If you ask folks from Hickory, North Carolina, what they remember about the year 1944, they might tell you about their fathers’ fighting Hitler, about the hardships of war, about the polio epidemic that swept the town and claimed their young ones, and about the lifesaving hospital camp they called the Miracle of Hickory.
If anyone knows about those things, it’s Ann Fay Honeycutt for sure.Ann Fay has always wanted to wear a pair of overalls of her very own, a privilege usually reserved for boys, and she finally gets her chance when her father goes off to war and leaves her the “man of the house.”She takes her job very seriously, planting and tending the Victory Garden and helping her mother and three siblings to maintain the household.
Tragedy strikes early and often for her and her family as the devastating polio epidemic hits too close to home.Through all of the hard times and sadness, Ann Fay learns how strong people can be and how important friendship is, even from people with different color skin than her own.She looks to Franklin D. Roosevelt for inspiration, knowing that if a man with polio can rise up and become president, she too can be strong and handle all that life has thrown her way.Based on a true story, Blue is a heartbreaking-and-warming book that celebrates friendship and the strength of those who kept the homestead running during one of the hardest periods of American history.187 pages. Ages 9-13
Recommended by Molly Crumbley, Librarian.