I absolutely believe that this novel could help children to understand and care about history. Children went to work when they were only in what would be our equivalent of middle school. If that doesn’t help a child today understand what life was like, I’m not sure what would. Especially when the author talks about what the mill was like and what they did every day for 12 hours.

This novel did help me to understand the time period. I understood what it was like for immigrants at the time. They really didn’t have any choice in how their lives would turn out. They lived in mill housing, they had to work in mills, or they would be homeless.

I don’t know that this novel made me want to learn more about the time period. It made me want to learn more about child labor. Counting on Grace helped me understand the tight spot families were in at the time.

The themes in Counting on Grace could be relevant to our time. Children often do drop out of high school to get jobs at 15 and 16 to help their families with finances. The novel does talk about how important it is for families to stick together, not explicitly, but the fact that housing is multi-generational speaks volumes.

This book, written for about 8-12-year-olds, is one adults can enjoy as well. It's historical fiction, based on facts and real people. The story and the cover photo of a real girl are both haunting. Grace, who can speak both French and English and can read, is sent to work in a mill in 1910 Vermont. Her mother and sister work there, as do many in her small town. She misses school and her friend Arthur, who also reads well. This is the story of child labor in factories, of Grace's family and others, and events that happen during this time. Grace is a spunky child with a sharp awareness of herself and others. Wonderful book for young readers and adults alike. Well researched.

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I read this piece of historical fiction for my daughter’s book club and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s sad to think that families had to take young children out of school so that they could work to help keep a roof over their head and food on the table. Although not touched on in the book, the truth of the matter is that it still happens today in some areas of the country. ( )

Grace was such a captivating character! She really drove this story. I was sad to see it end because I wanted to hear more about what happened to her has she grew up. ( )

Grace and her French-Canadian family live in a mill town in Vermont.
Grace is looking forward to helping support the family by working as a
doffer with her mother in the fabric mill, but her teacher Miss Lesley
insists that all the kids get their education. She particularly
encourages Grace to study for the Normal School certification test and become a teacher. Instead, Grace joins her family at the mill but finds herself unsuited to the monotony and hard work. During one of her shifts, a photographer visitssss the mill on the ruse of photographing machinery for the "head office." It is actually Lewis Hines of the National Child Labor Committee. He promises Grace and her friend Arthur that he will work on getting them out of the mill. Miss Lesley, too, is active in exposing the abuse of child labor. Grace eventually does escape the mill with her parents' blessing: Miss Lesley has been fired for her anti-mill activity and Grace is teaching temporarily, with hopes for a better future. ( )