Coal Camp Girl

American Regional

by Lois Lenski

Back in print from Purple House Press! The sharp blast of the mine whistle echoed through the valley, sending nine-year-old Tina Wilson on flying feet down to greet her father as he returned from his day's work at the coal mine. It was a custom for every father to have a treat in his bucket, and the miners’ children scrambled to be first to get theirs.

But the mine whistle could mean other things in the lives of the miners and their families. Sometimes it was the signal for disaster. And sometimes it did not blow at all, when the mines were closed and there was no work for the men. Tina and her brother and their friends learned some hard lessons about hunger and hardship that winter; but they also learned about hope and courage. And, of course, there were lots of happy times, too: square dances, a wedding, and rides on Grandfather's ponies.

As in all Lois Lenski’s regional books, the events in this story are based on true happenings, so her picture of life in a “coal camp” is a true snapshot of the 1950s. Written in 1959.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Classics, Fiction, Young Adult, American, Geography

173 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Lois Lenore Lenski Covey was an influential American author and illustrator whose work reshaped twentieth-century children’s literature through its combination of artistic skill, documentary realism, and deep empathy for childhood experience. Beginning her publishing career in the late 1920s, she went on to write and illustrate nearly one hundred books, ranging from picture books and historical novels to regional fiction, poetry, songbooks, and literary essays. She is best known for the Mr. Small picture book series, her meticulously researched historical novels, and her groundbreaking Regional books, which portrayed the everyday lives of children across diverse American communities.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Excellent depiction of an impoverished West VA coal camp family. There were so many hard times, starvation, mine accidents, times of no work, and loyalty to the coal company who would eventually hire the men back after laying them off. This book also has an excellent illustration of the Company Store and how scrip and actual pay day works.

[Qt]

Lovely illustrations and nicely detailed story of life in a mining town. I wasn't that engrossed by it, but I might well have been when I was younger.

[Judy]

Tina of the West Virginia hills is possibly the original Coal Miner's Daughter in literature. She is growing up as part of an entire extended family of coal miners in a time when conditions are dire. Mines are closing, machinery is taking jobs, and coal mining families are hungry during hard winters.


Lois Lenski brings all this to life. Tina's dad has no work for an entire winter. Her uncle suffers an accident in the mine and her brother gets lost in an abandoned mine with some friends.

The men are committed to being miners and their sons grow up wanting to be miners themselves. The story shows the fun and the dangers for the kids and the changes a family goes through as they must adapt to changing times. Coal Camp Girl, the fifteenth in Lenski's American Regional Series, moved onto my list of Lois Lenski favorites.

[Nann]

Tina Wilson and her family live in a coal mining town in West Virginia. Her father is a miner; her grandfather is mining pensioner. Times are changing and the mines are playing out (layoffs). There is drama (kids get lost in an abandoned mine), several accidents (from which people recover), and romance (Uncle Jack and Miss Helen, the schoolteacher).

The 14th out of the 17 "Regions of America" books written by Lois Lenski between 1943 and 1968. Though Coal Camp Girl is is somewhat less fleshed-out than the ROA books I've reread recently (Strawberry Girl and Judy's Journey), it's still a good snapshot of mid-century life in a part of the world far removed from my suburban childhood.

[Rmslis]

A book focusing on one family in particular and life in general in a coal camp, i. e. a small, residential area developed and built up by the mine owners and located close to the coal mines in which the local men worked. This particular coal camp was located in West Virginia in the mid 1900’s. The author provides detailed descriptions of everyday life for the local residents of the coal camp, the dangers experienced living there, and general descriptions and the hazards of the occupation of mining for coal.

I liked how the emphasis of the story was on the children in the community and how they coped with that particular life style.

[Nancy (Colorado)]

LOVED as a kid!

[Lydiaj]

I read several Lois Lenski books when I was a kid and this one was my favorite. I read it a lot and remember it fondly. I remember learning about company towns and company scrip from this.

[Emily]

There is a much more modern cover now-and it’s been republished ❤️ My 3rd grade daughter LOVED this book. It helped that we visited West Virginia a year and a half ago and toured a coal mine. It helped frame the book for her, to be sure. I now want to read it!

[Cheryl]

I must admit I didn't like this book in the series as much as some of the others. Mining disasters and poverty to the point that children are passing out in school from lack of food is hardly a warm and fuzzy read. Still, it was believable--and she writes kids in an honest way so that they aren't perfect, halo wearing cherubs.

[Andrea]

This is about Tina, a ten-year-old girl whose father works as a coal miner in West Virginia. The story has a strong sense of place; most of the action could only happen at this place and time. The coal town is definitely waning. There are plenty of references to abandoned houses and families who have moved away. There is a lot of hardship and poverty, and also plenty of family love and interest in the mine ponies. This is not as strong as Strawberry Girl but I still enjoyed it.

[Cynthia Daniel]

This is a nice little fictional book depicting the hardships and joys of coal camp life of the time. I first read this book when I was a child. I must say I enjoyed it more then, but I understand the adults in it better now.

[Rosemary]

Read this book when i was young and I loved it.

[Deevena Jemima]

Very nice

[Teresa Kartheiser]

Wonderful read aloud with the children

[Sharon]

Great children’s classic book about life in coal country

[Josephine]

Didn't like this quite as much as her earlier books, such as Strawberry Girl, but still interesting.

[Dianne Clay]

First book I ever read about social issues. Huge impact!