CANR
WORK TITLE: Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1950?
WEBSITE: http://www.deborahkops.com/
CITY: Westford
STATE: MA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME:
Husband: John Covell; son: Noah * https://www.charlesbridge.com/pages/deborah-kops
RESEARCHER NOTES:
Husband: John Covell; son: Noah
PERSONAL
Born c.1950; married John Covell; children: Noah.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Formerly worked as a journalist and a book editor.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Deborah Kops has written dozens of nonfiction books for children on subjects ranging from ancient civilizations to science and nature. She has written about birds of prey, endangered humpback whales, and new technologies. She has also written several books on topics in American history, including the women’ rights movement and racial profiling, and has co-authored two children’s reference books.
Women’s Suffrage is a collection of brief biographies of key figures in the movement for women’s rights, beginning with Mary Brent, who petitioned the Maryland House of Burgesses for the vote in the mid-1660s, to Alice Paul, whose activism contributed to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Paul is also the subject of Kops’s second book on the women’s movement, Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment. Alice Paul (1885-1977) was born into a Quaker family in New Jersey and grew up respecting the ideals of equality and justice. As a graduate student in England she became active in the British suffragist movement, and was sentenced to three prison terms for participating in militant demonstrations. She continued her advocacy after returning to the United States, forming the National Woman’s Party in 1916. She continued to lead this organization for fifty years, and, after passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which gave women the right to vote, Paul wrote a proposed Equal Rights Amendment that would guarantee equal rights for women. This amendment was introduced to Congress in 1923 and again in 1972, but did not pass.
Kops fills the book with lively details. In London, Paul and a colleague once disguised themselves as cleaning women to gain access to a banquet, where they interrupted proceedings to shout suffragist slogans. This episode resulted in Paul’s first jail term, during which she led a hunger strike and was subjected to brutal force-feedings. Years later, she picketed the White House. She also organized the 1913 women’s march in Washington, D.C. Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights received enthusiastic reviews. A writer for Kirkus Reviews described it as a “rich, fascinating, and inspiring account of a tireless champion for women’s rights.” Booklist contributor Sandy MacDonald, in a starred review, praised the author’s clear, engaging prose and her admirable use of primary source materials.
Kops’s books on ancient cultures and archaeology include titles on ancient Rome and on Machu Picchu, as well as Palenque, which describes the exploration in the 1800s of the Mayan city of Palenque in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site contains some of the finest examples of Mayan architecture, sculpture, and carvings.
The book focuses on the 1840 exploration of the site by two Americans, John Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, whose book about their trip introduced Palenque to the modern world. The author also discusses excavations at Palenque by Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, who discovered a royal tomb situated beneath the Temple of the Inscriptions. Reviewers admired Kops’s ability to convey the difficulty of archaeological work as well as the excitement of discovery. School Library Journal contributor Jackie Partch also praised the author for discussing the “tension that developed between Mexican and American archaeologists around decoding Mayan hieroglyphics.”
The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919 examines a curious episode in Boston’s history: the deadly flood that resulted when a huge tank of molasses collapsed and flooded streets in the city’s North End on January 15, 1919. The tank was located at a distilling company near the city’s harbor, and contained about 2,300,000 gallons of molasses. When the tank collapsed, a wall of molasses forty feet high and weighing 13,000 tons surged through the North End’s narrow streets. Twenty-one people and several horses were killed; about one hundred fifty people were injured. Some drowned in the gooey molasses; others were crushed or hit by flying debris. The wave also destroyed buildings, cars, and elevated train tracks. Kops focuses on how the event affected local residents. She tells the stories of people who perished in the disaster, and of those who somehow survived the flood. She also recounts the bitter court case against the owners of the company where the tank had been stored. The company was eventually found responsible, and plaintiffs agreed to out-of-court financial settlements.
In remarks posted on the Charlesbridge Web site, Kops explained that she was inspired to write about the Great Molasses Flood because the event was so strange and unique. The time period, too, was of particular interest. Though the First World War had recently ended, Kops said, “this country was not exactly a peaceful place. In Boston, a church and a police station were bombed a few years before the molasses flood. And just days before the tank burst, a group of anarchists threatened more violence. At least one historian has called this period America’s first age of terror.”
Writing in School Library Journal, Anne Weldon observed that The Great Molasses Flood discusses not only the flood itself, but the broader impact on local businesses of Prohibition and of rising anarchist activity. The book’s “engaging narrative,” said Weldon, “paints a very different picture of the Roaring Twenties than is typical.” Observing that the book might have been improved by the use of more first-person accounts, a writer for Kirkus Reviews nevertheless found The Great Molasses Flood an “intriguing read.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 15, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of Women’s Suffrage, p. 1617; December 15, 2011, Randall Enos, review of The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919, p. 48; February 1, 2017, Sandy MacDonald, review of Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment, p. 32.
Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2011, review of The Great Molasses Flood; December 15, 2016, review of Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights
Publishers Weekly, December 12, 2016, review of Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights, p. 151.
School Library Journal, September, 2004, Julie Webb, review of Women’s Suffrage, p. 228; February, 2007, Carol Jones, review of Racial Profiling, p. 140; February, 2008, Jackie Partch, review of Palenque, p. 138; October, 2008, review of Palenque. p. S39; February, 2012, Ann Welton, review of The Great Molasses Flood, p. 142; January, 2017, Patricia Ann Owens, review of Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights, p. 119.
ONLINE
Children’s Book Almanac, http://childrensbookalmanac.com/ (March 20, 2017), review of The Great Molasses Flood.
Charlesbridge Web Site, https://www.charlesbridge.com/ (March 2, 2017), Kops profile.
Deborah Kops Home Page, http://www.deborahkops.com (March 20, 2017).*
Deborah Kops
Deborah KopsDeborah Kops began writing in the fourth grade, when a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Silvers, encouraged the class to make up lots of stories. She has written more than twenty books for children and young adults, including a biography of Abraham Lincoln and Were Potato Chips Really Invented by an Angry Chef? and Other Questions about Food.
Before becoming a children’s book writer, she edited books on American history at Northeastern University Press, and later, nonfiction books for children at Blackbirch Press. Deborah lives with her husband and son in Greater Boston, and enjoys exploring old towns and neighborhoods on the Atlantic coast, including the North End, where the Great Molasses Flood occurred.
Why did you want to tell the story of the molasses flood?
It was such a bizarre disaster! I was sure kids would want to read about it. On January 15,
1919, a very large metal tank containing more than two million gallons of molasses burst apart in
Boston’s North End. The molasses escaped in a giant wave, which flooded the neighborhood.
Can you imagine your neighborhood awash in thick, dark, sticky molasses? The flood was also a
terrible tragedy, though. Twenty-one people died, and homes and businesses were destroyed,
too.
There was also another reason I wanted to write about the flood. It happened during such
an interesting time in American history. World War I had just ended, and American soldiers were
coming home from Europe. But this country was not exactly a peaceful place. In Boston, a
church and a police station were bombed a few years before the molasses flood. And just days
before the tank burst, a group of anarchists threatened more violence. At least one historian has
called this period America’s first age of terror.
How did you conduct the research for this book?
I read newspaper accounts from the period, and Stephen Puleo’s book about the flood,
Dark Tide. I also spent time walking the old historic streets of the North End, and found the site
where the molasses tank stood. But the most interesting and time-consuming research involved
going through all 25,000 pages of the court transcript from the molasses flood hearings. The
transcript contained the stories of the many people who were affected by the flood. One man,
for example, was working in the train yard near the molasses tank when it burst. He said he felt
like he was being pushed by a big gust of wind—right into the Charles River. I was able to read
the transcript in the very same courthouse in downtown Boston where the hearings had taken
place, more than ninety years ago. I loved that.
Author Spotlight with
Deborah Kops
978-1-58089-348-0, HC, $18.95
Ages 9-12
January 15, 1919, was an unseasonably warm day in Boston, Massachusetts, and a
day that would go down in history. One minute it was business as usual on the
waterfront and the next—KABOOM! A large tank holding molasses exploded,
sending shards of metal hundreds of feet away, collapsing buildings, and coating
the harborfront community with a thick layer of sticky-sweet sludge.
This account of the 1919 molasses tank explosion tries to uncover why the tank
exploded and who was to blame. Primary sources and archival photographs
show the extent of the damage and emphasize personal stories. Sidebars offer
information on Prohibition, World War I, equal rights, and other issues of the
time.
What’s the most challenging aspect of writing nonfiction?
The long wait before it’s finally time to write the book. I really enjoy doing research. But
to keep my writing chops, I need to write. So I like working on two books—one that I’m
researching and another that I’m writing.
You’ve written several nonfiction books for children and young adults. How do you
choose your subjects?
I’m drawn to quirky ones, like the molasses flood. And like many writers of nonfiction, I
pick subjects I want to learn more about myself, which is why I wrote a series of books on birds
of prey.
As you wrote the book, did you find yourself drawn to a specific character more than any
others?
I thought a lot about poor Antonio DiStasio, who was only nine years old when he was
swept off his feet by the giant wave of molasses. And I liked Elizabeth O’Brien, who had a sense
of humor. She was doing her wash when the tank burst. She, too, was knocked off her feet.
