"Carl and the Cotton Gin" by Sara Ware Bassett is a story about a young boy named Carl McGregor growing up in a poor family, learning life lessons about working to earn money and the importance of education. Carl lives with his hardworking mother and siblings, watching his mother sew dresses to support them all, while exploring the relationships with his neighbors, especially when one of the children gets sick and the community comes together. Throughout the story, Carl thinks about the cotton gin, an invention by Eli Whitney, and considers how inventions can change the world around him.

Carl and the Cotton Gin
By Sara Ware Bassett
Witness a young boy's journey through poverty and family challenges as he reflects on how a single invention rippled throughout society.
Summary
About the Author
Sara Ware Bassett was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her novels primarily deal with New England characters, and most of them are set in two fictional Cape Cod villages she created, Belleport and Wilton. Her first novel, Mrs. Christy's Bridge Party, was published in 1907. She subsequently wrote more than 40 additional novels, continuing to write and publish into the late 1950s. Many of her novels focus on love stories and humorously eccentric characters. A number of her works are available as free e-books. Two of her novels, The Taming of Zenas Henry (1915) and The Harbor Road (1919), were adapted as the motion pictures Captain Hurricane (1935) and Danger Ahead (1921).
Sara Ware Bassett was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her novels primarily deal with New England characters, and most of them are set in two fictional Cape Cod villages she created, Belleport and Wilton. Her first novel, Mrs. Christy's Bridge Party, was published in 1907. She subsequently wrote more than 40 additional novels, continuing to write and publish into the late 1950s. Many of her novels focus on love stories and humorously eccentric characters. A number of her works are available as free e-books. Two of her novels, The Taming of Zenas Henry (1915) and The Harbor Road (1919), were adapted as the motion pictures Captain Hurricane (1935) and Danger Ahead (1921).