ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia ~ Culture 2

ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia

Author: Rita Williams-Garcia

Title:  One Crazy Summer

Publisher:  Amistad

Publication Date: 2010

ISBN:  9780060760908

Plot Summary

In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Critical Analysis

This historical fiction book about the Black Panther movement in the late 1960s taught me so much about a period in American history that I didn’t know very much about. The book also showed me that there is one truth that surpasses any time frame or any race: we all want to love and be loved in return.

One Crazy Summer touches just about all genres associated with African-American literature: Family and Friends (the three sisters, a mother, Hirohito); Identity and Self-Concept (African-American, sibling responsibility); Poetry (“We Real Cool,” “I Birthed a Black Nation”); School and Community (The People’s Center); Imagination (thinking about stealing the show, thinking about what it would feel like to ride a go-kart); Spirituality (going to church, embracing Black Pride); Historical Perspectives (Black Panther Party, Cassius Clay, flying on a 727);  and Special Days (summer vacation).

Readers of One Crazy Summer will form critical consciousness around the issue of diversity and equality as they read about the civil rights movements of the Black Panther Party in California in 1968. Children will be able to relate to the lives of Delphine, Vonetta and Fern since the story is told through their perspective and yet the reader will learn about real events during the civil rights movement -- and will hopefully infer how far the African-American community has come because of those events.

While the Black Panther Party and activities are a facet of the story, the main idea is that we all want to love and be loved in return – a universal theme. The three sisters travel to California to spend four weeks during their summer vacation with their mother, who left them in New York seven years earlier. While the younger sisters (Vonetta and Fern) wish for a loving mother who cooks for them and dispenses hugs, the oldest sister, Delphine, knows better and is the true mother hen of the group. Delphine craves a word of encouragement from her mother and accepts that she will never get it. What Delphine does get is the true story as to why her mother left and it is this honesty that binds them together.

Reviews

• Booklist (2010): “Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent s love.”
• CCBC (2010): “Rita Williams-Garcia’s fresh, funny novel resonates with depth and meaning that comes through the brilliant characterizations, sparkling dialogue, and a stunningly realistic recreation of a time and place in a story that concludes with a surprising, yet wholly satisfying resolution.”

Awards

• 2011 John Newbery Medal, Honor
• 2011 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Winner
• 2011 Coretta Scott King Book Award, Winner (Author)
• 2010 National Book Award, Finalist (Young People’s Literature)

Connections

• Students can:

1. create a word wheel for the book as a character study
2. create a timeline for 1968
3. look up more information about the pop culture mentioned in the book: Cassius Clay, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Mighty Mouse, Captain Kangaroo, Mike Douglas Show, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, etc.
4. Using Google Earth and Google Maps, look up Oakland, Calif., and the places the girls visited on their day trip to San Francisco, Calif.

• Learn more about the author at her website: https://rita-williamsgarcia.squarespace.com

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 17, 2017.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York, NY: Armistad, 2010. ISBN 9780060760908

THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander ~ Culture 2

THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander

Author: Kwame Alexander

Title:  The Crossover

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication Date: 2014

ISBN:  9780544107717

Plot Summary

Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.

Critical Analysis

This is a wonderful example of current, modern African-American young adult literature that breaks up the steady stream of historical African-American literature on the market today. The Crossover depicts an affluent African-American family that values education, family and basketball (although the twin 8^th grade boys in the story would prefer the order to be basketball, family, basketball, education, and more basketball).

Written in prose, this is a fast-moving story that flies through a few months in the lives of 8^th grade twins Josh and JB. Alexander’s use of irregular verse in hip-hop rhyme grabs the reader’s attention from page one. You feel like you are on the court, dribbling a basketball during a pickup game.

In addition to the emphasis on family and education, other African-American literature indicators include physical attributes: Josh prides himself on his dreadlocks (“I knew one day I’d need my own wings to fly”) and mourns their loss when his brother cuts them off. Another cultural indicator is food: Da Man Chuck Bell loves fried chicken and there are several references to home cooking, donuts, and sweet potato pie.

I hope all readers will take their health seriously after reading this book. Your heart must be made of the blackest stone to not break when you read the last line of the dad’s obituary: “Bell was thirty-nine.” The father’s health problems could have been avoided if he would have gone to the doctor for yearly checkups and had better eating habits – something his wife continually begged him to do.

The story ends on a sad note with the passing of the twin’s father; however, the ending lines of prose give the reader assurance that the twins have put any differences behind them: “Hey, I shout. We Da Man.”