When she got up, soaking wet, she said she went looking for sympathy from her sister, with
whom she shared her apartment. But her sister, and part of their apartment, were missing. (The
front of the building had collapsed.)
By Deborah Kops
About Me
I grew up in a suburb of New York City, where I lived with my parents and older sister. My mother read us Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales when I was little. Later I became a big fan of the Nancy Drew mystery series, and I’ve been reading ever since.
When I was in fourth grade, my wonderful teacher, Mrs. Silvers, always made time for creative writing. I wrote long, dramatic stories, which often had tragic endings. Mrs. Silvers egged me on.
I was terrible at sports.
But I was pretty good at dancing (ballet and Israeli folk).
My mother, sister, and I used to go to the ballet. We watched some wonderful performances from way up in the nosebleed section of the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Everyone gasped when the Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev seemed to pause in midair while leaping across the stage.
I went to college in the Midwest. I had never been on an airplane until the day I left for my first semester. One summer, while I was still in college, three friends and I decided it would be fun to live in Boston. We crammed ourselves into a tiny apartment in the middle of the city. I loved the old neighborhoods like Beacon Hill. And I had never seen so many historic buildings. Some of them, like the Old State House (built in 1713) sit right near skyscrapers. After college I moved around New England, but I kept coming back to Boston.
Like many writers, I’m curious about a lot of things. One of my first writing jobs was reporting for a small newspaper in Vermont—perfect for a curious person. I wrote about everything from animal auctions to dog sledding, which I got to try. That was exciting! (And I covered a lot of meetings, which were not so exciting.)
I used a clackety old typewriter, though not this one.
Years later I edited books for children at a small publishing house in Connecticut. I enjoyed helping authors polish words and tweak paragraphs until they sang. And, being curious, I may have annoyed one or two of them with all my questions. Then it was time to write my own books. The first five were a series about birds of prey. For the book on falcons, I went to New York City to watch peregrine falcons dive off of bridges and skyscrapers. Did you know that a falcon can catch a smaller bird in midair?
One day, while surfing the Web, I came across a magazine article about a tank filled with molasses that had burst open and flooded part of the North End, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. And I had to learn more. I read newspaper accounts from the period, which was 1919. And I walked the old historic streets of the North End, and found the site where the molasses tank stood, downhill near the harbor. But the most interesting and time-consuming research involved going through all 25,000 pages of the court transcript from the molasses flood hearings. The transcript contained the stories of the many people who were affected by the flood. I was able to read the transcript in the very same courthouse in downtown Boston where the hearings had taken place, more than ninety years ago. The result is THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD: BOSTON, 1919.
Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights
Sandy MacDonald
Booklist.
113.11 (Feb. 1, 2017): p32.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
* Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights.
By Deborah Kops.
Feb. 2017. 224p. illus. Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek, $17.95 (9781629793238). 324.6. Gr. 912.
You might say that American Alice Paul (18851977) was born a feminist. Raised in the Quaker tradition, which from
its outset embraced gender equality, she was further radicalized as a sociology doctoral candidate in England when she
first heard suffragist Christabel Pankhurst address a hostile crowd. "I want to throw in all the strength I can give to
help," Paul determined. That she did in a pitched battle spanning six decades, from the struggle to pass the Nineteenth
Amendment through the Second Wave attempt to append the still unrealized Equal Rights Amendment. Paul and her
cohorts came up with ingenious means of infiltrating the bastions of power: in London, she and an ally disguised
themselves as cleaning women in order to disrupt a guildhall banquet with shouts of "Votes for women!" The gambit
occasioned her first imprisonment, leading to a hunger strike and forced feedinga horrendous procedure rendered here
factually and without sensationalism. Her health compromised by three such ordeals, Paul soldiered on, creatively.
Young activists could learn a lot from this clear, engaging biography, which makes excellent use of primary sources and
contains a number of blackandwhite photographs. An extensive bibliography provides further resources for students
interested in digging up more on the secret of Paul's success: keep changing the delivery method while holding fast to
the message.Sandy MacDonald
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
MacDonald, Sandy. "Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights." Booklist, 1 Feb. 2017, p. 32. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA481244828&it=r&asid=e6bb5d01094e8ec91c4b1b00a837ef7a.
Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.
