A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of being in the audience at Bookstore 1 Sarasota to hear Mildred Armstrong Kalish talk. “Millie,” as she insists (really) on being called, is the author of the bestseller Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression. (Learn more about book and author at little-heathens[dot]com.)
When the book came out in hardcover in 2007, I bought it for my own enjoyment, then asked my Iowa-born husband to read it, and then we sent copies as Christmas presents for my husband’s siblings. Now the book is out in paperback, and thus Millie has been traveling once again in support of it.
Millie is now something in the vicinity of 88 years old. It was fun to hear her stories, some of which weren’t even included in the book. She kept the pace up and kept her audience amused and intrigued. In the open discussion afterward, she mentioned that one reader had admitted rereading only two books in her life, the Bible and Little Heathens. Said Millie to her audience, “It’s kind of hard to remain humble after that.” Millie Kalish is, simply, a delightful person; go see her if you get an opportunity. But definitely, read her book if you want a feel for Iowa farm life during the Great Depression.
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Thanks for the recommendation. One more book to barter for my attention when I enter B and N.
What a delightful book! I just finished reading it ( a gift from a 82 year old friend) and loved it. I discovered a way to butter corn for a large group….my sisters annual corn roast is coming up on July and we never have a way to butter corn without creating a huge mess…now I just have to scour the antique stores and find a 2 quart wide mouth mason jar!! Guess you’ll have to read the book to find out what that’s all about!
Gail, thanks for reminding me about that corn-buttering trick! Glad you liked that book – the author is an incredibly nice person with values all in the right places, just as you’d imagine from her book. Nancy, you’ll love it too!
Thanks for your comments about Millie Kalish’s reading at our store. That event was fun; Millie is delightful; and the book is really good.
Georgia Court
Bookstore1Sarasota