The World of Child Labor
During the holidays when children heighten the spiritual and joyous intent of the season, let us remember and think about the historical narrative and contemporary realities of children throughout the world. Recently, my eyes were opened a bit further when a library patron asked for the PBS documentary film entitled "Orphan Trains." Not a story of wartime orphans but one from 19th century East Coast U.S. metropolitan areas, the film tells the story of Charles Loring Brace, a minister, who founded the Children's Aid Society which sought to relocate abandoned and poor children from city streets to farms far from home. After a long train travel to be matched with families who would see these children on view for selection, they may have been "chosen" or moved on to the next stop. Prompted by the viewing of this documentary, I was drawn to a new single volume reference work, The World of Child Labor: an historical and regional survey edited by Hugh D. Hindman (M.E. Sharpe, 2009). Well indexed and organized by world region and country, filled with essays, photos and statistics, it will be a well-used volume to add to your reference collection. For current updates and more statistics from the United Nations, consult a referenced web site UCW: Understanding Children's Work http://www.ucw-project.org/.
