"An inspiring portrait of a woman committed to making a difference and whose influence is still felt to this day." --Kirkus Reviews

A young Jewish immigrant from Poland, Rose Schneiderman went to work in a cap factory in New York City when she was just thirteen years old.

She saw that women workers earned much less than men, that the factory was cold and dirty, without even clean water for the workers to drink. Rose spoke up for better conditions, and organized 20,000 women to walk out, leaving factories all over the city empty and still. Following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, Rose's speech at the Metropolitan Opera House galvanized support for better working conditions. The International Ladies Garment Workers Union was born.

Includes historical photos and bibliography, plus a note to families about tikkun olam, repairing the world, a core element of Jewish tradition.

One powerful voice can effect powerful change.

Polish Jewish immigrant Rose Schneiderman was 8 when she arrived in New York City with her parents in the late 19th century. Even as a child, she loved talking and arguing about ideas. At age 13, she left school to help support her family, finding employment in a hat factory. In early-20th-century New York, this meant buying her own sewing machine and enduring long hours in dirty, unsafe, and unfair working conditions. Having kept silent for fear of losing her much-needed job, Rose finally spoke up upon learning women earned less than men; organizing female co-workers to protest as a group was key, and some conditions improved, including wage increases. This victory of sorts eventually led to others. In 1909, Rose led a massive strike for factory workers’ rights. As time went on, more employees, employers, then journalists and politicians heeded this woman of small stature (only 4-foot-9) and big voice, and factory conditions continued to improve, particularly after her rousing address at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. This is a quiet, respectful, stirring look at a courageous workers’ rights champion, written in straightforward, accessible prose. The simple illustrations are cast mostly in brown shades, reflecting the somberness of poverty and dire labor practices. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An inspiring portrait of a woman committed to making a difference and whose influence is still felt to this day. (more about Rose Schneiderman, author's note) (Picture-book biography. 5-8) b--Kirkus Reviews

A diminu­tive red-head­ed immi­grant to the Unit­ed States who began work­ing full-time when she was thir­teen years old: Rose Schnei­der­man may seem an unlike­ly hero­ine or some­one des­tined to improve the lives of her fel­low work­ers, but Rose cer­tain­ly didn’t know that. Nor did she antic­i­pate that the sweat­shop that employed her and many oth­er women would be freez­ing in the win­ter, swel­ter­ing in the sum­mer, and filthy all the time. San­i­ta­tion was not a pri­or­i­ty — rats were every­where — and dan­ger was a con­stant. Rose also noticed that women were rou­tine­ly paid less than men. Her deter­mi­na­tion to improve con­di­tions for all work­ers led this young vision­ary on a path toward a remark­able career.

The Inter­na­tion­al Ladies Gar­ment Work­ers Union, which helps employ­ees receive ben­e­fits and equi­table treat­ment, is one result of Rose’s activism. She is a role mod­el for today’s young people.

Although Rose Spoke Out is a pic­ture book aimed at kids who are five through eight, old­er chil­dren and adults will find the sto­ry fas­ci­nat­ing, too. The art evokes the era, enhanc­ing the reader’s over­all expe­ri­ence. The book con­cludes with his­tor­i­cal pho­tographs and a note about tikkun olam, or mak­ing the world a bet­ter place. --The Jewish Book Council

Emma Carlson Berne is the author of over 120 books for juvenile, middle grade, and young adult readers, including Books By Horseback, illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati, and Shabbat Sabotage, a middle-grade mystery. She has worked with American Girl Publishing, Disney Lucasfilm, Simon & Shuster, National Geographic Kids, and Scholastic among others. She often ghostwrites under the names Jake Maddox, Lila Stewart, Elizabeth Woods, and Hailey Abbott.  She often writes about Jewish history and culture. Emma lives with her family in Cincinnati, Ohio. Giovanni Abeille is an Italian illustrator born and raised in Naples, a beautiful city in southern Italy overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. From an early age he filled albums, sheets, and notebooks with drawings and continues to do so today for various publishing houses around the world. He has been an upholsterer, salesman, banker, set dresser and even a fireman. However, his path has always been drawing, creativity and art. He lives in Italy.