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5th out of 137 books
—
675 voters
The Mighty Miss Malone
“We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful” is the motto of Deza Malone’s family.
Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in...more
Deza is the smartest girl in her class in Gary, Indiana, singled out by teachers for a special path in life. But the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men. When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
January 10th 2012
by Wendy Lamb Books
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My 5th grade daughter was a few chapters into this book when she told me I "had to read it." The book tackles issues (race, poverty, literacy) in a way that is accessible to young people and provided me with a valuable entry point for discussing these issues with my daughter and her friends. My daughter is an avid reader, and she was struck by one passage in which Deza, also an avid reader, starts to lose her love of reading because she can't relate to any of the characters in the books she is r...more
The Mighty Miss Malone
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Fiction
Historical Fiction
320 pages
The Mighty Miss Malone is the story of Deza Malone and her family as they battle the Great Depression. Deza must move many different places and live in a camp for a while, in order to find her father. Her father said that he was leaving to find work but because he never wrote they decided they should go find him. Meanwhile Deza’s older brother Jimmy leaves to sing for night clubs and gets very wealthy. They finall...more
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Fiction
Historical Fiction
320 pages
The Mighty Miss Malone is the story of Deza Malone and her family as they battle the Great Depression. Deza must move many different places and live in a camp for a while, in order to find her father. Her father said that he was leaving to find work but because he never wrote they decided they should go find him. Meanwhile Deza’s older brother Jimmy leaves to sing for night clubs and gets very wealthy. They finall...more
"We are a family on a journey to a place called Wonderful."
Thus concludes an essay written by the Mighty Miss Malone and Chapter One of this insightful book written about a black family struggling to survive during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
We read this book for my girls' book club, made up mostly of 6th and 7th graders. I loved it. Deza Malone is magnetic, her parents are wise, and her brother is endearing. Add to that the delightful, almost poetic prose and the engaging story line and...more
Thus concludes an essay written by the Mighty Miss Malone and Chapter One of this insightful book written about a black family struggling to survive during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
We read this book for my girls' book club, made up mostly of 6th and 7th graders. I loved it. Deza Malone is magnetic, her parents are wise, and her brother is endearing. Add to that the delightful, almost poetic prose and the engaging story line and...more
In The Mighty Miss Malone, Curtis follows a couple of years in the life of a black family from Indiana during the depression. Despite poverty, unemployment, lack of schooling, and lots of unfortunate experiences, the Malones manage to stay positive, hilarious, and above all devoted to each other.
Deza's father disappears fairly early on--after being in a boat accident on Lake Michigan, he leaves to 'find work'. The family doesn't hear from him for months, during which time Deza's mother loses he...more
Deza's father disappears fairly early on--after being in a boat accident on Lake Michigan, he leaves to 'find work'. The family doesn't hear from him for months, during which time Deza's mother loses he...more
The Mighty Miss Malone is Christopher Paul Curtis' somber story of a family surviving in the midst of the Great Depression. While Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath sets a rather high standard of familial endurance in times of trial, Curtis offers a style that might well be easier for younger readers.
True: he never approaches the lyrical prose poetry about turtles crossing the road, but the book brims with the little things that make up life in the eyes of children (including sports, music and fear of...more
True: he never approaches the lyrical prose poetry about turtles crossing the road, but the book brims with the little things that make up life in the eyes of children (including sports, music and fear of...more
Dec 03, 2012
Barbara
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
death,
families,
friendship,
gifted,
music,
literacy,
ncbla2013,
poverty,
homelessness,
civil-rights,
community,
reading,
school,
self-esteem,
travel,
teachers,
urban-life,
writing
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I always think I'm not a historical fiction fan until a writer brings a story to life for me. And then I am.
Christopher Paul Curtis does it again. Deza Malone lives in Michigan in the 1930s. Her family is poor but hardworking and funny. Deza's older (but smaller) brother, Jimmie, keeps things...interesting. And the father is quite a wonderful storyteller (just like CPC, based on the two times I've heard him speak!). Deza is smart and tries really hard to be the smartest person possible. And Deza...more
Christopher Paul Curtis does it again. Deza Malone lives in Michigan in the 1930s. Her family is poor but hardworking and funny. Deza's older (but smaller) brother, Jimmie, keeps things...interesting. And the father is quite a wonderful storyteller (just like CPC, based on the two times I've heard him speak!). Deza is smart and tries really hard to be the smartest person possible. And Deza...more
Three and half stars? Four? I liked this book, but I was always aware it was a STORY as opposed to something that could have happened to a real person.
