Life on a farm in mountainous coalfields of Virginia brings ups and downs for a fifth grader leaving a two-room school on the mountain for a two-story school in town. The new farm cat won't give Mary Ann the time of day, and she encounters the class bully at her new school. Challenges and changes at school highlight the changes happening in Mary Ann's own life, but her three protective older brothers, grandparents and mom work together to make sure the family lives and loves well. Caught between being a child and a teenager, Mary Ann must discover for herself that the world exists in a spectrum of colors as varied as those found in a Caney Ridge sunrise.Mary Ann's Mountain, author Mary Ann Rose Hart's first novel, pays homage to her mountain heritage, sharing stories, lessons and secrets. She notes the joys of mountain music, making apple butter and working hard with family, and relays homespun stories about life on a small farm. The longtime teacher shares free downloads for guided reading activities and mathenrichment activities for the book on her website, (maryannrosehart.com).
Mary Ann Rose Hart, a retired teacher with thirty-six years of experience, began her career teaching French to third through sixth graders in Tennessee and later taught third through fifth graders in North Carolina. She has a master's degree from Appalachian State University, emphasizing the emerging adolescent and reading skills instructi on. She served as a math lead teacher, writing math activities presented at regional and state math conferences.Mary Ann taught reading, creative writing, and math in a multi cultural school, and it was her fifth graders who inspired her to write more stories to read aloud to them. This is her first novel, and she writes a blog. She and her husband, David, both animal lovers, have been married forty-five years and live in North Carolina with a cat named Gus, their latest adopted orphan.