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Kops, Deborah: ALICE PAUL AND THE
FIGHT FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Dec. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Kops, Deborah ALICE PAUL AND THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills (Children's
Nonfiction) $17.95 2, 28 ISBN: 9781629793238
Alice Paul lacks the name recognition of fellow suffragists Susan B. Anthony or Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but this lucid,
inspiring portrait reveals her noteworthy contributions to women's rights. Paul absorbed the principle of gender equality
during her Quaker childhood. While pursuing graduate studies in England, Paul joined the Women's Social and Political
Union, a militant suffrage group. Arrested repeatedly during demonstrations, Paul was treated brutally while serving
three jail terms. After returning to the United States, Paul participated in National American Woman Suffrage
Association rallies. She reignited the somnolent suffrage movement, creating provocative banners and organizing
dramatic events, such as a 1913 protest march in Washington, which drew thousands of marchers from around the
country. Disagreement over strategies and methods led Paul to break with NAWSA and formethe National Woman's
Party in 1916, which she led for 50 years. Following ratification of the 19th Amendment, Paul wrote the Equal Rights
Amendment, which would make unconstitutional all laws discriminating against women. Kops' engaging narrative is as
insightful about the history of the fight for women's rights as it is about Paul's many remarkable achievements. She
makes liberal use of primarysource material, giving Paul and her contemporaries voice and including plentiful
photographs to accompany her account. A rich, fascinating, and inspiring account of a tireless champion for women's
rights. (photos, source notes, bibliography) (Biography. 1118)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Kops, Deborah: ALICE PAUL AND THE FIGHT FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2016.
General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA473652349&it=r&asid=51ec20edd0a9e21a3c74e7a72ec07ec5.
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Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights:
From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment
Publishers Weekly.
263.51 (Dec. 12, 2016): p151.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment
Deborah Kops. Calkins Creek, $17.95 (216p)
ISBN 9781629793238
Born in 1885, 65 years after Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul may be a lesserknown warrior for women's suffrage but, as
Kops unequivocally reveals in this thorough biography, she was no less passionate or determined. After recapping
Paul's Quaker childhood in New Jersey and her college years at Swarthmore, Kops (The Great Molasses Flood: Boston,
1919) steps up the pace as she follows Paul to London. There the gutsy Paul studied social activism, joined the ranks of
protesting suffragettes, and was jailed for the first of many times. Her zeal for women's voting rights ignited after she
settled in Washington, D.C., where the suffrage campaign "was Alice Paul's life" and "she fired on all four cylinders."
The author convincingly recreates charged episodes as Paul and her colleagues picketed Woodrow Wilson's White
House and endured unlawful arrests, sentences in jails and workhouses, and hunger strikesall building to the eventual
passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Archival photos and quotes culled from Paul's correspondence, her
contemporaries' observations, and the press further illuminate the life of this indefatigable crusader. Ages 11up. Agent:
Stephen Fraser, Jennifer De Chiara Literary. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment." Publishers Weekly, 12
Dec. 2016, p. 151. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA475225147&it=r&asid=b937be6578e50b08cc4396e69a1cdc82.
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The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919
Randall Enos
Booklist.
108.8 (Dec. 15, 2011): p48.
COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919.
By Deborah Kops.
Feb. 2012. 112p. illus. Charlesbridge, $18.95 (9781580893480). 363.17. Gr. 36.
This book chronicles the catastrophic events resulting from the collapse of a large tank containing molasses in the North
End neighborhood of Boston in 1919. The straightforward account centers on workers and area residents who either
perished in the flood or miraculously survived. Those involved in the lengthy court case that followed also figure
prominently in the narrative. Background information about the neighborhood, as well as the political activity that led
to some of the speculations about the cause of the calamity, is expanded in numerous lengthy sidebars. A select number
of wellplaced archival photographs show the damage caused by the surge with the cleanup and rescue crews sloshing
around in the aftermath. The combination of the sepiatoned photographs, the use of brown to highlight the chapter
headings, and the choice of creamcolored paper gives this book a rich, elegant quality while staying consistent with the
subject matter. Fictionalized accounts of the molasses flood can be found in Joan Hiatt Harlow's Joshua's Song (2001)
and Blair Lent's picture book Molasses Flood (1992).Randall Enos
Enos, Randall
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Enos, Randall. "The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919." Booklist, 15 Dec. 2011, p. 48. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA275850844&it=r&asid=4a8eacf84a4e48c44efb17b1d39431ef.
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Kops, Deborah J.: THE GREAT MOLASSES
FLOOD
Kirkus Reviews.
(Dec. 15, 2011):
COPYRIGHT 2011 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Kops, Deborah J. THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD Charlesbridge (Children's Nonfiction) $18.95 2, 1 ISBN: 9781
580893480
Imagine a 40foot wall of molasses turning a harborside neighborhood upside down. It was a hopeful time in Boston.
