The Mighty Miss Malone

Curtis, Christopher Paul. (2012). The Mighty Miss Malone. NY: Wendy Lamb Books. 

Hardcover | $15.99 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0385734912 | 320 pages | YA Fiction

Imagine being at the top of your class. Imagine being the brightest kid in school. Imagine not having a care in the world because after all, you have the best big brother in the world and a wonderful mother and father who take care of you. Then everything changes. Imagine jumping in a boxcar to go in search of your father in an unknown city. Imagine living in a shantytown and sleeping on the ground. Imagine having a piece of fabric as your front door. Imagine having every tooth in your mouth cause you pain and agony but not having the money to fix it. Most of us cannot even imagine wearing the same article of clothing every day, let alone the rest of these realities, which Deza Malone experienced alongside her family during the Great Depression. The Great Depression both tore her family apart and brought her family closer together, but the journey was a difficult one.

Deza tells the story of her family’s struggle through a difficult time in our history. It was a difficult time for any family during the Great Depression, but it was especially hard for African American families.  Finding work was not easy. Having enough to eat was unlikely. But Deza was determined. She had a love of learning and it was clear to all who knew her that she was going to be something in the future. Her brother could sing better than anyone in town. Her incredibly selfless mother did anything to support her children and family.

The plot thickens after Deza’s father, who spoke in alliterations on a regular basis, could not find work, and after a near deadly fishing trip accident on Lake Michigan, he left his family in search of work in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. He said he would send for them. It was just that times were so tough on the family financially that holding on to this hope was so incredibly hard. Deza, Jimmie, and her mom set out for Flint and that is where the story takes us deep into the struggles of this family. This is a must read for every young reader. I absolutely loved how the realness, the vividness, the struggle, and the loyalty of the family were portrayed. I believe that readers can learn a lot from this story – Deza approached things with an open mind, even in the face of difficulty.  It was wonderful just how much this family supported one another when they had to leave their home with only what they could carry in three blankets. This story about the love between the Malone family is powerful and will tear at any reader’s heart strings.

Newbury Medal and Coretta Scott King award-winning children’s author Christopher Paul Curtis wrote this book to teach about history and provide us with a phenomenal young female character to admire.  This book was nominated for the 44^th NAACP Image Award.  Curtis has won awards for his other titles including The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, Bud, Not Buddy and Elijah of Buxton. This book would be useful for multicultural programming and should be placed in every public and school libraries. To view the official website of Christopher Paul Curtis, please visit: http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com. If you would like to watch an online classroom cast interview with Christopher Paul Curtis in which he talks about The Mighty Miss Malone, please visit this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGEEJfi0fsI