I did love the details about daily life during the Depression, and enjoyed the Gary and Flint settings. The camp was awesome, um, in a way that you're probably not supposed to think that camps of homeless people are awesome. It's just that all those little details of a kid making a home from scratch are downright irresistible (one of my favorite...more
I did love the details about daily life during the Depression, and enjoyed the Gary and Flint settings. The camp was awesome, um, in a way that you're probably not supposed to think that camps of homeless people are awesome. It's just that all those little details of a kid making a home from scratch are downright irresistible (one of my favorite...more
After reading Bud, Not Buddy, I immediately picked up this companion novel. Deza Malone, who appeared briefly in Bud, Not Buddy, is the main character in this newest book by Curtis. The Great Depression is again the setting for this novel. Deza and her family live in Gary, Indiana where they are trying to survive the economic hard times. Deza Is an excellent student and is doing very well in school. She has a best friend, Clarice Johnson, who shares her heart. Her brother, Jimmie, is older (15 y...more
I loved this one! It has everything in it that I appreciate about children’s literature: style, humor, beauty, depth—even history! I have absolutely no complaints about the story. It does have some incorrect grammar and spellings, but that’s because it’s written from the firsthand perspective of twelve-year-old Deza Malone. I don’t like such inaccuracies in books written for young children (like Junie B. Jones, by Barbara Park), but by fifth grade, the approximate reading level I’d give this one...more
I listened to the audio version of this book, and it was the saddest thing I ever heard. Christopher Paul Curtis has written other books about difficult times of american history for black americans, and his voice is authentic, but usually leavened by lots of silly humor. I wonder if anyone criticized the author for making light of the depressing truth of poverty and racism, because they can't do it with this book. Bud, Not Buddy wowed me with the sad plight of a young orphan who had to make it...more
The Mighty Miss Malone is a book that not all children will fully connect to, but I am confident that all children can relate to some element of the book, which also serves as an excellent reminder that children have not changed as much as some like to think throughout the generations. Readers can’t help but root for Deza and her family, because the one thing that remains constant throughout the novel is their love and dedication to one another. I particularly enjoy books that are set in differe...more
I never read "Bud, Not Buddy," so I went into this book without any preconceptions about Miss Deza Malone (a minor character in Curtis' earlier book). I really enjoyed Deza's character - her intelligence, her quirks, her strength - and the family dynamic in the Malone household was fun to read and very touching. The hardship of the Depression for so many families came across vividly as well, but without overshadowing the human side of the story. I would have appreciated a bit more realism in the...more
Mixed feelings. There are parts of this that are lovely--not just "shining moments", but threads woven throughout, and excellence in description over all. But I thought the plot didn't live up to the rest of it. Books about people who have good things happen to them because they're somehow "special" often rub me the wrong way, and I want to know what happened with Deza's more ordinary friend Clarice more than I want to read about the two most talented kids in Gary who will go far in life etc. Th...more
Recap:
It's going to be darn near impossible for me to recap this gem without going into a three page summary. So, here are the highlights.
- Deza Malone: quite possibly one of the best tween characters ever written. For real.
- The Malone Family: "We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful." And they are.
- The Great Depression: No one is escaping this monster, and the Malones are hit harder than most.
- Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling: The fight the whole world watched, and a catalyst in...more
It's going to be darn near impossible for me to recap this gem without going into a three page summary. So, here are the highlights.
- Deza Malone: quite possibly one of the best tween characters ever written. For real.
- The Malone Family: "We are a family on a journey to a place called wonderful." And they are.
- The Great Depression: No one is escaping this monster, and the Malones are hit harder than most.
- Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling: The fight the whole world watched, and a catalyst in...more
My expectations, of course, were high; this is Christopher Paul Curtis writing, after all. The book just didn't totally work. There is lots of good writing, but the overall story doesn't jell. Curtis has created a memorable Deza, but is she really the heroine here? She seems more like someone along for the ride, accompanying her mother and brother on their fight for survival. She's smart, sassy, and brave; but it's brother Jimmie who saves the family. Deza's telling his story. For such a smart g...more
6 October 2011 THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE by Christopher Paul Curtis, Wendy Lamb Books, January 2012, 320p., ISBN: 978-0-385-73491-2
"Powers keep on lyin'
While your people keep on dyin'"
-- Stevie Wonder, "Higher Ground"
"'My mother died four years ago.'
