"The story is a good and important one, and it is well told for an elementary-school audience. [... ] Cardinale's folksy, woodcut-style paintings include several memorable images." — The New York Times
" Which Side Are You On? is beautiful, lyrical, and important, subtly showing us the importance of music and — even better — how anyone can make a difference, no matter their circumstances, as long as they put their heart and soul into it. A treasure." — Silas House, author of Eli the Good
"Cardinale's digitally colored scratchboard art is dynamic. [... ] Given that many of the same [labor] 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." — Kirkus
"A high-stakes account of grace under pressure." — Publishers Weekly
"The story has real power and so do the best of the illustrations." — Booklist
"Lyon and Cardinale make a perfect match for this picture-book homage to a 1931 rallying cry born under duress in Harlan County, KY. [... ] 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." — Shelf Awareness
"What a perfect time for this picture book's arrival. [... ] 'Which Side Are You On?' is an old song with new relevance for a generation facing a dubious future." — New York Journal of Books
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.)
Gr 3–6—When the coal miners in eastern Kentucky went on strike in the 1930s, the company's hired thugs and the local sheriff united forces to convince strikers to return by shooting at their homes and families. Brave and angry, Florence Reece, the wife of a union organizer, tore the calendar off the wall and began to write each time the bullets stopped. Her determination to combat the violence resulted in words for a song of defiance. "Which Side Are You On?" was a demand for social justice and was written to "bring folks together." A progression of busily detailed, full-bleed block-print illustrations, with almost captionlike brief sentences, follows the attacks and opens the Reece home to readers. The brief story is told through the eyes of one of the children, and it captures the danger as well as the fear the family experienced. Views from varied perspectives reveal the seven children with their mother, from above and hiding under the bed and in portraits sharing conversations marked by speech bubbles. Ribbons of song lyrics weave across scenes of the miners' tools of their trade and the guns of hired company toughs. A thorough author's note follows the text, ending with the song's musical notation and one version of the words on the back cover. The use of music as a protest element makes an interesting addendum to resources on union history or the time period.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX
"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)
