Jane Addams: Pioneer Social Worker

Author: Charnan Simon
Publisher: Children's Press
Copyright: 1997
Genre: Biography
Pages: 43
Reading Level: Ages 9 to 12 (Barnes and Noble)
Summary: This book tells the story of Jane Addams, one of the first social workers in America. She was born in 1860 when the Civil War was going on. Her mother had died while she was very young but she had four older siblings, her father and eventually a step-mother who all took very good care of her. Her father was a Quaker, and a good friend of Abraham Lincoln. He did not believe in slavery and he taught her many important lessons about caring for people. When Jane was just twenty years old, her father died and shortly after that, she had a dangerous operation on her back. She was unhappy and tired but she still went to college. After she graduated, she went to Europe with a friend, Ellen Gates Starr. While in London they saw what the English called "settlement houses," which were houses where poor families could come to get a little help like food, shelter and a safe place for kids to play. This sparked her interest. Jane decided to start the first settlement house in America in Chicago Illinois. Her father had left her a lot of money when he died so she used this money to get started. With Ellen's help, Jane founded "Hull House" in the middle of an immigrant neighborhood. Next to Hull House she started the first daycare and build the first public playground. Soon, people started coming to Hull House to work for Jane and to get trained in social work. By this time, Hull House was a full community center offering English lessons to immigrants, activities of all sorts, rental rooms for young working women, and even college classes. Jane also worked to change laws to make life better for people. She fought in favor of labor laws, children's rights, women's rights as well as helping organize the Woman's Peace Party, which spoke out against war (during World War I). She traveled around the world for many years trying to encourage cooperation between nations. People in America began to truly respect her and she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. When she died at the age of seventy-four, thousands of people came to her funeral. Her work through Hull House continued and although the city has changed, Hull House has been preserved and is now a museum to honor and learn about all that happened there and the life of Jane Addams.
Who would you recommend this book to? I would recommend this book to older children in schools who are learning either about influential women or about helping people and treating all people fairly. I would say that it is a good book to help school age children understand how they can change lives by caring about people.
Potential problems or conflicts: I don't see any potential problems or conflicts with this book.
My reaction: This was a good book. It was really interesting to read about this woman's dedication to help people and to make the world a better, safer place for everyone. I'm not sure this would be a book that kids would pick up on their own but I think that reading it with an adult, it could be a very inspiring book for kids.