"'Sorry to hear that.'
"'It's OK, she didn't suffer or nothing.'
"'So where's your daddy?'
"'I think he lives in Grand Rapids, I never met him.'
"'Sorry to hear that.' Shucks, she held right on to my hand when she said that. I squirmed my hand a-loose and...more
"Powers keep on lyin'
While your people keep on dyin'"
-- Stevie Wonder, "Higher Ground"
"'My mother died four years ago.'
"'Sorry to hear that.'
"'It's OK, she didn't suffer or nothing.'
"'So where's your daddy?'
"'I think he lives in Grand Rapids, I never met him.'
"'Sorry to hear that.' Shucks, she held right on to my hand when she said that. I squirmed my hand a-loose and...more
Feb 12, 2013
Sally Kruger
added it
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 so...more
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 so...more
This book heads deeper and darker than I expected from the first few chapters - from classroom and self esteem drama of a gifted student with a delightful loving if struggling family through Depression era homelessnes, racism, and grief and finally back on track with hope even under greatly altered circumstances. So many little details of poverty hit hard, especially the chronic dental pain Deza experiences and her acceptance of this pain as ordinary and total amazement when she is taken care of...more
Paul Curtis immerses the reader in Depression-era America in this book, as he did in Bud, Not Buddy. In fact, the character of Deza Malone was introduced in Bud, Not Buddy. However, she is much more developed (and actually quite different) than she was in his previous book. The Mighty Miss Malone is best when we are in the Hooverville with her family. The end of the book, the resolution of the situation with Deza's father, felt somewhat disconnected from the rest of the story. Maybe the best par...more
An interesting tale of a young girl named Dez Malone who struggles with her family to survive the great depression. Deza is a very smart 12 year old girl who lives with her parents Roscoe and Peg along with an older brother named Jimmie. Jimmie is known for his beautiful voice and always turn's a bad day into a good one with his singing. After Deza's father disappears and comes back shaken from a horrible fishing accident, their lives drastically change. Her father lives his family in Gary to go...more
This is some good storytelling, and I have to say that it surprised me in the end. I really thought I knew where this one was going - finally; but, no Curtis gave me a very good surprise.
The Malone family is not too different from many of the poor, struggling, black families of the 1930's. The strength of their family is the central theme of the story, but even that strength isn't enough to keep them together.
Deza Malone deals with many losses in that important year of her life moving from eleme...more
The Malone family is not too different from many of the poor, struggling, black families of the 1930's. The strength of their family is the central theme of the story, but even that strength isn't enough to keep them together.
Deza Malone deals with many losses in that important year of her life moving from eleme...more
The Mighty Miss Malone is one of those books you know the end is coming but don't want the story to end. I felt like I knew each of the Malones. Jimmie, 15 years old, is a good kid, not great kid, but that boy can sing. Deza is 12 and the smartest kid in and loves her teacher. A sad set of circumstances force Mother and Deza to move to Flint, Michigan. Here she is in school with black and white students. All the teachers are white and they will not give a grade better than a C to a black child,...more
CLN - Newbery possibility #2
The members of my Children's Literature Network Book Club are reading "The Mighty Miss Malone" by Christopher Paul Curtis as a possible contender for a 2013 Newbery Medal. This work of historical fiction follows the Malone family as they struggle to survive the Depression. First person narrator, Deza Malone, is a precocious twelve year old. In Gary, Indiana, she is surrounded by other black children and adults, both at school and at home. Her intelligence is recognize...more
The members of my Children's Literature Network Book Club are reading "The Mighty Miss Malone" by Christopher Paul Curtis as a possible contender for a 2013 Newbery Medal. This work of historical fiction follows the Malone family as they struggle to survive the Depression. First person narrator, Deza Malone, is a precocious twelve year old. In Gary, Indiana, she is surrounded by other black children and adults, both at school and at home. Her intelligence is recognize...more
Every review I've read of The Mighty Miss Malone describes it as an "angry book." Maybe it's because over the past few years I've been exposed to poverty (and had plenty to be angry about), but I thought that there was a range of emotions present in the book--anger, sure, but also a great deal of sadness, some humor, and glimmers of hope.
Deza (pronounced Deh-zuh, not Dee-zuh) Malone is a twelve-year-old girl living in Gary, Indiana with her father, mother, and fifteen-year-old brother, Jimmie. F...more
Deza (pronounced Deh-zuh, not Dee-zuh) Malone is a twelve-year-old girl living in Gary, Indiana with her father, mother, and fifteen-year-old brother, Jimmie. F...more
Review initially posted at Wyz Reads.
