Synopses & Reviews
CHICAGO, 1886. Twelve-year-old Dinah Bell is too young to be working twelve-hour days. But to the factory and mill owners, age doesn't matter. In fact nothing seems to matter to them except how much work gets done. But Dinah and workers like her have many concerns: Food is scarce, wages are small, and hope seems out of reach.
Dinah's father knows there must be a better way -- that's why he and eight thousand others are planning to march for an eight-hour day. But when her father is taken prisoner for helping to plan the march, Dinah is desperate to rescue him. As the march gives way to a terrifying riot, Dinah faces constant danger and a persistent question: What will become of her family if she does not set her father free?
About the Author
Harriette Gillem Robinet, a Washington, D.C., native, graduated from the College of New Rochelle, New York, and from graduate studies at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the National Writers Union.
Robinet felt compelled to write the story of the labor struggle for the eight-hour day. In Chicago, emotions still boil over the Haymarket tragedy, and year-round wreaths are placed at the Haymarket Monument. She was proud to be present when that monument was made a national memorial.
She and her husband, McLouis Robinet, live in Oak Park, Illinois, and have six children and four grandchildren.