THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE by Christopher Paul Curtis

Deza Malone is quite a character.  She loves school, she loves reading and writing, and she loves her family.  Deza, her mother and father, and her older brother Jimmie live in Gary, Indiana.  It's the 1930's and the depression has made life hard, but this family knows that family is what makes life worth living.

When she is not in school, Deza is at the library.  Her thirst for knowledge and her ability to communicate through speaking and writing are going to be the things that assure her success some day.  Everyone is sure her brother's success will come from his beautiful singing voice.  They are a couple of great kids and they make their parents proud.

After unbearable disappointment while looking for work, Deza's father decides he must leave the family and head back to their original home in Flint, Michigan.  If he can find work there, he can save some money and send for the rest of them.  The plan holds promise until Deza and her mother and brother are sent packing by their landlord.  What follows is their uncertain journey hopping trains until they arrive in a temporary camp outside Flint.  Their struggles there continue as they wait to hear from the husband/father and the job he has hopefully found.

Well-known author and Flint native, Christopher Paul Curtis, has once again created a fascinating tale with clever characters involved in an emotional and inspiring story.  Fans of BUD, NOT BUDDY and THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM --1963 will fall in love with THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE.