Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Children's Nonfiction Post-confederation (1867-)

Fight On!

Cape Breton Coal Miners,1900-1925

by (author) Joanne Schwartz

Publisher
Nimbus Publishing
Initial publish date
Jul 2020
Category
Post-Confederation (1867-), Politics & Government, General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781771088565
    Publish Date
    Jul 2020
    List Price
    $18.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781774710074
    Publish Date
    Jul 2020
    List Price
    $8.99

Add it to your shelf

Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 7 to 10
  • Grade: 2 to 5

Description

In early twentieth-century Cape Breton, coal mines stretched far out under the ocean. The workers, mostly men, but also children and ponies, spent all day in the dark, damp mines. Each day the workers descended into the mines, they risked never seeing sunlight or their families again. They were miserable and fearful, working in dangerous conditions where fatal accidents were common.

So the brave miners took matters into their own hands, and stood up to the companies treating them this way. They went on strike again and again, suffering from starvation, disease, freezing winters, and violence at the hands of the mine owners and police. Fight On! tells the stories of these miners and their families, Cape Breton heroes who fought against corporate greed, putting their livelihoods on the line for better conditions and healthier families and communities.

The newest installment in the award-winning Compass series, Fight On! is at once an engaging history and a passionate call to action against injustice. Includes dozens of modern and archival colour photos and illustrations, a glossary of terms, index, and informative sidebars.

All of the author's royalties will be donated to the Cape Breton Miners' Museum in Glace Bay.

About the author

Joanne Schwartz was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Her first picture book, Our Corner Grocery Store, illustrated by Laura Beingessner, was nominated for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Her other books include City Alphabet and City Numbers, with photos by Matt Beam, and two Inuit folktales with Cape Dorset elder Qaunaq Mikkigak — The Legend of the Fog, illustrated by Danny Christopher, and Grandmother Ptarmigan, illustrated by Qin Leng. Joanne has been a children’s librarian for more than twenty-five years. She lives in Toronto.

Joanne Schwartz's profile page

Other titles by