Walking with Miss Millie
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
“A memorable and lovely debut.”--Kirkus Reviews
“Walking with Miss Millie is full of subtle wisdom. Its ending is satisfying though sobering and there are elements of this story that stay with you long after the last page has been read.”--Karen English, Coretta Scott King Honor Award Author
A poignant middle grade debut about the friendship between a white girl and an elderly black woman in the 1960s South
Alice is angry at having to move to Rainbow, Georgia—a too small, too hot, dried-up place she’s sure will never feel like home. Then she gets put in charge of walking her elderly neighbor’s dog. But Clarence won’t budge without Miss Millie, so Alice and Miss Millie walk him together.
Strolling with Clarence and Miss Millie quickly becomes the highlight of Alice's day and opens her eyes to all sorts of new things to marvel over. During their walks, they meet a mix of people, and Alice sees that although there are some bullies and phonies, there are plenty of kind folks, too. Miss Millie shares her family’s story with Alice, showing her the painful impact segregation has had on their town. And with Miss Millie, Alice is finally able to express her own heartache over why her family had to move there in the first place.
Tamara Bundy’s beautifully written debut celebrates the wonder and power of friendship: how it can be found when we least expect it and make any place a home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bundy debuts with an unlikely-friendship story, set in 1968, between a 10-year-old white girl and an elderly black neighbor. Alice, her mother, and her deaf six-year-old brother, Eddie, have moved from Columbus, Ohio, to the tiny town of Rainbow, Ga., to take care of Alice's grandmother, newly suffering from what Alice calls "the forgetful disease." Unwillingly displaced, Alice longs to reunite her separated parents; when she accidentally eavesdrops on a telephone party line, her mother makes her apologize and offer her help to one of the parties: 92-year-old Miss Millie, her grandmother's widowed neighbor. Soon the two are taking daily walks with Miss Millie's dog and confiding in each other. Slowly, through their conversations and through Alice's daily observations and interactions in town, she awakens to segregation and prejudice. Miss Millie is somewhat broadly drawn, but what could be a stereotypical relationship is made richer by Alice's growing individuality as a character. While the book offers no real surprises, Bundy avoids the expected plot development surrounding Alice's deadbeat dad, and Alice's strong character development makes for a satisfying read. Ages 10 up.
