Yesterday, I finished reading The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis (one of my favorite authors!). Actually, I just finished listening to the audio book. I always listen to a book on my way to and from work each day. Plus I always have another book I am reading at home. Anyway, after I heard the Author's Note at the end of The Mighty Miss Malone, I ejected the CD and thought long and hard about what I had just heard.
The Might Miss Malone take place in Indiana and Michigan in the 1930s and is an example of the devastation caused by the Depression. The main character, Deza is a smart, kind and innocent little girl who was going to go far in life. She had experiences that most of us could not even imagine happening to us, yet she persevered because she was determined and strong willed. Deza has wonderful, supportive parents and a fabulous older brother, Jimmy. Jimmy did not have the "book smarts" that Deza did but he had a wonderful voice. Everyone loved his singing. Crowds would gather just to hear him. When a terrible tragedy occurs, this family has to pull together, stand tall, make tough decisions, and have a whole lot of faith and hope.
Mr. Curtis has a magnificent way of taking a tragic time in our country's history and portraying it form a different perspective; through someone else's eyes. He always adds humor at just the right times and he builds the books around some very important and significant historical events. I find out a lot about history from his books; and more importantly, his books inspire me to learn more about those time periods.
Like his other historical fiction books, Mr. Curtis challenges me to think about how I can make a difference in this world and how I can celebrate and appreciate everyones differences and uniqueness. This particular book was rather unsettling at the end of the Author's Note because Mr. Curtis gave statistics of our current society that shocked and saddened me. I don't want to spoil it for you but I do hope that you will read this book and then think about out how YOU can make a positive difference in this world. And then DO IT!
This morning I started listening to A Thousand Never Evers By Shana Burg. This book takes place in 1963 during the civil right movement. Which, coincidentally, is when Christopher Paul Curtis' book The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 takes place (another fantastic book). Ironically, at home I am reading another book by Shana Burg titled Laugh With the Moon. It is about a girl's journey to Malawi after her mother dies as a way for her father to teach her that life does go on and that she need to appreciate and enjoy the time that she does have to spend with those she cares about and how she can make a difference in people's lives. (Also, Shana Burg lives in Austin, TX! So, you already know she's cool!)
All of these books, I'd recommend for 4th grade and up because of the subjects, the "difficult to swallow" times in our nation's history and level of awareness that older elementary students have.
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