Reviews

• Booklist (2015): “An accomplished author and poet, Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip-hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond. The effect is poetry in motion. It is a rare verse novel that is fundamentally poetic rather than using this writing trend as a device. There is also a quirky vocabulary element that adds a fun intellectual note to the narrative.”
• Kirkus (2014): “This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story. Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.”

Awards

• 2015 John Newbery Medal, Winner
• 2014 Coretta Scott King Book Award, Honor (Author)
• 2014 Cybils Awards, Finalist (Middle Grade Fiction)

Connections

• Learn more about the author at his website: http://kwamealexander.com/
• Have students create a vocabulary list as they read the book. Assign the students to create poetry with the vocabulary words.
• Collaborate with the PE teacher to receive instruction on basketball fundamentals. Have the class play some basketball.
• Research professional basketball teams – don’t forget the European teams!

Bibliography

Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. ISBN 9780544107717

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 17, 2017.

MINTY by Alan Schroeder ~ Culture 2

MINTY by Alan Schroeder

Author: Alan Schroeder

Title:  Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman

Illustrator:  Jerry Pinkney

Publisher:  Dial Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 1996

ISBN:  0803718896

Plot Summary

Young Harriet Tubman, whose childhood name was Minty, dreams of escaping slavery on the Brodas plantation in the late 1820s.

Critical Analysis

The forward of Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman states that the author used creative license on the story within; however, there are many facts woven into the story, including Tubman’s childhood name of Minty and her life as a slave in the 1820s on the Brodas plantation. This identification of character names in the text add to other African American cultural markers, including the language patterns (“Don’t lie to me, girl, ‘less you want a whippin’.”), the hints of religious stories (“Then in a low voice, Minty started to tell an old Bible story, the way her mother had told it to her.”), and the foods – both in the Brodas’ family home and the slave quarters (“Minty, you go up to the big house and ask Missus for some sugar and two cups of flour. Tell her I want to make a pie, if she’ll let me.”).

The reader knows, on this side of history, that eventually Minty does escape from slavery and becomes the infamous Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman. The author’s choice of words combined with the illustrator’s watercolor artwork helps the reader feel Minty’s frustration at being a slave and the self-doubt she feels when she passes on opportunities to escape.

Award winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney chose a bright red bandanna to draw the reader’s eye towards the young Minty in his illustrations. Minty is drawn with expressive facial features on each page depicting her spirit, rebellion, and determination. The watercolor illustrations give movement to the pictures, especially in the splashes of water as Minty frees trapped muskrats and when she learns to swim.

Reviews

• Children’s Literature (1996): “Alan Schroeder tells a gripping tale. Minty is independent, feisty and incapable of being a docile slave. Her dream of freedom burns brightly even when she is whipped for freeing muskrats from her master's traps. Little is known about Tubman's childhood, but from his research, Schroeder believes that this story might have happened. Pinkney's paintings are powerful and add to the drama of the story. A fictional telling often more successful than pure facts for it puts the sufferings of slaves in human terms that touch the heart.”
• Kirkus (1996): “Told in rhythmic prose and colloquial dialogue, the plot has actual events that are small, but it is rich with melodrama, suspense, pathos, and, of course, a powerful vision of freedom. Pinkney's illustrations exhibit, characteristically, his refined draftsmanship; the complicated compositions convey psychological aspects of slavery and make the individual characters even more distinct. This exquisitely crafted book resonates well beyond its few pages.”

Awards

• 1997 Winner, Coretta Scott King Award, Illustrator
• 1997 Winner, Christopher Award
• 1998 Winner, Kentucky Bluegrass Award, Grades 4-8

Connections

• Have students research images and the history of commemorative coins and postage stamps with Tubman’s image. Discuss their importance and have students create their own versions of commemorative coins and stamps.
• Learn more about illustrator Jerry Pinkney at the website: http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/ (However, it has not been updated since 2016.)
• If you have a TeachingBooks.net subscription, you can play an audio recording of Jerry Pinkney discussing his use of watercolors in Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman.

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 17, 2017.

