Change Player

The House That Jane Built

Read by: Kiernan Shipka
  • Written by: Tanya Lee Stone
  • Illustrated by: Kathryn Brown
  • Published by: Henry Holt and Company
  • Read by: Kiernan Shipka
  • Suggested grade level: 3rd - 4th
  • Run time: 9 minutes

This is the story of Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who transformed a poor neighborhood in Chicago by opening up her house as a community center. Ever since she was a little girl, Jane Addams hoped to help people in need. She wanted to live right in the middle of the roughest, poorest communities and create a place where people could go to find food, work, and help. In 1889, she bought a house in a run-down Chicago neighborhood and turned it into a settlement home, adding on playgrounds, kindergartens, and a public bath. By 1907, Hull House included thirteen buildings. And by the early 1920s, more than 9,000 people visited Jane's home each week. An inspiration to all, Jane Addams continues to be a role model to girls and women of all ages.