

In 1910 Pownal, Vermont, the furnace of the cotton mill dominates the Mathison family’s life. At twelve, Grace and her best friend Arthur are forced to abandon school and doffer on their mothers’ looms, a demanding right‑handed task that challenges Grace’s left‑handed hands. Their mother is the fastest worker in the mill, and Grace’s anxiety grows as each mistake hurts her family’s livelihood. Grace finds solace only on Sundays, when her seamstress teacher secretly teaches her needlework techniques. Together with Arthur, she pens a clandestine letter to the Child Labor Board, exposing the harsh realities of underage workers in Pownal. Just weeks later, the famed reformer Lewis Hine arrives with a camera, undercover, to gather evidence for the board. His photographs of Grace and the mill workers prove pivotal, giving Grace a new sense of self, hope for her future, and a possibility of change for her family. The story captures the tension of child labor, the resilience of working‑class families, and the power of documentation and advocacy in early twentieth‑century America.

First publish date: March 14, 2006