Recommended Reading
The list of books below aims to give a broad introduction to coal mining in England for all ages. The books are available in the Library.
Younger Readers
Up to age 8:
- Felix the Fast Tractor and the Coal Delivery, by Catherine Cannon
- What’s Underground? by Sabrina Crewe
- The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket
- The Bag of Coal, by Wes Magee
Age 8+
- You Wouldn’t Want to be a Victorian Miner, by John Malam
- How We Use Coal Raintree Perspectives: Using Materials
- Using Coal, Oil and Gas Read and Learn: Exploring Earth’s Resources by Sharon Katz Cooper
- Coal (Our World) by Kate Jackson Bedford
- Temper: the Story of a Boy and a Pit Pony by Jim Harland
- Out of the Deeps by Anne Laurel Carter and Nicolas Debon
- Ponty the Pit Pony by Lyn Whitby
- Boy of the Deep by Ian Wallace
All the books listed above are also useful in storytelling sessions or explorations into the subject of coal.
Adult Readers
- The History of the British Coal Industry Vol i-v.
- Pit Ponies, by John Bright, (1986)
- West Yorkshire Coalfield, by J Goodchild, (2000)
- Pitmen Painters: The Ashington Group: 1934-84, by W. Feaver, (1988)
- The History of the TUC 1868 – 1968, by L. Birch, (1968)
- Black Diamonds: The rise and fall of an English Dynasty, by C. Bailey, (2007)
- Wand of Science: A history of the British Flame Safety Lamp, by D Barrie, (2006)
- The Miners, by Anthony Burton, (1976)