Saturday, July 11, 2015

YA Challenge #1

This One Summer                                    
Written by Mariko Tamaki
Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Published in 2014 by First Second
Ages 12-18
                                             
ISBN: 978-596437746                                                          

Awards: 2015 Caldecott Honor and 2015 Printz Honor


Book Review: Rose Wallace and her parents rent a cottage at Awago Beach every summer.  She spends most of her days with her summer friend Windy, whose mom and grandma also rent a cottage at Awago.  This summer, things are different.  Rose's parents are arguing constantly.  Rose and Windy seem to be noticing some changes within their friendship as well.  While they try to keep themselves entertained, they get mixed up in the drama of some local teenagers.  This is definitely a summer of change for Rose as she embarks on her teenage years and the changes that will occur with her family and friendships.

The illustrations in this graphic novel are drawn in different shade of blue and white.  A lot of feeling can be inferred based on the characters facial expressions during their interactions with others.

Young adults will connect to the topics of this book because it is a coming of age story that deals with changes in relationships as children mature.  Some of the topics include family conflict, first crush, teenage pregnancy, and more! 


Professional Reviews
Kirkus Review
School Library Journal Review


Teaching Ideas

Art: (AI.14) The students will describe how the design process is used in various careers.
1. Students will research the way comics/graphic novels are designed.  Students will create their own comic strip and explain the process they used to design their comic.

Family Life: (12.9) The student will analyze stress and crisis situations which affect family life.
2. In this story, Rose's mom is dealing with stress and depression from the miscarriage of a baby the previous summer.  Students will identify and discuss the affects that the stress and depression caused to Mrs. Wallace as well as Rose and her father.

Family Life: (12.3) The student will describe types of adjustments and sources of conflict in interpersonal relationships.
3. Students will identify the different sources of conflict within the story and discuss healthy ways that the characters could have solved the conflict.

World Geography: (WG.6) The student will analyze past and present trends in human migration and cultural interaction as they are influenced by social, economic, political, and environmental factors.
4. In the story, the girls visit the Historical Huron Village.  Students will research the Huron village and culture and reflect on how their culture was affected by social, economic, political, and environmental factors.

Health: (10.5g) The student will evaluate how different types of behaviors impact the family and community.  Key concepts/skills include: g) the negative influence of teenage drug and alcohol use on younger members of the community.
5. Rose and Windy are witness to the poor choices of the local teens while they are on vacation, students will reflect on the smoking and alcohol use of the teens in the book.  Students will research how these behaviors impact the community, specifically younger members like brothers and sisters.


Paired Titles

All of these titles deal with the theme of coming of age, some are within the same age range and some lower to accommodate struggling readers.  These stories deal with some of the same issues but each one has a different twist to hopefully connect with the different things students are dealing with.







Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks is another story of teenage girls learning about the world through small town adventures and family change.  This story was chosen because it too is a coming of age tale where the characters learn to adjust to life's challenges.  It is current and won the Cybils award in 2012.   It is also a graphic novel which will attract reluctant readers.




Chiggers by Hope Larson is the story of Abby who goes to the same camp every summer.  This summer things are different.  Her friends seemed to have moved on to bigger and better things and she becomes friends with the new girl, Shasta.  This story was chosen because it is current and has the same coming of age theme but it is written for a younger audience which will be attractive to struggling readers.  It was a Cybil Award finalist in 2008.




The Zabime Sisters by Aristophane is a graphic novel about three teenage sisters growing up in the Caribbean.  It follows them through a summer of change where they explore their new found freedom of summer and get caught up in the drama of growing up.  This story was chosen because it is current and has a multi-cultural aspect.  It was listed on the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens list in 2011.



Superman: Earth One by Michael J. Straczynski is a graphic novel that  shows the trials and challenges that Clark Kent faced when he was first becoming "The Man of Steel".  This book was chosen because it gives a fresh look at an old tale, it will be attractive to comic book lovers, and will gain the attention of most boys. It was on the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens list in 2011.