Pinkney, Jerry. 1996. Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman by Alan Schroeder. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0803718896

Schroeder, Alan. Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996. ISBN 0803718896 

GOLDFISH by Nat Luurtsema ~ Culture 1

GOLDFISH by Nat Luurtsema

Author: Nat Luurtsema

Title:  Goldfish

Publisher:  Feiwel and Friends

Publication Date: 2016

ISBN:  9781250089182

Plot Summary

Lou Brown, a 15-year-old Team Great Britain Olympic swimming hopeful, fails to qualify to attend a prestigious training camp. She struggles to find friends and a new “Thing” to do while climbing out of the depression from failing. She finds Roman, Gabe and Pete, who hire her to coach them for an acrobatic/synchronized swimming event for a televised talent show. Along the way, she finds a purpose, friends, and self-confidence.

Critical Analysis

This humorous realistic fiction book is filled with age-appropriate laughs that will entertain its young adult audience. Through the story, readers will relate to Lou’s attempts to make friends in school, the desire to fit in, and creating witty comebacks – hours later.

While set in Great Britain, Goldfish doesn’t scream “I’M BRITISH!” There are a few references to drinking tea, a TV show called Britain’s Hidden Talent, a Mini Cooper, and queenly waves. Instead, I found the book screamed “I’M YOUNG ADULT FICTION!” with the text messages, poo emojis, tampon jokes, and teenage rebelling (lying to adults, skipping classes, sneaking out at night, etc. – all the stuff young adults do or dream of doing). The storyline is very appealing today; however, I suspect it won’t pass the test of time as technology and how we use it to communicate evolves.

Despite its Grade 6-8 classification, this very square, 43-year-old teacher librarian found the writing to be hysterical. I even laughed so hard my husband came in from another room to find out what was so funny. “Boys touching the boobs of a statue,” I replied. I guess you’ll have to read Goldfish to find it funny too!

Reviews

• Booklist (2016): “Lou is wryly funny and appealing, if a bit immature (why all the poo references?), and constantly uses texting acronyms and British slang. She has a supportive sis and divorced parents who still live together, and the serious side of this good-natured story addresses the physical and mental stressors serious athletes face. Readers will root for Lou as she realizes that failure isn’t the end of the world.”
• Children’s Literature (n/d): “Nat Luurtsema created a relatable situation for many young adult readers. The unique setting and situation make the story fun, especially the synchronized swimming par; but the plot of teenage angst and low self-confidence is at the heart of Goldfish. Lou eventually accepts that she has to reinvent herself and becomes determined to understand her identity. Readers will like hearing her witty internal thoughts and be on edge with her as she about to cry. This is a relevant story for many and the plot moves quickly. There is a small love story subplot; but again, it is relatable for this age group.”

Awards

• 2017 USBBY Outstanding International Books Grades 6-8

Connections

• Visit the author’s website at: http://www.natluurtsema.com/
• Teachers could show YouTube videos of synchronized swimming routines.
• Could be read as part of a unit on Olympic sports; a study on British sports; or a genre study on humorous realistic fiction.
• Students could create bookreports/booktalks/book trailers for the 2017 USBBY Outstanding International Books, Grade 6-8.

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 9, 2017.

Luurtsema, Nat. Goldfish. New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends, 2016. ISBN 9781250089182

THE WAR WITHIN THESE WALLS by Aline Sax ~ Culture 1

THE WAR WITHIN THESE WALLS

Author: Aline Sax

Title:  The War Within These Walls

Illustrator:  Caryl Strzelecki

Translated by: Laura Watkinson

Publisher:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 2013

ISBN:  9780802854285

Plot Summary

Misha and his family do their best to survive in the appalling conditions of the Warsaw ghetto during World War II, and ultimately make a final, desperate stand against the Nazis.

Critical Analysis

The second sentence of this young adult historical novel states the setting is in 1939 German-occupied Warsaw. Even then, today’s young adults might not know that Warsaw is in Poland, let alone be able to find Poland on a map. While readers might not to relate to Warsaw, Poland, they will relate to the hardships and the challenge to survive that the Jews faced during World War II. The white text on black paper/black text on white paper makes the reader long for color while subliminally understanding the bleakness of the story.

The War Within These Walls is translated from Dutch and was originally published in Dutch by De Eenhoorn in 2011 under the title De Kleuren Van Het Getto. The author is from Antwerp and writes historical fiction. While not Polish, Sax’s love of history shines through by making the reader feel as if they, too, were living in the Jewish Warsaw ghetto.

Strzelecki’s pen and Chinese ink illustrations relate the harsh, depressive and desperate reality the Jews were living in. The artwork looks as if Strzelecki was present during the Warsaw Uprising in the mid-1940s and sat down to sketch while the Jews were resisting. Some scenes reminded me of some Degenerate Art that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler hated so much.

