50 Books about Labor

Compiled by Megan Schliesman
© 2012 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Originally developed in 2003 as part of a 12-month series in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Cooperative Children's Book Center, this bibliography was updated in 2012.

The bibliography is meant to suggest ways to explore labor and work through children's literature. The books on this list either feature work and workers (even if it isn't the theme of the book), or explore labor and related issues.

You might be interested in these other CCBC bibliographies that have books related to various kinds of work:

50 Books about the Arts

50 Books about Science and Scientists

50 Books about Writers and Writing

Click on underlined book titles to see the CCBC review of the book, and/or the cover image.
Complete list of CCBC bibliographies

On the Job: Workers All Around

Banerjee, Anjali. Seaglass Summer. Wendy Lamb Books, 2010. 163 pages. Ages 7-10

Banks, Kate. The Night Worker. Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 2 - 5

Borden, Louise. The A+ Custodian. Illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004. 38 pages. Ages 5-8

Chin-Lee, Cynthia. Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World. Illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy. Charlesbridge, 2005. 32 pages. Ages 5-10

Cumpiano, Ina. Quinito's Neighborhood = El Vecindario de Quinito. Illustrated by José Ramírez. Children's Book Press, 2005. 22 pages. Ages 3-5

Demarest, Chris L.. Firefighters A to Z. Margaret K. McElderry, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 5

Hopkinson, Deborah. Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Schwartz & Wade Books / Random House, 2006. 40 pages. Ages 5-9

Hudson, Cheryl Willis. Construction Zone. Photographed by Richard Sobol. Candlewick Press, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 4-8

Katz, Jon . Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm. Henry Holt, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 4-9

Levine, Arthur A. Monday Is One Day. Illustrated by Julian Hector. Scholastic Press, 2011. 28 pages. Ages 2-4

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. Who Will I Be, Lord?. Illustrated by Sean Qualls. Random House, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8

Perkins, Mitali. Rickshaw Girl. Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Charlesbridge, 2007. 91 pages. Ages 8-10

Pilkey, Dav. The Paperboy. Orchard, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 7

Williams, Vera B.. A Chair for My Mother. Greenwillow, 1982. Ages 4 - 9

Busy Lives: Working Teens

Bauer, Joan. Rules of the Road. G.P. Putnam, 1998. 201 pages. Ages 13-16

Connor, Leslie. Crunch. Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2010. 330 pages. Ages 10 - 13

Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light. Harcourt, 2003. 400 pages. Age 13 -18

Jiménez, Francisco. Reaching Out. Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 196 pages. Age 12 and older

King, A. S.. Please Ignore Vera Dietz. Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 326 pages. Ages 14 and older

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 278 pages. Ages 13-16

Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem Summer. Scholastic Press, 2007. 165 pages. Ages 12-15

Na, An. The Fold. Putnam, 2008. 280 pages. Age 12 and older

Reinhardt, Dana . How to Build a House. Wendy Lamb Books / Random House, 2008. 227 pages. Age 14 and older

Stork, Francisco X.. Marcelo in the Real World. Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic, 2009. 312 pages. Ages 14 and older

Many Hands: Collaborative Work

Cooper, Elisha. Farm. Orchard Books/Scholastic, 2010. 48 pages. Ages 4 - 9

Gershator, David and Phillis. Bread Is for Eating. Illustrated by Emma Shaw Smith. Henry Holt, 1995. 28 pages. Ages 4 - 8

Hawkins, Aaron R.. The Year Money Grew on Trees. Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. 293 pages. Ages 9 - 12

Lyon, George Ella. You and Me and Home Sweet Home. Illustrated by Stephanie Anderson. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 4 - 8

Marcus, Leonard S.. Side by Side: Five Favorite Picture-Book Teams Go to Work. Walker, 2001. 64 pages. Ages 8 - adult

Newhouse, Maxwell. The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew. Tundra, 2010. 24 pages. Ages 4 - 7

