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Down Cut Shin Creek
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
25 posts | 17 read | 7 to read
It's 4:30 in the morning, and the "book woman" and her horse are already on their way. Hers is an important job, for the folks along her treacherous route are eager for the tattered books and magazines she carries in her saddlebags. During the Great Depression, thousands lived on the brink of starvation. Many perished. In 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progess Administration under his 1933 New Deal initiative. The WPA was designed to get people back on their feet. One of its most innovative programs was the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky. Thoroughly researched and illustrated with period photographs, this is the story of one of the WPA's greatest successes. People all over the country supported the project's goals. But it was the librarians themselves -- young, determined, and earning just $28 a month -- who brought the hope of a wider world to people in the crooks and hollows of Kentucky's Cumberland Mountains.
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review
BookBosomed1
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
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Pickpick

That time I saw a book advertised on a library poster and asked the librarian where to find it so she called over another librarian and asked her to escort me to the children‘s section. 🤣 It is a really interesting picture book, esp if you like books such as The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek. 🤷‍♀️🙌🏻

PhyllisH Sounds really interesting. I have added it to my TBR list. I have read and loved The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek. Thanks for recommending 😁. 3y
BookBosomed1 @PhyllisH Yea! I ❤️ Bookwoman if Troublesome Creek. This book is tiny bc it‘s a children‘s picture book. The history is interesting and the pictures are fascinating. 3y
PhyllisH 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💗. I‘m originally from Kentucky so I‘m looking forward to seeing the photos. I found a copy on Amazon. 😊 3y
7 likes1 stack add3 comments
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tpixie
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Here‘s a nice book to complement #TheWomanOfTroublesomeCreekAnd #TheGiverOfStars
all three of these clips are about the packhorse librarians of Kentucky.
Interestingly in Louisiana librarians would deliver library books by flatboat.

LeahBergen So cool! 3y
tpixie @LeahBergen yes! 💖 3y
rubyslippersreads This sounds great! 3y
See All 10 Comments
tpixie @rubyslippersreads @LeahBergen it‘s a nice 55 page YA nonfiction book 3y
Cortg I work at the public library. A friend from book club stopped in the other day to pick up her holds to include this one! She saw on Goodreads I had read it and texted to ask me about it ❤️ I‘m so glad you brought it to my attention! (edited) 3y
tpixie @Cortg that is great that you could bring more attention to a book! That makes me happy also! Serendipity! 🐴 📚 3y
LaraS This looks really interesting! 3y
tpixie @LaraS it‘s a nice short read! 3y
Michael42 Look interesting 3y
tpixie @Michael42 yes! 🐴📚🐴 3y
51 likes1 stack add10 comments
review
Cortg
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Pickpick

Thanks for the recommendation @tpixie
This nonfiction books goes nicely with The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Lots of old black and white photos to go along with the facts. I quite enjoyed this one.

tpixie Awesomeness!! Sometimes I like to go down the rabbit hole and read complementary books. I‘m glad it worked out for you ! 3y
tpixie I‘m finally reading it! 3y
Cortg @tpixie Yay! You‘ll notice some similarities from 3y
31 likes3 comments
quote
ds111717
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

“Without enough money to feed their bodies, how in the world could money be found to 'feed their minds'?“

blurb
ds111717
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

I would consider using this book in my classroom because it provides factual evidence including photographs from that time period. It would hopefully spark interest in children to learn and investigate more about this time period. I would say it's only age appropriate for older students however because of the lengthy information.

review
ds111717
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
Pickpick

Down Cut Shin Creek written by Kathi Appelt and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer. This book is about the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky, which was one of the works from the WPA. This book has thorough research provided and it's even illustrated with period photographs.

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maddyhensley
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

“This Kentucky girl‘s clothing shows the extreme poverty that many mountain people experienced during the 1930s”

blurb
maddyhensley
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

A good biography to include in the classroom. Focuses on the Great Depression so it may be hard to comprehend the earlier ages.

review
maddyhensley
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
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Pickpick

Down Cut Shin Creek by Kathi Appelt published in 2002 tells a story during the Great Depression.

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cjegolden99
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
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cjegolden99

Nonfiction. I think this is a fabulous nonfiction book and an interesting piece of historyZ it‘s a much needed break from the books of all the famous history we learn every year in school. This would be a perfect book for a classroom, even better if that classroom is in Kentucky or the surrounding states. And the pictures absolutely engage the reader because they are real.

review
cjegolden99
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
Pickpick

Down Cut Shin Creek by Kathi Appelt and Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer, 2001. This is a very interesting story. It tells of the Pack Horse Librarians of Kubrick during the Great Depression, an initiative many people, at least I think, don‘t know about. At least I didn‘t. It‘s very interesting and it will likely feel new to those who read it with no previous knowledge. The photographs add to the fascinating story and put it in the real world.

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lauren_rese
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
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lauren_rese
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer

I like how this book includes photographs to give realistic imaginations.

review
lauren_rese
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
Pickpick

This book would be a great resource to use for a research project. It tells the story of the WPA and one of its greatest successes, the Pack Horse Library Project of Eastern Kentucky. This book represents a time when those who were held back in life and are now brought back to their feet. Genre: Biography; Published: 2001

review
kyraleseberg
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
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Pickpick

This is a short YA book explaining the history of pack horse librarians during the Great Depression. Women were hired under the New Deal to deliver books down in the hollows of Kentucky to people otherwise without reading material. Many folks learned to read thanks to this wonderful program. I just learned about this fascinating part of history while reading my daughter the children's book That Book Woman and had to learn more.

12 likes1 comment
blurb
kyraleseberg
Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky | Kathi Appelt, Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
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Recent library picks 📖📚

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Teenta
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Pickpick

Loved this. It's written for young readers but I don't think it appeals to them much. But a great story for book lovers and those interested in historical library services.

9 likes1 stack add
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LindsayReads
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OK, one more non-traditional library. Down Cut Shin Creek recounts the history of the "pack horse" librarians, an arm of Roosevelt's WPA that brought reading materials to rural Appalachians. These women also often read to the residents, young and old. I got to do a little extended research on them while earning my MLIS--I find people like the pack horse librarians and Luis Soriano so inspiring. #SeasonsReadings2016 #setinlibraries

Reviewsbylola So interesting! 7y
LindsayReads @Reviewsbylola I agree! Definitely one of the lesser known projects of the era. 7y
Notafraidofwords That's so awesome. 7y
LeahBergen Wow!!! 7y
40 likes3 stack adds4 comments