Reviews

• Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices (2014): “A spare yet emotionally vivid account of life and death in the Warsaw Ghetto pairs an unflinching narrative that offers moments of heart-stopping honesty with black-and-white illustrations that are also evocative in a beautifully designed, arresting volume.”
• Kirkus Reviews (2013): “Misha takes part in the doomed Warsaw Uprising and survives to tell the world of this last act of defiance. Strzelecki's pen, ink and black-and-white pencil illustrations graphically depict pain and despair as they accompany text printed on stark white or black backgrounds. With the events of the Holocaust growing ever more remote with the passage of time, Sax gives modern readers an unrelenting, heart-rending insight into the hell that the Nazis created. Gripping, powerful, shattering.”

Awards

• 2014 Honor Book, Mildred L. Batchelder Award
• 2013 Winner, Children’s, National Jewish Book Award
• 2014 Notable Children’s Books

Connections

• Students could take a virtual tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. (https://www.ushmm.org/)
• Could be read as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day activities (to be held Jan. 27, 2018).
• As an enrichment project, students could pack a suitcase that weighed only 15 kilograms. Discuss who brought what and why those items were selected. What was not selected and why?
• Readers can visit author Aline Sax’s website at www.alinesax.be

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 9, 2017.

Sax, Aline. The War Within These Walls. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2013. ISBN 9780802854285

Strzelecki, Caryl. 2011. The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780802854285

KOALA LOU by Mem Fox ~ Culture 1

KOALA LOU

Author: Mem Fox

Title: Koala Lou

Illustrator: Pamela Lofts

Publisher: Gulliver Books Harcourt Brace & Company

Publication Date: 1988

ISBN: 0-15-200502-1

Plot Summary

Lou is, as the title states, a koala who lives in Australia and longs to hear her mother speak lovingly to her just as she did before Lou’s siblings were born. To achieve this, Lou enters a sporting event in the Bush Olympics.

Critical Analysis

When you have lots of siblings, sometimes you feel like you must act out to get some attention. In the story Koala Lou, Lou decides the best way to get her mother’s attention is to win the gum tree climbing event in the Bush Olympics. Lou doesn’t finish in first place, but she does learn that her mother loves her no matter what. Through this story, children are reminded that no matter how busy parents can get, they still love you. Hopefully, when parents read the story, they are reminded to say “I love you” to their children more often!

Koala Lou has many visual and written clues that the book is set in Australia, even though the text does not specifically say the story takes place in Australia. There are several animals depicted that are native to Australia (platypuses, koalas, wombats, and kookaburras) and references to gum trees and the bush. Thanks to the popularity of koalas (with some help from the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin), children should know that the book is set in Australia.

The late illustrator Pamela Lofts also was from Australia; Alice Springs to be exact. Surely her surroundings gave her inspiration for her colorful sketched drawings of Koala Lou. Her illustrations are very life-like, even when the critters are wearing party hats! The picture of the emu makes you feel like the bird is just on the other side of a zoo fence staring at you.

This story was read a lot during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games which were held in Sydney, Australia. However, readers might be interested to learn that this book was published well before 2000, in 1988!

Reviews

• Children’s Literature (1989): “The koala heroine enters the Bush Olympics and hopes to win the gum tree-climbing event so that her mother--overwhelmed by the birth of many, many koala babes--will tell her eldest daughter "Koala Lou, I DO love you." Even though Lou loses the event, she gains what she most wants: the knowledge that her mother loves her--and always will.”

Awards

• Named to Children’s Catalog in 2006 and 2001.

Connections

• Read as part of an “Animals of Australia” storytime theme. Suggested titles include Joey (ISBN 9780440847038) or Joey Runs Away (ISBN 9780440845232) by Jack Kent, Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan (and illustrated by Koala Lou illustrator Pamela Lofts!) (ISBN 9781743621820), and Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under (ISBN 9781584691358).
• Share a globe or map with listeners before you read and locate Australia. Locate where you are at on the map and calculate the distance between your location and Australia.
• School librarians can collaborate with the PE teacher for a physical fitness unit. After reading Koala Lou in the school library, the students can go to the school gym and hold a Bush Olympics with jogging, weight lifting and pushups.
• Learn more about author Mem Fox at her website: http://memfox.com/

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 9, 2017.

Fox, Mem. Koala Lou. New York: Gulliver Books Harcourt Brace & Company, 1988. ISBN 0152005021

Loftis, Pamela. 1988. Koala Lou by Mem Fox. New York: Gulliver Books Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152005021