In this biographical picture book, Houston tells the story of her great aunt who, even as a little girl, had travel in her soul but never got out of the mountain community where she lived. Your students might like to know that Gloria Houston had, for a long time, attempted to turn Arizona's diaries into a biography or novel but was unable to do so although she had written several such books. When Houston saw Barbara Cooney 's picture book Miss Rumphius , she realized that the form her story should take was also that of a picture book. Students may be able to see similarities between those two beautiful books. These picture books may help students get some feel for the values and lifestyle of some of the people of Appalachia.
Novels Let's move on to the novels.
It's at this point that individuals can and should pick the book they want to spend some real time with. There are so many good ones, your kids shouldn't have trouble finding the one they'd like to read first. We see that life altering event through the eyes of Rosie Wilson, a young girl whose family is deeply involved in the strike. We also learn about the role Mother Jones played in that strike. The book is short and very easy to read.