Yankee Girl is one of those middle school titles that adults can learn from reading, too. The setting is Jackson, Mississippi in 1964 and a key theme is the struggle to find the moral courage to stand up for others and what you believe. Bullying is shown in numerous examples and with excerpts from contemporary newspaper accounts. The story focuses on Alice, whose FBI father is recently transferred to Jackson, and on Valerie, whose stoic ability to endure harassment while trying to be the first African American to legally integrate a 6th grade class is inspirational.
Recently, several New Trier students led book discussion groups on this title at Sunset Ridge (Northfield) and Skokie (Winnetka) schools. The New Trier students’ participation was part of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library’s One Book-Two Villages program. This week, Yankee Girl’s author, Mary Ann Rodman, will be visiting to share her thoughts on writing this book. In addition to school visits, she will be attending a book discussion, writing workshop, book signing, and a separate luncheon with proceeds benefiting the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood. More details are available at the Winnetka Public Library’s web site.
During July, the One Book-Two Villages program will host Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help – if you have already read that book, pick up Yankee Girl and compare how the same time and place serves as a powerful background for younger characters struggling to understand meanness and prejudice.
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