The worst of the Spanish influenza was over, World War I had just ended and Babe Ruth had helped the Red Sox win
the World Series the previous fall. But on January 15, 1919, in Boston's North End, on a sunny, warm day, the molasses
tank in the neighborhood blew. More than 2,300,000 gallons of molasses, weighing 13,000 tons, flowed down the
street, uplifting houses, twisting railroad tracks and killing 21 people. Fallen elevated train tracks, dead horses,
collapsed buildings and crushed cars made the areas look as though a tornado had come through. The smell of molasses
in the neighborhood didn't fade until 1995, though the memory of the event has. Using firsthand testimony from the 40
volume transcript from Dorr v. U.S. Industrial Alcohol, the hearings that followed the event, Kops has done a fine job
of resurrecting the story and recreating the day through thirdperson stories of the actual players. Had she retained some
of the firstperson accounts, she may have lent her narrative greater immediacy, but it is nevertheless an intriguing read.
A useful map, abundant archival photographs and sidebars offering historical context complement the lively prose. A
fascinating account of a truly bizarre disaster. (index) (Nonfiction. 912)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Kops, Deborah J.: THE GREAT MOLASSES FLOOD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2011. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA274719160&it=r&asid=54c465ea05d4a12de65e78e20f35a967.
Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.
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Kops, Deborah. Women's Suffrage
Carolyn Phelan
Booklist.
100.18 (May 15, 2004): p1617.
COPYRIGHT 2004 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Kops, Deborah. Women's Suffrage. 2004 48p. illus. index. Gale/Blackbirch, lib. ed., $18.96 (1567117724). 324.6.
Orr, Tamara. The Salem Witch Trials 2004. 48p. illus. index. Gale/Blackbirch, lib. ed, $18.96 (1567117708). 133.4.
Gr. 58. From the People at the Center series, these collective biographies provide overviews of noteworthy individuals
Witch Trials begins with two fifteenthcentury European priests whose book on witchcraft influenced the events in
Salem. Most of the entries describe people directly involved with the accusations and trials. Even wellversed readers
will find it fascinating to see the story unfold from the points of view of the individuals who were there, Women's
Suffrage follows that movement from Mary Brent, who demanded the vote in the Maryland House of Burgesses in the
mid1600s, to Alice Paul, who worked for the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, wrote the Equal Rights
Amendment in 1923, and lived to see it passed by Congress in 1972. Though her subject lacks the inherent drama of
Orr's, Kops provides a good introduction to seminal figures in the women's suffrage movement as well as many lesserknown
names. In each book, more than half the space is devoted to illustrations, often in color, including many
photographs in Suffrage as well as prints and portrait paintings. Each book ends with a chronology and lists of
recommended books and Web sites.
Phelan, Carolyn
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Phelan, Carolyn. "Kops, Deborah. Women's Suffrage." Booklist, 15 May 2004, p. 1617. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA117450966&it=r&asid=aff3d4e06a3d32f6cd026093140709f2.
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Kops, Deborah. Alice Paul and the Fight for
Women's Rights
Patricia Ann Owens
School Library Journal.
63.1 (Jan. 2017): p119.
COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights. 224p. bibliog. ebook available, index, notes, photos.
Calkins Creek. Feb. 2017. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9781629793238.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Gr 9 UpBorn in 1885 to a Quaker family in Moorestown, NJ, Alice Paul was a lively and inquisitive child who loved
to read and learn. She completed her undergraduate education at Swarthmore College and then traveled to England,
where she became involved in social work and helped at the College Settlement, a community center. Paul also took
part in the women's suffrage movement, which ultimately became her life's work. Returning to the United States in
1910, Paul became a leading spokesperson and organizer. Working tirelessly for the cause, she was often arrested and
sent to jail for leading marches and for picketing the White House. Staging hunger strikes while in jail, Paul was forcefed
by her jailers. She never gave up the fight and urged President Woodrow Wilson to support the 19th Amendment.
After its ratification, Paul devoted the remainder of her life to fighting for an equal rights amendment that she wrote.
The author makes excellent use of Paul's letters and journals to recreate her life for a high school audience. VERDICT
A welcome addition for collections seeking titles on the women's suffrage movement. Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Mount Carmel
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Owens, Patricia Ann. "Kops, Deborah. Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights." School Library Journal, Jan.
2017, p. 119+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA476559722&it=r&asid=cc256d71a1d1f5a4bd3b17868da96c9f.
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Kops, Deborah. The Great Molasses Flood:
Boston
Ann Welton
School Library Journal.
58.2 (Feb. 2012): p142.
COPYRIGHT 2012 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
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Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. The Great Molasses Flood: Boston, 1919. 102p. map. photos, index. CIP. Charlesbridge. Feb. 2012.
RTE $18.95. ISBN 9781580893480. LC 2011000655.
