Molly Learns A Lesson - Book Discussion

Hi everyone! I hope you all were able to read Molly Learns A Lesson so we can discuss it. If you don't have copies of these books going forward at home, you can check to see if a local library has them, and if no libraries have them, you can make an account at the Library of Congress's Internet Archive and check them out there.

Molly Learns A Lesson is about Molly's school life during World War II, where she admires her teacher, Ms. Campbell, and feels jealous of popular student Allison. When each gender in the class is assigned to do a group project to help the soldiers in World War II, Allison's idea to knit socks makes Molly feel jealous enough to start her own project - only for her to realize that coming together will do the most good.

When I was rereading this book, several things came to mind about the themes within, and both their historical context and what it means to be a girl in 2025. I don't want these posts to be too long, so I'll list my thoughts, and let you discuss these topics as well in the comments!

1. Molly admires Ms. Campbell and fantasizes about her wedding, but also has to deal with a reality where big weddings can't happen as much because of the war. How do you think she balances that?

   Molly's fantasies are a way to cope with the stress of World War II and having to worry about her dad being away. In the book before this, she fantasized about being Cinderella for Halloween, a world without the war - she's just a girl, and she doesn't really like this reality she lives in.

2. Molly is jealous of Allison, to the point where she doesn't want to do the assigned project because Allison had the idea. Why do you think that is?

   Molly feels plain. Molly doesn't feel like she has many talents. She knows she is bad at multiplication, while Allison isn't. Molly has braided hair, while Allison has curly blond hair, which is romanticized. Allison is the ideal of a perfect student during this era - what Molly aspires to be.

   
   

3. Ultimately, Molly's experiences knowing that her dad needs blankets to treat wounded soldiers win the third-grade girls the contest. How do you think the war being so close to home affected Molly and her idea?

   Molly has first-hand experience with the war and what it has caused her. She looks forward to her letters from her dad, and absorbs every detail - even the details about the war. Her love for her dad and want for him to be okay drives her to do this for all the other soldiers - she knows they need blankets, and would do anything to get that for them.

   
   

4. In school, the war looms large over everything - from patriotic songs to projects to how geography questions are presented. How do you think education is the same and different today?

   We aren't in a war as all-consuming as World War II - rather, a series of smaller wars that we don't hear about as much. But the way education, particularly history, is skewed is similar to how education was used as in World War II, down to state lines. Like I've said before on this blog, North Carolina's education system skews the story it tells about certain events it has a not-so-favorable role in in order for students to have state pride, and certain events the US didn't have a good role in are also sanitized. While students in World War II had patriotism incorporated in their education for use of reminding them about their part in the war, nowadays, it has been abused for more far-reaching purposes.

   
   

Next week, we will read Molly's Surprise!