Factory Girl

by Barbara Greenwood

At the dingy, overcrowded Acme Garment Factory, Emily Watson stands for eleven hours a day clipping threads from blouses. She can't talk to the other girls who work beside her. She can't even look up or the boss will snarl at her.

Every time the boss passes, he shouts at her to snip faster. But if Emily snips too fast, she could ruin the garment and be docked pay. if she works too slowly, she will be fired. She desperately needs this job. Without the four dollars a week it brings, her family will starve. Emily Watson is twelver years old.

When a young reporter arrives, determined to expose the terrible conditions in the factory, Emily finds herself caught between the desperation of the immigrant girls she works with and the hope of change. Then tragedy strikes, and Emily must decide where her loyalties lie.

Ages 9-12

Time period: 1912