Minnie McClary Speaks Her Mind

By: Valerie Hobbs

Narrated by: Tara Sands

Minnie McClary’s life was turned upside down when her family moved from the big city to a small town, and now she has nothing but problems. Miss Marks, her new language arts teacher, thinks that the way to solve problems is to start by asking questions. But Minnie has so many questions she doesn’t even know where to start. Like why did her father lose his job by blowing a whistle? Why is her war veteran uncle obsessed with building a helicopter in the basement? Why do people make fun of her new friend Amira’s head scarf? Why do all of the parents care so much about the rainbow tattoo on Miss Marks’s ankle? And what can you do when you know you should stand up for what’s right, but you might be too scared?

A "Young Adult" book all adults should read.

Valerie Hobbs writes beautifully about the importance and process of critical thinking, questioning, and speaking through the lens of a 6th grader named Minnie. In addition to gracefully questioning how we learn and enact "othering" through prejudice, hate, name calling and rejecting what is different from ourselves, Hobbs raises great questions about what good teaching is, what it might feel like for girls to step into their power, the lasting wounds of conflict both on the school grounds and in war. She shows the resilience for healing relationships (familial, friendship, enemies, and communal) that can come from unflinching and heartfelt communication And she does so with honesty and grace.