Nivola, Claire A.. Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. 32 pages. Ages 8-12

Pinkney, Jerry . The Little Red Hen. Dial, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 3-6

Purmell, Ann. Maple Syrup Season . Illustrated by Jill Weber. Holiday House, 32 pages. Ages 5-9

Rosen, Michael J.. Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family’s Farm. Darby Creek, 2008. 144 pages. Ages 8-14

Hand in Hand: The Hard Work of Activism

Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Women's Right to Vote. National Geographic, 2004. 111 pages. Ages 11-14

George, Madeleine. The Difference Between You and Me. Viking, 2012. 256 pages. Age 12 and older

Gillem-Robinet, Harriette. Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues. Atheneum, 2000. 146 pages. Ages 8-11

Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Harcourt, 2003. 48 pages. Ages 5 - 9

Marrin, Albert. Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 182 pages. Age 12 and older

Mason, Margaret H.. These Hands. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 5-9

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Little, Brown and Company, 2010. 40 pages. Ages 7 - 10

All Work and No Play: Child Labor

Atkin, S. Beth. Voices from the Fields: Children of Migrant Farmworkers Tell Their Stories. Joy Street/Little, Brown, 1993. 96 pages. Ages 9 - 14

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Kids on Strike!. Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 208 pages. Ages 11 - 16

Ellis, Deborah. I Am a Taxi. Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press, 2006. 205 pages. Ages 10-14

McCully, Emily Arnold. The Bobbin Girl. Dial, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 8 - 11

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic, 2000. 262 pages. Ages 10 - 14

