Junia, The Book Mule of Troublesome Creek

Junia is a mule, but she’s not just any mule. Junia carries a Kentucky Pack Horse librarian around the hills and hollows of Kentucky as she delivers all kinds of books—cookbooks, technical manuals, reading books, catalogs, patterns, and more—to the poverty-stricken people who live in the area during the Great Depression.

President Franklin Roosevelt, as part of his jobs programs to alleviate poverty during the Depression, put in place the Pack Horse Librarian program to give work to the librarians and to bring learning materials to people who otherwise wouldn’t have them. Author Kim Michele Richardson tells the story of this program through the eyes of a mule, and makes it very believable. Mules are known to be very smart, and Junia certainly is. Young readers will be engaged by Junia’s voice and storytelling chops.

Every page is filled with gorgeous illustrations that support the story by David C. Garner. He includes plenty of interesting details that will give young readers a good picture of life in that time and place. Two pages of non-fiction material leave readers with a good history lesson. This is a terrific way to introduce youngsters to this fascinating bit of history.