Hobbs, Valerie. Minnie McClary Speaks Her Mind. Macmillan/Farrar
Strauss 215p $16.99 978-0-374-32496-4 2012 elm/ms E-BN Realistic fiction
Minnie
McClary is the new girl in her sixth-grade
class at Mojave Middle School. Her
family moved because her lawyer father lost his job after blowing the whistle
on some fishy business at the firm. Her
older brother used to be her friend,
but he has gone all “teenager-like”
on her. Vietnam War vet Uncle Bill lives
in the basement, building a replica of the helicopter in which he was injured. So Minnie really isn’t sure who she is at
all.
The position of language-arts teacher has been a revolving door of different substitutes until Miss Marks arrives. She doesn’t dress like a teacher, and she makes the students think. They write their thoughts and questions in journals.
Some of the parents want Miss Marks fired. At a school board meeting, Minnie speaks up, just as Miss Marks taught the students to do. She is learning to stand up for what she believes is right. Life is beginning the fall into place for Minnie, even if she doesn’t yet understand it all.
This story includes lessons on standing up for what is right, on the value of nonconformity, and on what constitutes good teaching as opposed to rote memorization. It also deals with friendship across cultural groups. It is an excelle.nt title for elementary and middle school (grades 4-7).
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