One Crazy Summer
By: Rita Williams-Garcia
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Williams-Garcia, Rita. 2010. ONE CRAZY SUMMER. New York, N.Y. HaperCollins Publishing. ISBN-978-0-06-076088-5
SUMMARY
Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern Gaither fly from New York to Oakland, California in the summer of 1968 to meet their estranged mother Cecile who “abandoned” them at an early age. When meeting their mother in the airport the girls struggle to identify with their neglectful mother, but in the end feel closer to her than ever.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The characters that author Rita Williams-Garcia presents in her historical fiction novel are brilliantly planned. Williams-Garcia has created characters that are easy for her readers to either identify with or to connect to individuals that they have come into contact with in the past. Delphine Gaither is the oldest sister who is a strong and courageous thirteen year old who takes on the role of a “mother” or “caregiver” to her younger sisters while they are in Oakland. Many young teens today have to take care of their younger siblings while their parents are working or have parents who have a more passive or neglectful parenting style. Vonetta Gaither is the middle child who likes to follow the crowd and be the center of attention. Every young reader can identify with or has come into contact with another individual who always has to be the center of attention and does what everyone else is doing to be accepted. Fern Gaither is the youngest sibling that carries around a white baby doll named Miss Patty Cakes wherever she goes. Even though this book would be too advanced for readers who are Ferns age, readers can still remember when they were young and had a security blanket or pacifier. Cecile (also known as Sister Nzila) is the artistic and mysterious mother of the girls who “loved peace and quiet, loved her printing press, and loved her poetry.” Big Ma and Papa are the girls' grandparents who raised the girls, and Sister Mukumbu was the girls' teacher at “The People’s Center” where they went to get breakfast every morning and attended the “Summer Camp” that turned out to be deeper than any old ordinary summer camp.
Williams-Garcia utilizes appropriate language and slang word patterns throughout her text that assists her readers in understanding historic and appropriate language during the time period of the civil rights movement. “I felt silly and wrong calling a grown person Brother So-and-So or Sister Such-and Such, but thanks to Cecile, we now had brothers and sisters we had never before laid eyes on. Sure, they said “brutha” and “sistah” in Brooklyn, but here it was more of a title and not like you were saying “him” or “her. As far as I could tell, none of the grown people at the Center went by Mr., Mrs., or Miss.” Williams-Garcia also does an outstanding job including the attitudes of African American individuals and the pride they had in their culture during this time period. There is a conversation in the text that depicts perfectly the attitude and pride that many African American individuals had toward their culture at this time. The conversation was between Crazy Kelvin, who is much older than the girls and whom they meet at the Center, and the three girls. “Li’l Sis, are you a white girl or a black girl?” Fern said, “I’m a colored girl.” He didn’t like the sound of “colored girl.” He said, “Black girl.” Fern said, “Colored.” “Black girl.”…”All right, then. “Cullid” girls,”… “Why are you carrying the self-hatred around in your arms?” Big-beaked, stringy-hair Kelvin looked pleased with himself. I said, “That’s not self-hatred. That’s her doll.” “Yeah, a baby doll.” “Miss Patty Cakes.” “Are your eyes blue like hers? Is your hair blond like hers? Is your skin white like hers?” Crazy Kelvin was trying to make Fern and her sisters feel as if they were betraying or misrepresenting their own race.
Williams-Garcia has created an ideal depiction of life during the Civil Right Movement. Included in her text is historical information that is relevant and accurate for the time period that she is representing. Williams-Garcia references iconic individuals, groups and events that hold important meaning in the mid to late 1960’s. Only Big Ma and I watch the news. Big Ma enjoys hearing about all the trouble going on in the world. It isn’t that she actually likes it. She just needs to hear about everything and talk about it…..Big Ma gives me her opinion while I wash dishes. You name it. President LBJ, Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam, Martin Luther King’s funeral, Bobby Kennedy’s funeral, The race riot, the sit-ins, Elizabeth Taylor’s next husband, and The Black Panthers, each hold Big Ma’s interest. Williams-Garcia also includes other social groups that were iconic of the 1960’s who weren’t considered part of African American culture, but made a huge impact during this time period. “We didn’t see many hippies in Brooklyn, not where we lived; and there was a whole tribe of them before us, all kinds of mostly white hippies with long, hanging hair. You couldn’t miss the guy in the green, red, and white Mexican poncho or the moppy hair covering his face. I’d have called it an Afro except it was on a white guy’s head. I wondered if that made a difference. The hippies sat on the grass. One read a small book. Three girls swayed while Poncho Man played the guitar. They must have been out protesting and were done for the day. Their signs lay on the grass: PEACE. BAN THE DRAFT.MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR.”
While reading through the text, readers one can’t help but recognize the differences of opinions and the segregation among diverse cultures and social groups that are represented. Williams-Garcia presents a situation in her text with the three girls while they are in China Town that sticks out vividly in the minds of her readers as an example of the lack of culture awareness among individuals who lived during this time period. “I’d seen white people before. On TV. At school. Everywhere. These people didn’t look like any white people I had ever seen. Even their skin was paler, their hair more white then yellow. I listened as they spoke to one another, probably about us, using flugal, schlugal words. Then, instead of taking pictures of all the Chinese people and the temples and dragons, they pointed their cameras at us. Vonetta started to pose movie star-style with one hand behind her head and the other on her slim hip. I grabbed Vonetta’s and Fern’s hands and said, “Come on.”
