I have always been curious about the Depression-era pack horse librarians, so when I saw The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, I knew I’d be interested. And I learned a lot, but about more than just this WPA project to bring books to people living in remote parts of the Appalachian Mountains. I also learned that there were people in this area who were born and lived their lives with blue skin, and about the prejudice they faced because of this.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek combines those two threads into a compelling story about a bright and passionate young woman you’ll come to care about. Give it a try!
And if you want to read more about these interesting subjects, here are some links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Fugates
http://dnascience.plos.org/2016/09/22/finding-the-famous-painting-of-the-blue-people-of-kentuc ky/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_Horse_Library_Project
http://www.npr.org/2018/09/13/647329067/the-pack-horse-librarians-of-eastern-kentucky
This Smithsonian article inspired Jojo Moyes to write The Giver of Stars, another popular novel about the pack horse librarians: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/horse-riding-librarians-were-great-depression-bookmo biles-180963786/
