From the Publisher: "Ten-year-old Mary Mae loves to sing hymns with her Granny, go to Sunday School, and learn about trilobites. She has lots of questions about how the earth looked millions of years ago. Trouble is, Mary Mae’s mother thinks it’s wrong to believe the world is that old. Mama believes God created it six thousand years ago and she believes that nobody should teach Mary Mae otherwise. When Mary Mae starts taking her questions to church, asking how God created the earth in six days or how eight people could take care of animals on an ark, Mama puts her foot down: homeschooling. Mary Mae must decide where her loyalties lie: with science and Miss Sizemore, with God and Mama, or somewhere in the middle."Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2010, 129 pp.
How compelling to read about a child who questions what she is told not to question. The issues were so polar (straight Bible versus evolution), that the struggle seemed inevitable; I would have liked the church's (and therefore parents') viewpoint not to be so fanatical. The parents came across as poorly educated. I would have been intrigued by a more complicated struggle with the parents having more sophistication of thought. I also wanted to see more development of the mother/daughter relationship.
ReplyDeleteMary Mea seemed very curious and adventureous.I like how she was always wanting ot find out more. I wish that she and her mother got a long better.
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