Christopher Cardinale ~ Reviews

Which Side Are You On?
The Story of a Song
George Ella Lyon, illus. by Christopher Cardinale. Cinco Puntos, $17.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-933693-96-5

Writing in the folksy voice of the daughter of a Kentucky coal miner, Lyon (All the Water in the World) tells the story of the genesis of a pro-union song written by Florence Reece (the fictionalized narrator’s mother) in 1931. Evoking woodblocks and scratchboard, Cardinale’s (Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush) hard-edged illustrations provide the tale’s momentum and amplify its grittiness. The narrator and her siblings are shown hiding under the bed early on, as bullets zing through the windows and walls of their company home; they are meant for the children’s father, a miner and union organizer. Dodging bullets, their mother tears a page from a calendar and writes the eponymous song, a rallying cry for oppressed workers (“Don’t scab for the bosses./ Don’t listen to their lies”); the lyrics appear in ribboned banners throughout, encircling mining tools and rifles. Lyon’s storytelling jumps between speech-balloon dialogue and the girl’s clipped observations (“This is how the night goes: bullets through the walls, talk under the bed, words on the page”). It’s a high-stakes account of grace under pressure. An afterword provides additional historical context. Ages 7–12. (Oct.)
Reviewed on: 09/19/2011

....There is certainly a clear message in “Which Side Are You On?” written by George Ella Lyon (“My Friend, the Starfinder,” “The Pirate of Kindergarten”) and illustrated by Christopher Cardinale, a Brooklyn-based muralist and illustrator (“Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush”). Alas, in these union-unfriendly times, the subject of the book, “Which Side Are You On?,” a labor anthem written 80 years ago by a coal miner’s wife in Harlan County, Ken., is far less known today than the work of Bob Dylan.

But the story is a good and important one, and it is well told for an elementary-school audience. In 1931, Florence Reece, the miner’s wife, defends her children against gunmen sent by her husband’s employer to threaten and possibly kill Pa, who is trying to organize a union. While her children hide under the bed, Ma writes the lyrics to “Which Side Are You On?” and sings it to her husband when he returns from hiding in the mountains.

Told from the point of view of the songwriter’s fictionalized daughter, “Which Side Are You On?” is styled like a graphic novel rather than a picture book, which makes sense given the sophistication of its message and brutality of some images (for instance, gunshots being fired into the bedroom). An author’s note and bibliography adds historical detail and context.

Cardinale’s folksy, woodcut-style paintings include several memorable images. The family’s home – “a coal company house” – is cradled in the hand of a gold-buttoned executive. A lineup of coal miners emphasizes, appropriately, the miners’ muscular arms, work boots and dirt-encrusted pants. An aerial view of the parents’ bedroom, the children crouched under the bed, the mother standing defiant by the bullet-ridden wall, is especially effective. The final spread shows a crowd of marching union organizers, holding banners with the song’s refrain.....
Reviewed 10/26/11 by Pamela Paul

"Folk songs are alive," states Lyon in her author's note, and none is more so than "Which Side Are You On?"

The song, based on a hymn tune and lyrics, rose up from coal miners' strikes in Harlan County, Ky., in the 1930s. Narrated in the first person by a miner's son, this plainspoken account tells of the physical threat to the Reese family when their father is chased from town and the family comes under attack by Sheriff J.H. Blair's hired and armed thugs. Interspersed with the narration are the words of the song. Cardinale's digitally colored scratchboard art is dynamic and presents a visual reality that strengthens the history of the song and the people who sang it. The author's note adds a concise history of unions, laborers' demands for fair wages, safe conditions and an end of servitude to mine owners. Her explanation of the folk process is clear and shows how words and perceptions change over time. The book will be of great use in explaining U.S. labor history and development of workers' rights. Given that many of the same conditions exist today, only changed by mechanization, the music and lyrics included may well find use in the current generation.

Lyon has given today's readers a stirring story about yesterdays. (bibliography, websites) (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Reviewed on October 15, 2011

George Ella Lyon (All the Water in the World) and Christopher Cardinale (Mister Mendoza's Paintbrush) make a perfect match for this picture-book homage to a 1931 rallying cry born under duress in Harlan County, Ky.