Gr 68On January 15, 1919, a twomilliongallon holding tank filled with molasses exploded, flooding Boston's North
End near the port. In all, 21 people died in the disaster, and around 50 were injured. The sticky flood swamped the area,
and cleanup proved difficult until it was discovered that seawater seemed to break it up. At that point, the judicious use
of a fire boat aided the effort. Even though all the molasses was eventually gone, the smell persisted until 1995. This
briskly paced recounting of the disaster focuses on the human elementthe people involved, their lives disrupted and
never the same thereafter. Covering not only the Molasses Flood, but the impact of Prohibition on businesses and the
anarchist movement, the engaging narrative paints a very different picture of the Roaring Twenties than is typical. Of
special interest, given the current national obsession with terrorism, is the number of deadly explosions set off by
anarchists along the Eastern seaboard between 1919 and 1923. In a satisfying conclusion, the auditor pointed his finger
firmly at the United States Industrial Alcohol Company, the owners of the tank, claiming that the company had done a
poor job of building the tank and that it could withstand neither the weight of the molasses nor the pressure of the gas
from fermentation. While this is an excellent study of the problems of unregulated industry, readership is nonetheless
problematic. While there may be socialstudies tieins, options for selling the title seem few. A fine, if slightly obscure,
addition on a topic not previously covered in book form for this age range.Ann Welton, Helen B. Stafford Elementary,
Tacoma, WA
Welton, Ann
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Welton, Ann. "Kops, Deborah. The Great Molasses Flood: Boston." School Library Journal, Feb. 2012, p. 142+.
General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
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Kops, Deborah. Palenque
Jackie Partch
School Library Journal.
54.2 (Feb. 2008): p138.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. Palenque. ISBN 9780822575047. LC 2007021323. SONNEBORN, Liz. Pompeii. ISBN 97800
822575054. LC 2007022058.
ea vol: 80p. (Unearthing Ancient Worlds Series). diags, illus, maps. photos, reprods. bibliog, chron, further reading,
glossary. index, notes. Web sites. CIP. 21st Century Bks. Feb. 2008. PLB $30.60.
Gr 5These clearly written rifles are illustrated with large photographs and period artwork, and the pages are broken up
with text boxes featuring quotes and interesting anecdotes. Through them, readers learn about the tedium, excitement,
and danger of archaeological digs. The emphasis is on the excavations rather than the cultures themselves. Palenque
begins with John Stephens's and Frederick Catherwood's visit to this Mayan site in 1840; their subsequent book
introduced it to the world. The remaining chapters describe the excavations by Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, a Mexican
archaeologist, in the mid20th century, including his thrilling discovery of the burial site of a Mayan ruler beneath the
Temple of the Inscriptions. Kops notes the tremendous difficulty of the excavations and explains the tension that
developed between Mexican and American archaeologists around decoding Mayan hieroglyphics. Pompeii centers on
the work led by Colonel Rocque Joachim de Alcubierre and Karl Jakob Weber in the 1700s and notes their many
significant discoveries, including mosaics, statues, and frescoes. Sonneborn describes the bickering that took place
among those in charge and the criticism raised by experts about the haphazard approach to excavation. Back matter
includes maps of the sites, pronunciation guides, and "who's who" sections, which help readers keep the names and
locations straight. Shelley Tanaka's The Buried City of Pompeii (Hyperion, 1997; o.p.) is for a similar audience but
concentrates more on the ancient volcanic eruption than the modern excavations; James M. Deem's Bodies from the
Ash (Houghton, 2005) focuses on what scientists learned from skeletons discovered at Pompeii.Jackie Partch,
Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Partch, Jackie
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Partch, Jackie. "Kops, Deborah. Palenque." School Library Journal, Feb. 2008, p. 138. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA175442427&it=r&asid=40dff70041e7bd8e93fa43dace3a41bc.
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Kops, Deborah. Palenque
School Library Journal.
54.10 (Oct. 2008): pS39.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. Palenque. ISBN 9780822575047. LC 2007021323.
SONNEBORN, Liz. Pompeii. ISBN 9780822575054. LC 2007022058.
ea vol: 80p. (Unearthing Ancient Worlds Series). diags, illus, maps. photos, reprods. bibliog, chron, further reading,
glossary, index. notes. Web sites. CIE 21st Century Bks. 2008. PLB $30.60.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Gr 58Primary quotes, fullcolor photos, and reproductions of period artwork provide a youarethere look at
archaeological explorations of the past. Palenque describes the 19thcentury visit of two American explorers to the
Mayan site and Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier's amazing mid20thcentury discovery of a tomb, while
Pompeii focuses on 18thcentury excavation efforts of the ancient city. B
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Kops, Deborah. Palenque." School Library Journal, Oct. 2008, p. S39. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA187687354&it=r&asid=e69634238e8de0b688d012b999cc5dd7.
