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28th out of 52 books
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16 voters
Cotton In My Sack (American Regional)
by
Lois Lenski
Joanda's family are sharecroppers growing cotton in Arkansas. The children share in a life of hard work and poverty. A revealing tale of life among the sharecroppers, tenants, and farm-owners in cotton country.
Hardcover, 190 pages
Published
1949
by J.B. Lippincott
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My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Rothgeb, gave me this book. It's been ages since I read it & when I was debating putting it out in my book exchange, I realized I wanted to read it again. It's a wonderful story, set in the late 1940's in Arkansas cotton picking country. The children in the story work hard & learn lots of valuable life lessons, but it never feels like a moral tale. Although it has some dated references, it's a wonderful retrospective on life during this era, and I'd recommend i...more
Feb 21, 2011
Judy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
children 8-12; also as a read-aloud
Shelves:
children-s-lit,
books-from-1949
This is the sixth book in Lois Lenski's American Regional Series. I missed it when reading the list of books from 1949, so I am adding it now. I also missed posting The Family Read yesterday, but since today is a school holiday, I am getting away with it!
Joanda's family are white share croppers in the cotton fields of Louisiana. The cotton grows almost right up to the walls of their tiny shack. To keep their lives going, the whole family picks cotton or helps in some way appropriate to their si...more
Joanda's family are white share croppers in the cotton fields of Louisiana. The cotton grows almost right up to the walls of their tiny shack. To keep their lives going, the whole family picks cotton or helps in some way appropriate to their si...more
Lois Lenski did this wonderful series about working children in America. They are somewhat out of date (they usually take place in the first half of the 20th century) but that doesn't make them less moving. Also, issues of poverty and class are ALWAYS relevant, and books like Cotton in My Sack and Strawberry Girl do a wonderful job of getting that conversation going with a young person.
I read this at the same time as Nickle and Dimed and there were plenty of disturbing parallels. It was very int...more
I read this at the same time as Nickle and Dimed and there were plenty of disturbing parallels. It was very int...more
I don't remember too much about his one other than that I liked it a lot and when it seemed like everyone else was reading Strawberry Girl to the point that I felt I may have (haven't yet but I do have a copy) I read this one instead. If you like trying other books that are somewhat like Side B of the record. Think I dated myself with that wording! Anyway, if you're up for some nostalgia or need something different for your kids or grandkids I suggest giving this one a try.
This is one of Lois Lenski's American Regional Series, about a dirt poor, cotton-picking white sharecropper family in Arkansas. After writing Strawberry Girl, Lenski was invited by Arkansas children who had heard it dramatized on the radio to come to cotton country. She spent time there in 1947 and wrote and illustrated this fictionalized account of the hardscrabble life.
This is a completely fascinating look at Arkansas cotton workers in the forties that comes complete with numerous lessons on economics. How Lenski managed to pack all this into a children's book that is still actually accessible to children is beyond me.
I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written portrayal of the life of an Arkansas family of cotton pickers.
I discovered Lois Lenski as a child in the new Beech Grove Indiana library and loved them all!
Dec 07, 2010
Jasmine Roberson
added it
has to do with picking cotton- the story of a little girl- story of a family and independence
My dad gave this book to me for Christmas one year and I read it over and over.
Favorite book as a child.
Again, we learn a little about cotton picking sharecroppers and what it takes to get ahead. A 10-year-old girl is the focus of the story. While we learn about her, she learns about "rich folk" who may also have debts and troubles.
May 14, 2013
Cheyenne
added it
Apr 18, 2013
Kay Diers
marked it as to-read
Apr 10, 2013
Amy
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2013
Iroulito91
marked it as to-read
Mar 24, 2013
Tw
marked it as to-read
Mar 24, 2013
Geni Allen
marked it as to-read
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Lenski
Many of Lenski's books can be collated into 'series' - but since they don't have to be read in order, you may be better off just looking for more information here: http://library.illinoisstate.edu/uniq...
Probably her most famous set is the following:
American Regional Series
Beginning with Bayou Suzette in 1943, Lois Lenski began writing a series of books whic...more
More about Lois Lenski...
Many of Lenski's books can be collated into 'series' - but since they don't have to be read in order, you may be better off just looking for more information here: http://library.illinoisstate.edu/uniq...
Probably her most famous set is the following:
American Regional Series
Beginning with Bayou Suzette in 1943, Lois Lenski began writing a series of books whic...more
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