First Whole-School Read of a Girl’s Success Story

By: Mrs. Handrop

A strong, compassionate, yet culturally ostracized young woman learns to make a meaningful life for herself and others in a place and time where most people cannot survive or thrive. Her story was the basis for our Mary Jane Malone Whole-School Reading event this year. Readers learned about a part of American geography, culture, and history never before imagined by most of us. BLUE people? In America? That was different.

For this year’s Mary Jane Malone reading experience, the English Department of Caddo Magnet High School worked together to find a book we could all talk about and find common interests. After spending months reading a variety of books, your English teachers found The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. This book checked so many boxes on our list of must-haves: a need for and love of BOOKS, of course; reading level and material for all grade levels; and involvement of more subject areas than simply English, such as history, geography, biology, chemistry, psychology/sociology, social issues, etc. The book included historical points not usually covered in history; pack-horse librarians during the Depression Era; a geographical location and setting unfamiliar to most, Appalachia; real BLUE PEOPLE and the science behind that phenomenon; cultural and social prejudices; and so much more.

Not only did The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek make for some very interesting reading on multiple levels, but the novel also featured a strong young woman as the book’s protagonist. Since our Ernest J. Gaines Literary Symposium theme this school year was Women in Literature, Cussy Mary fit beautifully into that idea by showcasing the life of a woman in a world that did not actually want to showcase her. Cussy Mary was dealt some unusual adversity in her life, then seemingly insurmountable, but she showed readers a way to handle those conflicts, rise above prejudice, and tackle the hardships in an honest, compassionate manner, while also trying to help others through terrible times.

Though the book could make us mad at times, and very sad (especially toward the end), everyone found something to talk about while reading our Mary Jane Malone WholeSchool Reading book. If you are curious about what happens to Honey, there is a sequel called The Book Woman’s Daughter where her story continues. Otherwise, stay tuned for next year’s Mary Jane Malone Whole-School Reading book—what could it be? We are open to suggestions!

A B C D E can't pick

You can pick one season to live in forever. You: grab your spf and swimmies for summer hang with the birds and bees in spring put on your winter coat bust out your rake for fall

If you had to pick the majority of your belongings are: Green/ Yellow A B C D E Pastels /Blue Sliver/ Black Earth tones Purple/ Red

Debut/ Fearless 1989/ Lover

C somewhere on the beach a big city off grid in the woods

A B

You design your dream home. It is located: A A

E somewhere in the country

B

B C

C a small town

BY: SADIE

D E E

Reputation/ Midnights

D

Your favorite animal is a: butterfly bird snake cat dog dancing reading listening to music

MostlyBs: MostlyCs: MostlyDs: MostlyEs:

Folklore/ Evermore Speak Now/ Red

Created By: Kaylie Nhan

Created By: Kaylie Nhan

Down:

2. First female doctor

3. Directed grape and lettuce boycotts to support the unionization of farmworkers

4. Delivered abolitionist women’s rights speech “Ain’t I A Woman”

6. Actress who plays Janine in Abbott Elementary

8. First Spanish singer to be nominated for Best New Artist

Across:

1. She can be found “Crying In H Mart”

5. Youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history

7. Author and activist who wrote about race, gender, and class

9. Old Hollywood actress who helped popularize women wearing pants

10. There must have been an angel by this singer’s side

11. Wrote the Equal Rights Amendment