This is a fantastic work depicting the culture of children's at the turn of the century in cities across America. The book was a huge source of inspiration and understanding as I went about directing Newsies. What I learned from this book helped my actors create an entire world on the stage. ( )

Interesting--on my copy of the book, the blurb across the top about being the inspiration for the movie "Newsies" is blanked out. As it probably should be, since there is one short chapter about the newsboys' strike of 1899, and there wasn't much there to make a musical about. Basically, it's a study of children in the period of 1900-1920, focused mostly on New York but mentioning other cities also. Most of the "research" seems to have been from biographies of famous Hollywood stars who grew up in that period, further evidenced by the Epilogue, which expands on that theme. Interesting, but not very compelling. ( )