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10 young adult books for smart readers of all ages

Here are 10 young adult books for readers of all ages who like to learn.

4. "Strike! The Farm Workers’ Fight for Their Rights," by Larry Dane Brimner

  • By Ross Atkin Contributor

(Calkins Creek, 172 pp.)

The struggle for adequate wages for California field hands in the 1960s, which brought labor activist Cesar Chavez to national prominence during a campaign of strikes and boycotts, is retold in this richly illustrated and researched work.

EXCERPT:

“In December 1970, Chavez was arrested and jailed for ignoring a court order to stop boycotting another major lettuce producer in the region, Bud Antle, Incorporated. When Ethel Kennedy, Robert’s widow, heard about Chavez’s arrest, she decided to show her support by visiting him in the Salinas jail. She was at once surrounded by a hostile, antiunion mob, shouting epithets and spitting on her. Robert Kennedy had seen in Chavez a man who was fighting to lift up the poor, something Kennedy himself had tried to do. The two had formed a strong friendship over talks of politics, religion, and the role of unions in America. After Robert Kennedy’s assassination, Chavez remained close to the family. He recognized that the Kennedy brothers – John and Robert – were hugely popular among the Chicano farm workers he was trying to attract and encourage.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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