Night of the Burning Tents

"A vivid account of the Ludlow Massacre--one of the most shameful events in American history, told by the children who lived through it"

 

When her dad is killed in a mining accident, 12 year-old Katie Scully takes on the job of supporting her family. Wearing her brother's clothes, she enters the rough and tumble, boys-only world of the coal breaker. Bullied by the meanest boy in the breaker, Katie learns how to fight back. Soon the breaker boys are caught up in the Great Coalfield Strike of 1913. Enraged over dangerous conditions in the mines, Colorado's coal miners form a union and walk out, setting up living quarters in tents just outside the town of Ludlow. The union survives, despite hunger, cold, the worst blizzard in Colorado history, and the harassment of  machine gun-wielding thugs. Determined to break the strike, the mine owners send State Guardsmen to destroy the tent city. Under cover of darkness, soldiers torch the camp, killing fourteen women and children--an event that becomes known as the Ludlow Massacre. The Guard's brutal commander claims the fire was an accident. Katie, the only witness to the atrocity, now faces an agonizing decision: keep quiet in fear of what might happen to her own family, or step forward and tell the truth, hoping to find justice for the victims.

 

"Vivid period details, strong characters, and a rip-roaring pace" --ARC reviewer   

 

"Thrilling--not a dull moment" --ARC reviewer 

 

"Brings life and dimension to labor history. The hard experiences of these young characters illuminates what the union struggle was about, and what was endured to win decent working conditions for all Americans. The kids in the story laugh, make friends, make do, and begin to make decisions for themselves. Children will keep turning pages to see what happens to their favorites."  --Kevin O'Connell, author of Pearl Harbor, the Missing Motive