One Crazy Summer

One of my most trusted reading pals brought to my attention an article/newscast produced by Fox News.  Not being an avid television watcher, nor a political activist, I was unaware that this book by Rita Williams-Garcia was being challenged nationally.  Apparently, a school district in North Carolina requires it read by their 4th graders and due to the fact that it's set smack down in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement and includes Black Panther references, there are those who challenge it's use.  

 I've had this book in our middle school library for as many years as was possible, due to the fact that it won so many awards.  There literally isn't room on the cover to display them all!  I mean, look at that!  I hadn't taken time to read it, trusting in the coworkers who read it for me.  I've never received any negative feedback from my students, parents, teachers, etc... But I suppose it's time I read this one for myself.  I can promise you this...if the author simply shares with the reader accurate historical references which enhance the plot and theme, I will put it back on my shelf where it belongs.  Available to all.  

The only problem I would have with this book being required in the 4th grade is the fact that the age of the student may be a tad too young to grasp the significance of the strife these characters endure.  My middle school students are familiar with the Civil Rights Movement, so they'll be able to understand why the main character, Delphine, acts the way she does so as not to "embarrass the Negro nation".  But 8 and 9 year olds?  Perhaps after a lesson about slavery and the fight for African American freedoms. Who knows.  

I'm on chapter 3 and loving it so far.  RWG has set the stage for the girls to arrive in California to meet their mother who abandoned them so many years ago.  And she's getting the setting just right.  I'm embarrassed by the way some of the white characters are acting.  Ouch!

Happy Reading!
RC