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Kops, Deborah. Racial Profiling
Carol Jones Collins
School Library Journal.
53.2 (Feb. 2007): p140.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. Racial Profiling. 127p. ISBN 9780761422983. LC 2005037064.
KOWALSKI, Kathiann M. Affirmative Action. 143p. ISBN 9780761423003. LC 2005028728.
ea vol: (Open for Debate Series). photos. reprods, bibliog, further reading, index. notes. Web sites. CIP. Benchmark.
2006. PLB $27.95.
Gr 69These titles join an everincreasing output from publishers seeking to mine controversial topics. They define
and discuss their respective subjects from a variety of perspectives, giving the pros and cons of a number of positions.
However, unlike the "Opposing Viewpoints" titles (Gale), the discussion points here are made by one author instead of
a number of scholars and experts providing their views. Both Kops and Kowalski strive mightily to maintain balanced
presentations. Both books are well organized and are clearly and plainly written. A careful reading by students should
yield a wealth of information for research papers, term papers, essays, or debates. These are fine additions to socialissues
collections, but should be used in conjunction with other titles that offer a variety of voices.Carol Jones Collins,
Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ
Collins, Carol Jones
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Collins, Carol Jones. "Kops, Deborah. Racial Profiling." School Library Journal, Feb. 2007, p. 140. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA159392090&it=r&asid=b98ceed77b68cbacb8e892f110b2e6ef.
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Equal under the law?
School Library Journal.
53.10 (Oct. 2007): pS66.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. Racial Profiling. 127p. (Open for Debate Series). photos, reprods, bibliog, further reading. Marshall
Cavendish/Benchmark. PLB $27.95. ISBN 9780761422983. LC 2005037064. Gr 69
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
YOUNG, Mitchell, ed. Racial Discrimination. 183p. (Issues on Trial Series). further reading. Gale/Greenhaven. PLB
$34.95. ISBN 073772787X. LC 2005055092. Gr 7 Up
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
HIRSCHMANN, Kris, ed. Racial Profiling. 115p. (At Issue Series). bibliog. Gale/ Greenhaven. PLB $28.70. ISBN 0
737719796; pap. $19.95. ISBN 073771980X. LC 2006043375. Gr 9 Up
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
ea vol: index, notes. Web sites. CIP. 2006. A range of historical events and interpretations of those events are presented
in these timely volumes. Kops offers a history of racial profiling in the United States, beginning with the Japanese
internment camps during WWII and ending with a lengthy section on the post9/11 situation. She provides clear
background information for younger readers. Photos and sidebars break up the text. A more thorough exploration of the
Supreme Court's rulings on four landmark cases structures Young's collection of writings. Supreme Court majority and
dissenting opinions provide primarydocument sources. Each of the cases (Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, Brown v. Board
of Education in 1954, Wisconsin v. Mitchell in 1993, and Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003) is introduced and then discussed
to present the complexity of Americans' feelings about social equality, discrimination in schools, hate crimes and free
speech, and mandated diversity in college admissions practices. A more theoretical and sophisticated debate is
presented in Hirschmann's Racial Profiling. Sources of documents include the U.S. Department of Justice, the ACLU,
and Amnesty International, as well as journalists, and academic essays. The pieces, which offer diametrically opposed
opinions on a variety of modern racial profiling practices, are each prefaced with an abstract. All three books include
contact information for related organizations. [Books]
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Equal under the law?" School Library Journal, Oct. 2007, p. S66. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA199462950&it=r&asid=58c81e33b61a68c0554e5ab0a71b122b.
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Kops, Deborah. Women's Suffrage
Julie Webb
School Library Journal.
50.9 (Sept. 2004): p228.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution
permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
KOPS, Deborah. Women's Suffrage. map. ISBN 1567117724. LC 2003007099.
ORR, Tamra B. The Salem Witch Trials. illus. ISBN 1567117708. LC 2003002618.
ea vol: 48p. (People at the Center of Series). photos. reprods. chron. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP.
Gale/Blackbirch. 2004. PLB $23.70.
Gr 59These titles focus more on the people involved in historical movements than on the events. Each book begins
with an overview of its topic and then transitions into one to twopage biographies that highlight each person's
contributions. Kops provides a bit more background information than Orr does. Featuring reformers such as Mary
Wollstonecraft, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony, the profiles clearly explain the role each played
in the women's rights movement. Photographs and paintings appear throughout, often depicting these women in action.
Orr presents an easytounderstand account of the conflicts leading up to the hysteria surrounding the events in Salem.