Cardinale opens with a breathtaking view of the eastern Kentucky mountains. A church sits in the valley not far from a factory with coal cars filled to capacity and lined up on the rails as four children kick a can across the tracks. A turn of the page thrusts readers underground. "My Pa is a miner," says the text inside a burst of flame caused by the explosion that brings forth the coal. "Earns our dinner deep in the mountain blasting and loading coal," the text continues. The artist makes a smooth transition to a scene at the dinner table, where a family of nine passes plates of food; it's clear that no one goes hungry. Yet, they "live in a coal company house on coal company land," and the company pays Pa in scrip that has value only at the company store.

Lyon and Cardinale contextualize the terms so that a young audience can understand "scrip," "strike," "scab" and other ideas. They also do not shy away from the violence unleashed on the narrator's family. The girl explains that her Pa, Sam Reese, is a union organizer, and the company men would like to put an end to his organizing. As the sheriff and his gang shoot through the walls, the children hide under the bed while Ma--Florence Reece--tears off the calendar page for the month of May and uses it to compose the lyrics to the titular song, "Which side are you on?" Lyon maintains a child's point of view. As Ma sings her song, her children ask the questions that readers will have in mind: "Why don't the sheriff stop them?" and "If Pa gave up the union... would they quit shooting at us?" They provide the levity in a dire situation. Cardinale, too, balances the bullet-ravaged walls with those majestic Kentucky mountains.

In her endnotes, Lyon talks about the enduring quality and adaptability of folk songs: "Singers add their strengths and causes and make their own versions." She attributes her source for this story to Beverly Futrell, who heard it "from Reece herself" at Reece's 85th birthday party. Lyon points out that greed can take hold of both the owners and the unions at various times. She encourages children to "become informed" about issues of social justice, decide what they think and speak out. "We are how change happens." Although this book describes a historical event, it can open a gateway to understanding terms such as "collective bargaining," what that right has meant, and to consider what it means today. More recent versions of the song (performed by Pete Seeger and Natalie Merchant) add "boys" to the chorus ("Which side are you on, boys,/ which side are you on?"), Reese's version did not. Lyon and Cardinale make clear that the miner's entire family risked everything when they chose to stand together, male and female alike. And it's as powerful a message today as it was 80 years ago. --Jennifer M. Brown

REVIEWS OF "WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?"

