Pat Hughes

Author Pat Hughes writes this fictional account of the lives of coal miners and mine owners from the view of both. Her husband's ancestors were the Pardees who owned collieries and she is descended from Italian immigrants who worked the mines.

The writing style is somewhat rough, but the story is intriguing. The son of a wealthy family, who after his mother's death is angry at the world and unable to get along with anyone, by chance meets a miner's son who invites him to play baseball, starting a friendship. The impossibility of the situation becomes acute when a strike is called.

Pair this book with non-fiction books on child Labor (Growing up in Coal Country). It uses all the terms explained in the nonfiction work. A suggested companion text for middle school readers is Theodore Roosevelt: Letters from a Young Coal Miner by Jennifer Armstrong… (más)

Nicky Tag! Nicky Tag!
Hockey fans have been cheering for Nick Taglio since he was a little kid.
Nick was born to skate. He's only a sophomore, but he rules the ice, because Nicky Tags' a fighter. Which means he has to take some hits; concussions come with the territory. When Nicky suffers yet another head injury, though, his doctor and his parents tell him he can never play again. Too dangerous, they say. He can't risk his future.
But they don't understand that without hockey, Nick has no future. It's not a game. It's his life.
Open Ice makes readers feel what it's like to love a game so much you'll play no matter what the cost.… (más)