Beginning with two 15thcentury German priests who wrote a book about identifying and hunting witches, the author
introduces Cotton Mather, Tituba, Rebecca Nurse, and others. While the text explains the origin of the accusations and
the backgrounds of the accused, it does not address all of the questions surrounding the Puritans' frenzied tear of
witches. The wellchosen pictures exhibit the emotional anguish attached to the events. The simplicity of the writing
makes both books perfect for introductory reading, or for reluctant readers.Julie Webb, Shelby County High School,
Shelbyville, KY
Webb, Julie
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Webb, Julie. "Kops, Deborah. Women's Suffrage." School Library Journal, Sept. 2004, p. 228+. General OneFile,
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p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA122410826&it=r&asid=7da9bde4dd36f5be40944c41f534eafc.
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Gale Document Number: GALE|A122410826
MAY
8
The Great Molasses Flood
by Deborah Kops
Elementary School • Nonfiction
A FEW OTHER EVENTS FOR
MAY 8:
It’s the birth date of Milton Meltzer (1915-2009), Tough Times, Mary Q. Steele (1922-1992), who sometimes used the pen name Wilson Gage, Journey Outside.
It’s World Red Cross Day. Henry Dunant (1828-1910), born on this day, inspired the creation of the International Red Cross, as well as the Geneva Convention. He received the first-ever Noble Peace Prize in honor of his efforts.
Best birthday wishes to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, first held on this day in 1877. Read Flawed Dogs: The Shocking Raid on Westminster by Berkley Breathed.
In the spring of 2012 several first-rate natural disaster books appeared, probably because of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Besides the Titanic books, Sally M. Walker wrote a thrilling account of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 in Blizzard of Glass. Our book of the day by Deborah Kops, The Great Molasses Flood, takes a look at one of my favorite disasters, which took place in Boston in 1919.
Kops begins her account with exactly the right description: “Of all the disasters that have occurred in the United States, the Great Molasses Flood in Boston was one of the most bizarre.” How right she is. Imagine going out in the yard, or walking to school, hearing a loud explosion, and then finding yourself confronted with a wave of brown molasses— “that dark-brown sweet-and-sour liquid that sticks to everything.”
Kops sets the stage historically—the Spanish flu, Babe Ruth helps the Boston Red Sox win the World Series, and Prohibition on the horizon—and then she skillfully brings readers to lunch hour on January 15, 1919, when the huge molasses tank in Boston’s North End exploded. A wave of 2,300,000 gallons of molasses crested fifty feet high and swept away everything in its path including about a hundred men, women, and children at a speed close to 35 miles per hour. As the sticky substance made its way through the city it uprooted buildings, train lines, and the lives and property of Boston citizens.
Kops has effectively used original photographs from the event to show the story of Boston’s destruction; she scanned newspaper accounts and archival records of the trials that followed the disaster. Through these primary sources she brings readers right into the action, describing what it felt like and how it appeared to the citizens of the city. She does for the Molasses Flood what Walter Lord did for the Titanic in A Night to Remember.
For classroom or book group discussion purposes, the most important part of the book comes in the final chapters. Here Kops deals with the issues of industrial mismanagement. What do industries owe citizens for damage to life and property?
While reading this beautifully designed book, at one point I had to look out my window to make sure that no wave of dark brown could be seen. I am happy to report that Boston appears to be molasses-free this morning. But I am really grateful for narrative nonfiction like The Great Molasses Flood, which so vividly re-creates the events of another era.
Here’s a passage from The Great Molasses Flood:
Martin Clougherty, the owner of the Pen and Pencil, was in his bed rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His sister, Teresa, had just awakened him and was still in his bedroom. Suddenly, she let out a scream. “Something terrible has happened to the molasses tank!” she cried. Martin shoved the curtains aside and saw a murky liquid swirling outside. He gave his sister a hug and said, “Stay here.” Before he could investigate the situation, he heard his mother shriek in the kitchen. A momenet later Martin went sailing through the air.
A wave of molasses had lifted the Cloughertys’ house right off its foundation and pushed it across Commercial Street toward the elevated train. The house smashed against the columns supporting the tracks. The next thing Martin Clougherty knew, he was in a dark sea surrounded by pieces of his house, and he could not stand up. He was facing the ocean. Had he fallen in? he wondered. Clougherty managed to get his nose out of the goo and took some deep breaths. Something was floating on the surface, something he could use for a raft. He tried to swim toward it, but the dark sea was too thick, and he couldn’t move. Luckily a wave pushed the raft right in his direction. It was a bed, and Clougherty, who was still in his pajamas, climbed on top.
He looked around. His neighborhood had suddenly become a strange world. Sticking up out of the heavy liquid was a limp hand. Could it be his sister? As he pulled the body up onto the raft, he saw that it really was Teresa. And thank goodness, she was alive.