One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is the story of three sisters from New York, who are sent to spend the summer with their estranged mother in California.  The girls spend most of their days trying to "keep busy" and end up learning a lot about themselves and the world in the process.  This book was chosen because it maintains the theme of coming of age and also deals with family stress and conflict.  It is geared for a lower age range but some of the situations will have curricular connections in the upper grades.  This title has won multiple awards and is on many "best of" book lists.


Further Explorations

The author and illustrator, during the 2015 L.A. Times Festival of Books, discuss creating this book together.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODS7znhendE

A book talk of This One Summer.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1CENzgW6Q

The book takes place in Canada and the girls visit a Huron Village.  This site allows you to learn more about a Traditional Huron site from Quebec, Canada,
http://www.huron-wendat.qc.ca/en/huron-site.html

A teacher's guide to the book, You Can Do a Graphic Novel, could be used by students or teachers for ideas on how to create their own graphic novel. http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/you_can_do_a_graphic_novel_TG.pdf

A link to the illustrator's website.  http://jilliantamaki.com/illustration/

A link the the author's blog.  http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com/

A major conflict in the story is the way Rose's mom is behaving this summer, students may want to look further into depression and see the effects it can have on people and their families. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml


References


Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. (n.d.). Chiggers. Retrieved from  http://www.clcd.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/pDOrlhmplOiPjomm/bdrtop

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. (n.d.). Friends with boys. Retrieved from   http://www.clcd.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/MhOJKoOpmoLqLnnn/bdrtop

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. (n.d.). One crazy summer. Retrieved from http://www.clcd.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/qHMOklpNlpjPmmnm/bdrtop

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. (n.d.). Superman: Earth one. Retrieved   from http://www.clcd.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/qlPKJKjklOlokNOl/bdrtop

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. (n.d.). The zabime sisters. Retrieved from http://www.clcd.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/NfPNLKOkgninKOmm/bdrtop

Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database. (n.d.). This one summer. Retrieved from             http://www.clcd.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/tcpmjLNoipgoJLIm/bdrtop

Detroit Public TV. (2015, May 1). Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki on this one summer - 2015 L.A. times festival of books [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODS7znhendE

Kirkus. (2014, April 9). This one summer. Retrieved from                                                                     https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mariko-tamaki/this-one-summer/

National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). What is depression?. Retrieved from                                   http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

NoveList. (2015). Read-alikes for this one summer. Retrieved from             http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.odu.edu/novelist/detail?sid=b9102eba-1cef-489f-86ac-4bc3c0980d48%40sessionmgr110&UI=UI+10300733&hid=102&vid=3

School Library Journal. (2015). This one summer. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/best-                  books-2014/young-adult/tamaki-this-one-summer/

Slate, B. (2010). You can do a graphic novel: Teacher’s guide.  Retrieved from http://www.penguin.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/you_can_do_a_graphic_novel_TG.pdf

Tamaki, J. (n.d.). Jillian Tamaki. Retrieved from http://jilliantamaki.com/illustration/

Tamaki, M. (n.d.). Mariko Tamaki. Retrieved from http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com/

Tiny Reads. (2015, February 17). Book talk | This one summer [video file]. Retrieved from             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq1CENzgW6Q

Traditional Huron Site. (n.d.). Retrieved on July 11, 2015 from http://www.huron-                               wendat.qc.ca/en/huron-site.html

Virginia Department of Education. (2008). Health education standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from         http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/health/9-10/stds_health10.pdf

Virginia Department of Education. (2008). History and social science standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from             http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/next_version/stds_worldgeo.pdf

Virginia Department of Education. (2013). Visual arts standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from            http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/fine_arts/2013/visual_arts/std_finearts_visualarts.pdf  


Virginia Department of Education. (2014). Family life education: Board of education guidelines and standards of learning for Virginia public schools. Retrieved from             http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/family_life/familylife_guidelines_standards.pdf

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