	Publishers Weekly Which Side Are You On? The Story of a Song George Ella Lyon, illus. by Christopher Cardinale. Cinco Puntos, $17.95 (40p) ISBN 978-1-933693-96-5 Writing in the folksy voice of the daughter of a Kentucky coal miner, Lyon (All the Water in the World) tells the story of the genesis of a pro-union song written by Florence Reece (the fictionalized narrator’s mother) in 1931. Evoking woodblocks and scratchboard, Cardinale’s (Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush) hard-edged illustrations provide the tale’s momentum and amplify its grittiness. The narrator and her siblings are shown hiding under the bed early on, as bullets zing through the windows and walls of their company home; they are meant for the children’s father, a miner and union organizer. Dodging bullets, their mother tears a page from a calendar and writes the eponymous song, a rallying cry for oppressed workers (“Don’t scab for the bosses./ Don’t listen to their lies”); the lyrics appear in ribboned banners throughout, encircling mining tools and rifles. Lyon’s storytelling jumps between speech-balloon dialogue and the girl’s clipped observations (“This is how the night goes: bullets through the walls, talk under the bed, words on the page”). It’s a high-stakes account of grace under pressure. An afterword provides additional historical context. Ages 7–12. (Oct.) Reviewed on: 09/19/2011 *New York Times* (excerpt) ....There is certainly a clear message in “Which Side Are You On?” written by George Ella Lyon (“My Friend, the Starfinder,” “The Pirate of Kindergarten”) and illustrated by Christopher Cardinale, a Brooklyn-based muralist and illustrator (“Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush”). Alas, in these union-unfriendly times, the subject of the book, “Which Side Are You On?,” a labor anthem written 80 years ago by a coal miner’s wife in Harlan County, Ken., is far less known today than the work of Bob Dylan. But the story is a good and important one, and it is well told for an elementary-school audience. In 1931, Florence Reece, the miner’s wife, defends her children against gunmen sent by her husband’s employer to threaten and possibly kill Pa, who is trying to organize a union. While her children hide under the bed, Ma writes the lyrics to “Which Side Are You On?” and sings it to her husband when he returns from hiding in the mountains. Told from the point of view of the songwriter’s fictionalized daughter, “Which Side Are You On?” is styled like a graphic novel rather than a picture book, which makes sense given the sophistication of its message and brutality of some images (for instance, gunshots being fired into the bedroom). An author’s note and bibliography adds historical detail and context. Cardinale’s folksy, woodcut-style paintings include several memorable images. The family’s home – “a coal company house” – is cradled in the hand of a gold-buttoned executive. A lineup of coal miners emphasizes, appropriately, the miners’ muscular arms, work boots and dirt-encrusted pants. An aerial view of the parents’ bedroom, the children crouched under the bed, the mother standing defiant by the bullet-ridden wall, is especially effective. The final spread shows a crowd of marching union organizers, holding banners with the song’s refrain..... Reviewed 10/26/11 by Pamela Paul Kirkus Reviews "Folk songs are alive," states Lyon in her author's note, and none is more so than "Which Side Are You On?" The song, based on a hymn tune and lyrics, rose up from coal miners' strikes in Harlan County, Ky., in the 1930s. Narrated in the first person by a miner's son, this plainspoken account tells of the physical threat to the Reese family when their father is chased from town and the family comes under attack by Sheriff J.H. Blair's hired and armed thugs. Interspersed with the narration are the words of the song. Cardinale's digitally colored scratchboard art is dynamic and presents a visual reality that strengthens the history of the song and the people who sang it. The author's note adds a concise history of unions, laborers' demands for fair wages, safe conditions and an end of servitude to mine owners. Her explanation of the folk process is clear and shows how words and perceptions change over time. The book will be of great use in explaining U.S. labor history and development of workers' rights. Given that many of the same conditions exist today, only changed by mechanization, the music and lyrics included may well find use in the current generation. Lyon has given today's readers a stirring story about yesterdays. (bibliography, websites) (Informational picture book. 4-8) Reviewed on October 15, 2011 Shelf Awareness George Ella Lyon (All the Water in the World) and Christopher Cardinale (Mister Mendoza's Paintbrush) make a perfect match for this picture-book homage to a 1931 rallying cry born under duress in Harlan County, Ky. Cardinale opens with a breathtaking view of the eastern Kentucky mountains. A church sits in the valley not far from a factory with coal cars filled to capacity and lined up on the rails as four children kick a can across the tracks. A turn of the page thrusts readers underground. "My Pa is a miner," says the text inside a burst of flame caused by the explosion that brings forth the coal. "Earns our dinner deep in the mountain blasting and loading coal," the text continues. The artist makes a smooth transition to a scene at the dinner table, where a family of nine passes plates of food; it's clear that no one goes hungry. Yet, they "live in a coal company house on coal company land," and the company pays Pa in scrip that has value only at the company store. Lyon and Cardinale contextualize the terms so that a young audience can understand "scrip," "strike," "scab" and other ideas. They also do not shy away from the violence unleashed on the narrator's family. The girl explains that her Pa, Sam Reese, is a union organizer, and the company men would like to put an end to his organizing. As the sheriff and his gang shoot through the walls, the children hide under the bed while Ma--Florence Reece--tears off the calendar page for the month of May and uses it to compose the lyrics to the titular song, "Which side are you on?" Lyon maintains a child's point of view. As Ma sings her song, her children ask the questions that readers will have in mind: "Why don't the sheriff stop them?" and "If Pa gave up the union... would they quit shooting at us?" They provide the levity in a dire situation. Cardinale, too, balances the bullet-ravaged walls with those majestic Kentucky mountains. In her endnotes, Lyon talks about the enduring quality and adaptability of folk songs: "Singers add their strengths and causes and make their own versions." She attributes her source for this story to Beverly Futrell, who heard it "from Reece herself" at Reece's 85th birthday party. Lyon points out that greed can take hold of both the owners and the unions at various times. She encourages children to "become informed" about issues of social justice, decide what they think and speak out. "We are how change happens." Although this book describes a historical event, it can open a gateway to understanding terms such as "collective bargaining," what that right has meant, and to consider what it means today. More recent versions of the song (performed by Pete Seeger and Natalie Merchant) add "boys" to the chorus ("Which side are you on, boys,/ which side are you on?"), Reese's version did not. Lyon and Cardinale make clear that the miner's entire family risked everything when they chose to stand together, male and female alike. And it's as powerful a message today as it was 80 years ago. --Jennifer M. Brown
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