ONE CRAZY SUMMER

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2010. ONE CRAZY SUMMER. New York, NY: Harper Collins Children’s Books. ISBN: 9780060760885

PLOT SUMMARY
Three sisters by the names of  Delphine (11), Vonetta (9), and Fern (7) were abandoned by their uncaring mother 7 years ago.  They now live with their grandmother and father in Brooklyn, New  York. The girls' father sends the girls to Oakland, California to spend the summer with their mother.  It is obvious that their mother does not want them there for she is too busy to care for them.  She sends them to the Center which is ran by the Black Panther Party.  They spend most of their day there and learn the positives of the Black Panther party.  In the mist of all of this the Bobby Hutton a member of the Black Panthers got shot and killed by the police.  The Panthers plan a rally to free founder, Huey Newton from prison and the girls are told they will be participating in it.  One evening after an outing to San Francisco the girls return home only to find that their mother is being arrested along with two other Panther members.  Cecile, the girl's mother, tell the police that she has no children in hopes to save her daughters from being taken away.  The girls stay with one of their mother's friend during the time Cecile is in jail.  During the rally the girls take part in the a talent show that is a part of the rally.  They recite one of their mother's poem that they found in the kitchen while cleaning one day.  While up in the microphone Fern takes the initiative to announce that she saw a  Panther member being too friendly with the police.  While at the rally Cecile is released from jail and reunited with the girls.  Cecile opens up to Delphine about why she left them and how she lost her own mother at the age of 11.  Although Delphine is too young to understand, Cecile goes on to explain her many struggles in life.  The next day the girls leave back home but, not before the get a hug from their mom that they have longed for so long.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Williams-Garcia was right on point on telling us what the African American's life was like in the 60's.  A time when the Black Panther party was a huge part for African American rights.  This was a time when Muhammad Ali, Malcolm  X, Martin Luther King Jr, and Huey Newton which was the founder of the Black Panther party were at their prime.  I enjoyed seeing these great leaders being a part of the story and giving the readers an insight as to how it was to grow up in this time.  I felt like I was experiencing it right along with the characters.  Great story to read in middle school or after studying about African American rights.  Williams-Garcia did a great job in introducing the characters to the reader.  Delphine, is a strong and caring person.  Her ultimate goal is to look after her younger sisters.  She is so loving and caring and you see that throughout the text.  I can't wait to read the sequels to this story. 

AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPTS
Awards
Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner

Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award Winner

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Newbery Medal Honor Book

Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children’s Literature Honor Book

National Book Award Finalist

Parents’ Choice Award Gold Fiction

Audie Award Finalist '

Excerpts

The story is tightly centered around the three sisters. In spare, poetic prose Williams-Garcia layers nuanced descriptions and brief, evocative scenes to create three utterly distinctive characters — Fern, the youngest, looking out a bus window and singing to herself; the usually brazen Vonetta freezing up with stage fright at a rally; and the stoic Delphine remembering her mother before she left them. “Papa didn’t keep any pictures of Cecile, but I had a sense of her. Fuzzy flashes of her always came and went.”
                                                    --New York Times
                                                        

Author Rita Williams-Garcia has a fine ear for the squabbles and fierce loyalties of siblings and a keen eye for kid-centered period details, including collect phone calls, go-go boots and the TV dolphin Flipper. With authenticity and humor, she portrays the ever-shifting dynamics among ultra-responsible Delphine, show-off Vonetta and stubborn Fern.
                                                    --Washington Post

 

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.
                                                    --Booklist

CONNECTIONS

1) Make a crazy summer bucket list and produce a video of the places you would visit. 

2) Have students chose one of the following writing prompts about a crazy summer and them have them share with the class. 
Prompts:
-Finish this statement: If I had a choice to spend  my summer where ever I wanted, I would choose...
-Where and when did you discover that your summer was actually a pretty crazy summer?
-If you could of  spent your summer with a different person/people would it still have been a crazy one? Why or why not?

3) Divide your class into 3 groups.  Have each group be responsible for reading one of three books from The Gaither Girls Series and have them create video using Animoto that includes the setting, characters, plot, theme.
Books from the series includes:

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer (book 1). ISBN: 9780060760885

Williams-Garcia, Rita. P.S Be Eleven (book 2). ISBN: 9780061938641

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Gone Crazy in Alabama (book 3). ISBN: 9780062215871