Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

This book is a "heart-warmer" about a little girl named Molly Lou who is smaller than all the other children her age. Her character is developed after she moves to a different town. She always remembers what her grandmother told her and is able to battle the bullies.

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon would be useful in the younger grades as it has very simple language and bold pictures. This would be good for character development lessons and the theme of being proud of who you are. It also is a good example of how we need to to accept people who are different than us. Some possible lesson ideas would be to have children compare the situations from the book to things that have happened to them. Another idea would be to use this as one book in a character study unit. Students could record aspects of Molly Lou and what makes her who she is.

This book does not reach all of the levels of social justice education. It clearly touches on self-love and acceptance as she is constantly reminded that she can do what everyone else can do. It is also able to be incorporated into the "respect for others" category because the bully Ronald learns to accept Molly Lou for who she is.

Some useful links:
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=10582
http://www.meac.org/Resources/LessonPlans/pdf/Primary_stand.pdf
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/bookfairs/currconnection/like_myself.htm