Deza Malone is the smartest girl in her class. She’s probably the smartest student in the whole town of Gary, Indiana. But this may not mean much of anything for one HUGE reason: it’s 1936, and her family, like so many others, can’t find work as the country is in the depths of the Great Depression. That’s not going to get her down, though. No way, no how.
But the reality is, there is no work, especially for a black family. So Dad decides it’s time to go up to...more
Deza Malone is the smartest girl in her class. She’s probably the smartest student in the whole town of Gary, Indiana. But this may not mean much of anything for one HUGE reason: it’s 1936, and her family, like so many others, can’t find work as the country is in the depths of the Great Depression. That’s not going to get her down, though. No way, no how.
But the reality is, there is no work, especially for a black family. So Dad decides it’s time to go up to...more
"'Once upon a time...'
If I could get away with it, that's how I'd begin every essay I write.
Those are the four best words to use when you start telling about yourself because anything that begins that way always, always finishes with another four words, '...they lived happily everafter.'
And that's a good ending for any story."
―The Mighty Miss Malone, P. 3
I wouldn't hesitate to make the argument that Christopher Paul Curtis is one of the best authors of his generation, either for younger...more
If I could get away with it, that's how I'd begin every essay I write.
Those are the four best words to use when you start telling about yourself because anything that begins that way always, always finishes with another four words, '...they lived happily everafter.'
And that's a good ending for any story."
―The Mighty Miss Malone, P. 3
I wouldn't hesitate to make the argument that Christopher Paul Curtis is one of the best authors of his generation, either for younger...more
Recommended Age:
12+
Overall Review:
I was captivated by Deza Malone's spunky, spirited voice from the first page. I enjoyed getting to know Deza and her wonderful family, and found her sass (and her creative use of words!) endearing. While at times the book, which deals heavily with some difficult things, can be an emotionally hard book to read, I'm glad to have had the chance to spend some time with "the mighty Miss Malone."
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 5 religious exclamations.
Violence/...more
12+
Overall Review:
I was captivated by Deza Malone's spunky, spirited voice from the first page. I enjoyed getting to know Deza and her wonderful family, and found her sass (and her creative use of words!) endearing. While at times the book, which deals heavily with some difficult things, can be an emotionally hard book to read, I'm glad to have had the chance to spend some time with "the mighty Miss Malone."
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 5 religious exclamations.
Violence/...more
Deza Malone's biggest concern is getting straight A+'s on her schoolwork until her father is in a boating accident and she learns that their family will have to move to Flint, Michigan in the hopes that he can find work. Finding work is not an easy proposition for an African American man in 1936, the throes of the Great Depression. As Deza finds out, the best-laid plans oft go awry. But Deza won't let anything dampen her spark.
The book started off slowly, but it picked up when the family left G...more
The book started off slowly, but it picked up when the family left G...more
I was so excited when I saw this gem sitting on the new book shelf at work! I am a huge fan of Christopher Paul Curtis’ work, and I couldn’t wait to dig into another chunk of history with him. Curtis has a way of bringing the time period he is writing about to life for his readers. His characters are more than just “people on a page,” they feel like friends. This book centers around the character of Deza Malone, or as her Daddy calls her “Darling Daughter Deza.”
We readers have met Deza before in...more
We readers have met Deza before in...more
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Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan on May 10, 1953 to Dr. Herman Elmer Curtis, a chiropodist, and Leslie Jane Curtis, an educator. The city of Flint plays an important role in many of Curtis's books. One such example is Bucking the Sarge, which is about a fifteen year old boy named Luther T. Ferrel, who is in a running battle with his slum-lord mother. Curtis is an alumnus of the University of Mic...more
More about Christopher Paul Curtis...
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“. . . people use tricks to get you to think the way they do or take away something you have that they want. One way they do that is to interrupt your normal way of thinking and take you by the hand and guide you down the path they want you to take. Father says they make you take a teeny-weeny step in their direction, and then they start to nudge you a little further down the path and before you know it, you're running full speed with them in a direction that you probably wouldn't have gone alone.”
—
3 people liked it
“You can tell you're reading a really good book when you forget all about everything else and know you'll die if you get to at least the end of the chapter”
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2 people liked it
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May 07, 2013 10:16am