Williams-Garcia also includes information in her text about the economy, the price of goods, and the value of a dollar. Including this information in the text will help her readers visualize and recognize the economic differences between today’s economy and the 1960’s. “I picked up one head of cabbage. Seventeen Cents. One onion. Eight cents. Two potatoes. Twenty-three cents. One package of chicken thighs and one package of wings. One dollar and forty-seven cents….. Lastly, but most important, I dropped a can of stewed prunes into our shopping basket. Forty-nine cents.”
Williams-Garcias unforgettable historical fiction novel is set during one of the most chaotic years in recent American history. Williams-Garcia includes a poem in her text that Cecile wrote that helps her readers understand and recognize the true pain and torment that many African American people felt during the Civil Rights movement. Vonetta changed the poem “I Birthed a Nation” that Cecile wrote to “I Birthed a Black Nation” as the girls recited the poem at the rally. “All that was missing was Cecile to see and hear us recite her poem. I’m sure she wouldn’t have appreciated Vonetta sprinkling “black” into her poem like pepper, but the crowd loved it, and we went along, following Vonetta’s lead, throwing in the word black as she had.”
“I birthed a black nation”
From my womb black creation
spill forth
to be
stolen
shackled
dispersed.”
From my womb black creation
spill forth
to be
stolen
shackled
dispersed.”
“I dispatched black warriors
raged against unjust barriers
to find
the black and strong had fallen
divided
deceived
overcome.”
raged against unjust barriers
to find
the black and strong had fallen
divided
deceived
overcome.”
“Black oceans separate us
tortured cries
songs
of black greatness
Still echo in my canal.”
tortured cries
songs
of black greatness
Still echo in my canal.”
“Hear the reverberation
of a stolen black nation
forever lost
to foreign shores
where thieves do not atone
and Mother Africa cannot be consoled.”
of a stolen black nation
forever lost
to foreign shores
where thieves do not atone
and Mother Africa cannot be consoled.”
Williams-Garcia has created an outstanding and phenomenal historical fiction novel for her readers that has the perfect balance of fact and fiction that is vital to the historical time period that is represented. Williams-Garcia embeds a plethora of historical information in her text that isn’t overwhelming for her readers taking away from their literature experience. She has brilliantly woven historical information throughout her text so that readers don’t feel they are reading a textbook or receiving a history lesson, but are reading a story that takes place during a time period that was crucial to American history.
I would recommend that every young reader give this book a chance. One Crazy Summer is an excellent book for young readers to reference who are interested in the Civil Rights movement. William-Garcia’s historical fiction novel indicates that the novel was written for those children who witnessed and were part of necessary change. The novel is a must read and can and will change the lives and attitude of its readers.
“Peace is power, sweet soul sister.” ~San Francisco Flower Girl~
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Kirkus Reviews -starred review- “Delphine is the pitch-perfect older sister, wise beyond her years, an expert at handling her siblings...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”
The 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.
Booklist - starred review - “Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion.”
Publishers Weekly -“Delphine’s growing awareness of injustice on a personal and universal level is smoothly woven into the story in poetic language that will stimulate and move readers.”
School Library Journal - starred review - “Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading.”
Horn Book - starred review - “The setting and time period are as vividly realized as the characters, and readers will want to know more about Delphine and her sisters after they return to Brooklyn...”
The 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.
Booklist - starred review - “Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion.”
Publishers Weekly -“Delphine’s growing awareness of injustice on a personal and universal level is smoothly woven into the story in poetic language that will stimulate and move readers.”
School Library Journal - starred review - “Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading.”
Horn Book - starred review - “The setting and time period are as vividly realized as the characters, and readers will want to know more about Delphine and her sisters after they return to Brooklyn...”
CONNECTIONS
Related Text
A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 - Diane Mcwhorter - ISBN-13: 978-0439576789
Child of the Civil Rights Movement (Junior Library Guild Selection) - Paula Young Shelton and Raul Colon - ISBN-10: 0375843140
Freedom Summer - Deborah Wiles - ISBN-13: 978-0689878299
Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories - Ellen S. Levine - ISBN-13: 978-0698118706
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins - Carole Boston Weatherford - ISBN-13: 978-0142408940
Child of the Civil Rights Movement (Junior Library Guild Selection) - Paula Young Shelton and Raul Colon - ISBN-10: 0375843140
Freedom Summer - Deborah Wiles - ISBN-13: 978-0689878299
Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories - Ellen S. Levine - ISBN-13: 978-0698118706
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins - Carole Boston Weatherford - ISBN-13: 978-0142408940
Tips
eHow (Family) provides tips on how to teach children about civil rights.
YOUTUBE Video
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Had a Dream Speech”.
Facts
Facts related to the Civil Rights Movement for young readers and alternative links related to the Civil Rights Movement.
Activity Resource
PBS Teachers resource provides 9 different activities associated with the civil rights movement for all grade levels.
Link: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/thismonth/civilrights/index1.html
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