This list may be reproduced and distributed by educational and/or nonprofit organizations so long as credit is given to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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	Awards & Best-of-the-Year Lists CCBC Bibliographies & Booklists Charlotte Zolotow Award CCBC Online Presentations CCBC Podcasts CCBC Specialized Information CCBC - Net 50 Books about Labor Compiled by Megan Schliesman © 2012 Cooperative Children's Book Center Originally developed in 2003 as part of a 12-month series in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Cooperative Children's Book Center, this bibliography was updated in 2012. The bibliography is meant to suggest ways to explore labor and work through children's literature. The books on this list either feature work and workers (even if it isn't the theme of the book), or explore labor and related issues. You might be interested in these other CCBC bibliographies that have books related to various kinds of work: 50 Books about the Arts 50 Books about Science and Scientists 50 Books about Writers and Writing Click on underlined book titles to see the CCBC review of the book, and/or the cover image. Complete list of CCBC bibliographies On the Job: Workers All Around Banerjee, Anjali. Seaglass Summer. Wendy Lamb Books, 2010. 163 pages. Ages 7-10 Banks, Kate. The Night Worker. Illustrated by Georg Hallensleben. Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 2 - 5 Borden, Louise. The A+ Custodian. Illustrated by Adam Gustavson. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004. 38 pages. Ages 5-8 Chin-Lee, Cynthia. Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World. Illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy. Charlesbridge, 2005. 32 pages. Ages 5-10 Cumpiano, Ina. Quinito's Neighborhood = El Vecindario de Quinito. Illustrated by José Ramírez. Children's Book Press, 2005. 22 pages. Ages 3-5 Demarest, Chris L.. Firefighters A to Z. Margaret K. McElderry, 2000. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 5 Hopkinson, Deborah. Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building. Illustrated by James E. Ransome. Schwartz & Wade Books / Random House, 2006. 40 pages. Ages 5-9 Hudson, Cheryl Willis. Construction Zone. Photographed by Richard Sobol. Candlewick Press, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 4-8 Katz, Jon . Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm. Henry Holt, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 4-9 Levine, Arthur A. Monday Is One Day. Illustrated by Julian Hector. Scholastic Press, 2011. 28 pages. Ages 2-4 Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux. Who Will I Be, Lord?. Illustrated by Sean Qualls. Random House, 2009. 32 pages. Ages 5 - 8 Perkins, Mitali. Rickshaw Girl. Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Charlesbridge, 2007. 91 pages. Ages 8-10 Pilkey, Dav. The Paperboy. Orchard, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 3 - 7 Williams, Vera B.. A Chair for My Mother. Greenwillow, 1982. Ages 4 - 9 Busy Lives: Working Teens Bauer, Joan. Rules of the Road. G.P. Putnam, 1998. 201 pages. Ages 13-16 Connor, Leslie. Crunch. Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, 2010. 330 pages. Ages 10 - 13 Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light. Harcourt, 2003. 400 pages. Age 13 -18 Jiménez, Francisco. Reaching Out. Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 196 pages. Age 12 and older King, A. S.. Please Ignore Vera Dietz. Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 326 pages. Ages 14 and older Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 278 pages. Ages 13-16 Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem Summer. Scholastic Press, 2007. 165 pages. Ages 12-15 Na, An. The Fold. Putnam, 2008. 280 pages. Age 12 and older Reinhardt, Dana . How to Build a House. Wendy Lamb Books / Random House, 2008. 227 pages. Age 14 and older Stork, Francisco X.. Marcelo in the Real World. Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic, 2009. 312 pages. Ages 14 and older Many Hands: Collaborative Work Cooper, Elisha. Farm. Orchard Books/Scholastic, 2010. 48 pages. Ages 4 - 9 Gershator, David and Phillis. Bread Is for Eating. Illustrated by Emma Shaw Smith. Henry Holt, 1995. 28 pages. Ages 4 - 8 Hawkins, Aaron R.. The Year Money Grew on Trees. Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. 293 pages. Ages 9 - 12 Lyon, George Ella. You and Me and Home Sweet Home. Illustrated by Stephanie Anderson. A Richard Jackson Book / Atheneum, 2009. 40 pages. Ages 4 - 8 Marcus, Leonard S.. Side by Side: Five Favorite Picture-Book Teams Go to Work. Walker, 2001. 64 pages. Ages 8 - adult Newhouse, Maxwell. The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew. Tundra, 2010. 24 pages. Ages 4 - 7 Nivola, Claire A.. Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai. Frances Foster Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. 32 pages. Ages 8-12 Pinkney, Jerry . The Little Red Hen. Dial, 2006. 32 pages. Ages 3-6 Purmell, Ann. Maple Syrup Season . Illustrated by Jill Weber. Holiday House, 32 pages. Ages 5-9 Rosen, Michael J.. Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family’s Farm. Darby Creek, 2008. 144 pages. Ages 8-14 Hand in Hand: The Hard Work of Activism Bausum, Ann. With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Women's Right to Vote. National Geographic, 2004. 111 pages. Ages 11-14 George, Madeleine. The Difference Between You and Me. Viking, 2012. 256 pages. Age 12 and older Gillem-Robinet, Harriette. Walking to the Bus-Rider Blues. Atheneum, 2000. 146 pages. Ages 8-11 Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Harcourt, 2003. 48 pages. Ages 5 - 9 Marrin, Albert. Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 182 pages. Age 12 and older Mason, Margaret H.. These Hands. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 32 pages. Ages 5-9 Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. Little, Brown and Company, 2010. 40 pages. Ages 7 - 10 All Work and No Play: Child Labor Atkin, S. Beth. Voices from the Fields: Children of Migrant Farmworkers Tell Their Stories. Joy Street/Little, Brown, 1993. 96 pages. Ages 9 - 14 Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Kids on Strike!. Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 208 pages. Ages 11 - 16 Ellis, Deborah. I Am a Taxi. Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press, 2006. 205 pages. Ages 10-14 McCully, Emily Arnold. The Bobbin Girl. Dial, 1996. 32 pages. Ages 8 - 11 Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic, 2000. 262 pages. Ages 10 - 14 This list may be reproduced and distributed by educational and/or nonprofit organizations so long as credit is given to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.