Book Review:

 

 

Bibliography:

Williams-Garcia, R. (2011). ONE CRAZY SUMMER. Quill Tree Books.

 

 

Plot Summary:

In ONE CRAZY SUMMER, eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. She's had to be, ever since their mother, Cecile, left them seven years ago for a radical new life in California. But when the sisters arrive from Brooklyn to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile is nothing like they imagined. While the girls hope to go to Disneyland and meet Tinker Bell, their mother sends them to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. Unexpectedly, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern learn much about their family, their country, and themselves during one truly crazy summer.

 

 

Critical Analysis:

The style of the text in this book confronts the reader with serious social, political, and ethical problems, which are otherwise out of children’s scope. I think it would cause them to have compassion to the events of the story, as its protagonists are around the same age as them. This novel also educates the youth in the historical sense, as its fictional characters act in real historical circumstances. The main characters, sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern experience many personal milestones during the summer of 1968, which intersect with important events in a pivotal year in the history of the United States. ONE CRAZY SUMMER focuses on themes of reluctant motherhood and black power, which reflected the morals and important events happening during that time period.

 

 

Review Excerpts:

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Coretta Scott King Award 

National Book Award Finalist

Newbery Honor Novel

Kirkus Starred Review: “Delphine is the pitch-perfect older sister, wise beyond her years, an expert at handling her siblings...while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page.”

Booklist Starred Review: “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.”

 

 

Connections:

-Have students, in groups, create a brochure on Canva that depicts San Francisco and the tourist attractions that Delphine and her sisters went, and give the important of each location.

-Have students discuss the theme of racism in ONE CRAZY SUMMER. How is it developed with setting and characters in the book? What imagery relates to the theme? Where do Delphine and her sisters encounter racism? Create Prezi collaborating your thoughts.

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