Shanna Spence

WILLIAM CROMWELL, at age eleven, knows what it is like living with new changes. In 1865, Manchester, England, a new textile factory moves into town, and after a tragedy befalls him and his mum, they struggle to survive. With so many things going on in his young life, he wants to be the encouragement that his father was to him. As everything changes, along with terrible hardships, just maybe the hope he gives to the growing town will find its way to Will. 

This fictional novel will inspire young readers as Shanna Spence walks them through a story confronting the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in England. During the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution impacted communities across the island. Lessons of kindness towards others and about respect for our fellow man are front and center in this story. Caring and sharing play a role as we see a young boy also dealing with balancing a normal childhood and a reality of child labor during the Industrial Revolution.