One+Crazy+Summer+--+Bakewell

Book Connection -- Jill Bakewell



Williams-Gracia, R. (2010). //One crazy summer//. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

media type="custom" key="10064695" Rita Williams-Garcia’s //One Crazy Summer// takes readers on a journey from Brooklyn to Oakland during the Civil Rights movement. The journey is made by three sisters (Delphine, Vonette, and Fern) in hope to meet their estranged mother in Oakland. As the girls meet their mom in Oakland it is clear she doesn’t want anything to do with them. To make sure the girls are out of her way she directs them to a Black Panther Summer Camp. The girls are shocked to be sent away and are even more stunned about the Black Panthers radical views. As the summer goes on the girls get more involved and their relationship with their mom evolves.
 * Summary**

[] -- New York Times book review
 * Online Links**

[] -- Author’s page

[] -- History of the Black Panther Party

[] -- Civil Rights Timeline and other rescources

[] -- Book Lesson Plans in PDF form

[] -- Civil Rights Lesson plans and ideas

1. Compare Delphine’s feelings towards her mom at the beginning of their visit to her feelings at the end of their visit. Why might her feelings towards her mom changed?
 * Discussion Questions**

2. What do you think the sisters learned at the summer camp? Do you think it changed their views on the Civil Rights movement?

3. How has this book challenged your understanding of the Civil Rights Movement?


 * Class Activities**


 * Use the following link to find Civil Rights photos: []

Share your selected photos with the class and ask them to describe what they see. Then ask them to describe what it would have been like living during the movement. Discuss how living in different regions of the country may have changed your opinion on the movement.
 *  Discuss Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech. (Note the whole speech is 15 mins) In a round table discussion ask the students if the dream MLK was speaking of has become a reality today. This also makes a great essay style question.