Rosa's mother is singing again, for the first time since Papa died in an accident in the mills. But instead of filling their cramped tenement apartment with Italian lullabies, Mamma is out on the streets singing union songs, and Rosa is terrified that her mother and older sister, Anna, are endangering their lives by marching against the corrupt mill owners. After all, didn't Miss Finch tell the class that the strikers are nothing but rabble-rousers--an uneducated, violent mob? Suppose Mamma and Anna are jailed or, worse, killed? What will happen to Rosa and little Ricci?

When Rosa is sent to Vermont with other children to live with strangers until the strike is over, she fears she will never see her family again. Then, on the train, a boy begs her to pretend that he is her brother. Alone and far from home, she agrees to protect him . . . even though she suspects that he is hiding some terrible secret.

From a beloved, award-winning author, here is a moving story based on real events surrounding an infamous 1912 strike.

A two-time Newbery Medalist and National Book Award winner pens a tale of the 1912 mill workers' strike, told through the point of view of the children living through the historical events.

Newbery-author Katherine Paterson's tale of the 1912 mill workers' strike — in paperback!

Rosa’s mother is singing again—union songs. She’s joined the strike against the corrupt mill owners. Rosa is terrified. What if Mamma is jailed or, worse, killed?

Jake’s dad threatened to kill him if he joined the strike. For Jake, that is reason enough to do so.

Then Rosa, Jake, and the other children living in the middle of the strike are offered a very special opportunity: To live in Vermont until the strike is over. For Rosa, being away from her family is worse than seeing them in harm’s way. For Jake, it’s a chance to start over. For both of them, it’s a time of growing up.

Katherine Paterson’s international fame rests not only on her widely acclaimed novels but also on her efforts to promote literacy in the U.S. and abroad. A two-time winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, she was the 1998 recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal and was recently given the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts by her home state of Vermont. Her latest novel for Clarion was The Same Stuff as Stars.

She lives in Barre, Vermont, where part of this story takes place.

Katherine Paterson is the recipient of the 2006 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which celebrates her life’s work. For more infromation visit www.terabithia.com.