One Crazy Summer

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Garcia-Williams, R. 2011. One Crazy Summer. Amistad. ISBN-10: 0060760907.

PLOT SUMMARY

Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer is a historical fiction that takes place in the summer of 1968 in Oakland California during the Black Panther movement. Main character, Delphine, and her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern, travel from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to meet their biological mother, Cecile, whom abandoned them at an early age. Their awaited California adventure is cut short by Cecile’s cold welcome. Cecile sends them for take-out every evening, demands they stay out of her sight at all times, and makes them participate in the Black Panther Summer Camp. At 11 years old, Cecile knows how to cook, clean, bathe her sisters, and keep them well-behaved in public. Throughout the story, the sisters are trying to figure out their mother, the black panther movement, discrimination towards colored people, and are trying to enjoy their California adventure. Cecile is arrested before the long-awaited Black Panther Rally, leaving the girls to fend for themselves. Although Cecile is not the mother they expected, they still have hope and prepare special poems to recite for the rally. The girls gain instant popularity and approval from the crowd and, surprisingly, from Cecile. Towards the end of the story, Delphine has a break-down, and demands that Cecile act like a mother. Cecile gives Delphine insight into the past and the events that lead her to abandon them. In the most mother-like way she can, she tells Delphine to just be eleven while she can.

Awards:

Newberry Honor Book-2011

Coretta Scott King Award-2011

National Book Award Finalist-2010

Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction-2011

Named a Best Book of the Year 2011 by: Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Washington Post

ALA Notable Book-2011

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best

New York Library’s “One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing

New York Times Editor’s Choice-2010

NAACP Image Award Nominee

Parent’s Choice Gold Award-2010

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Rita Williams creates an enticing historical fiction that will have young readers glued to its pages. Through the presentation of historical events and facts, having fictional characters like the sisters, keeps young readers interested in learning more about their personal experiences amidst a revolutionary time in the United States. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are all unique characters with qualities of their own. The three sisters are from Brooklyn, NY where colored people have a different style of living, talking, and behaving. As the story goes along, readers feel connected and empathetic for each character through their journey of discovery. The situation they are going through can be relatable for children in many ways, especially being the oldest sibling and having many responsibilities like Delphine. The story is also a great way for readers to understand the Black Panther movement through a child’s perspective, “It wasn’t at all the way the television showed militants…who from the newspapers were angry fist wavers with their mouths wide-open and their rifles ready for shooting” page 87. The sisters have an eye-opening experience about the events happening in Oakland, compared to what the grandmother has taught them. With One Crazy Summer, readers will not only be entertained, but will also learn about a special revolutionary movement that changed lives.

EXCERPTS

NEW YORK TIMES: “In ‘One Crazy Summer’ Williams-Garcia presents a child’s-eye view of the Black Panther movement within a powerful and affecting story of sisterhood and motherhood.” 2010

KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Each girl has a distinct response to her motherless state, and Williams-Garcia provides details that make each characterization crystal clear. The depiction of the time is well done, and 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.” 2010

CONNECTIONS

Library Activity: In the story, Cecile wrote poetry during a time of other famous female poets like Nikki Giovanni, Sonja Sanchez, and Lucille Clifton.

·         Have students adopt a poet from the 1960's and study their poems

·         Hold a library poetry recital day

·         Students write their own poetry

·         With parent’s permission, have students help each other videotape a re-enactment of “I Birthed a Black Nation” and post it on their YouTube channel with the title One Crazy Summer.

Classroom Activity: Social Studies/History class- Lesson on timelines and specific decades. (1960's)

·         Students choose topic of choice (politics, inventions, music, news headlines)

·         Using materials, students will draw a time-line with lines from 1960-1970.

·         Use graphic and text to describe events.