One Crazy Summer: A Newbery Honor Winner―A Moving Novel About Family, Activism, and Self-Discovery in 1960s America―An Exciting Summer Reading Book for Children

Every student who makes it to middle school has heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but how many know about Malcolm X or the Black Panthers? An underrepresented piece of this important history comes alive in this tale of sisterhood, motherhood, and a bigger need to be heard and treated with equality. In Rita Williams-Garcia's beautifully written story, One Crazy Summer comes alive with the way the world existed in Oakland in 1968.Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are packed up and ready to be shipped across the country to spend the summer with their mother Cecile who they haven't seen in years. Once Fern was born, Cecile left them to be cared for by their father and grandmother in Brooklyn and never looked back. While Big Ma questions Papa's judgment for sending them across the country to a woman who doesn't want them, the girls are full of nerves and excitement. As the oldest, Delphine is expected to make sure her sisters behave and don't embarrass Big Ma and Papa by being the "black girls everyone expects them to be". The color of their skin means they have to be better behaved than any white girl would have to be.When they arrive in California, it is clear Cecile didn't want them to come. She sends them by themselves to get Chinese food for dinner every night and to the Center to get free breakfast every morning. She won't even let them into her kitchen to get a proper glass of water. And she doesn't hold back from reminding them that she didn't want them there in the first place. When there is a knock on the door, she shoos them into the back room and tells them to stay back there and stay quiet. But Delphine can't help but peak and she sees men in black clothes with large afros: Black Panthers. She had seen some Panthers in Brooklyn, but they weren't like the men she sees now, with her mother. As the days continue on and Delphine continues to take care of her sisters while her mother ignores them, she starts to learn more and more about who she is as a young black woman. The Center is full of Panther information and the summer classes revolve around learning not to trust The Man. While others are content to fight in any way they can, Delphine can't help but remember her one priority: keeping her sister safe. And if the Man shot an unarmed black boy in his underwear just because he was a Panther, they wouldn't think twice about three little girls who their own mother doesn't even want.This story was so rich with amazing historical facts and personal, real family emotions that I can barely wrap my head around it all! First and foremost is the emotional family dynamic. Williams-Garcia must have younger sisters because this incredibly realistic portrayal of three sisters is so perfect it made me laugh and cringe thinking about my own childhood with my sister. Everything from the way they parrot their older sister, to their precocious goofiness, to their enthusiasm about everything Delphine doesn't want them to do, all of it is so skillfully written you would think you were there with your own sisters!Then you have Cecile. At first I was shocked their father would just ship them out to her, but I realized by the end that he cared about her and trusted her with his kids. Cecile was such a dynamic yet subtle character that you really had to read between the lines to fully appreciate the character Williams-Garcia created. At first it appeared she was working for the Black Panthers, and then it felt like she was somehow forced into it. Then it seemed she didn't believe everything they stood for and then she lectured her daughter about being her own woman and not adopting the housewife subservience her gender has been forced into. It was a little confusing at times, but it made Cecile more human, more real. But more importantly, this story gave life to the Women of this movement, the women caught in between a war of men. From Big Ma back home, a poor but strong southern woman, to the ladies at the Center to Cecile, this was a wonderful book to allow your young readers to see a side of the story never talked about: how it affected the women these men belonged to. I loved this angle on the story, especially since we never hear about the women of the Black Panther movement.And finally, this story is a much needed addition to the world of our cultural and racial history in this country. Everyone likes to talk about MLK, but what about the other side of the movement? They are an important part of our legacy, but it isn't taught as openly in schools, so I am glad to see a book that is appropriate for middle readers that also opens their eyes to a part of their cultural they most likely haven't been exposed to yet. There isn't a deep understanding of the Panthers, but enough to pique their interest. This might be a story best taught in a class or read with a parent in order to help them fully understand the nature of the revolution. I am really glad there is a book like this out there. It is a great addition to the shelves of our libraries and our classrooms.

I really enjoyed this book. My daughter chose this for her book of the month in ELA.I’m not a fan of YA, but the protagonist’s naive honesty drew me in and kept me engaged throughout.The issues dealt with were more adult than childlike, though it was viewed through a child’s lens.Recommend it.

I bought the first book in the series for my two pre-teen grand-girls, for their birthdays or Christmas with the intent to give the other two books in the series on the opposite holiday.I will be checking up with them after the first book to chart how they like the book. I look forward to reading the books myself so they can dialogue with me and also with one another.

A Real Crazy StoryThree girls’ journey to finding who their mother truly isOne Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is a fantastic book, It has very funny and lovable characters, they were unforgettable to me and are really one of my favorite book characters ever. The book also had a lot of poetic language in it and that really stood out to me because it made the book way more interesting and intriguing. Lastly, the book addresses real life problems that african americans faced throughout time. I give this book 4.5/5 stars.This story all starts out in 1968, the eldest of 3 sisters, Delphine is a caring and loving, caring sister, she is a mother figure to her sisters Vonetta and Fern. They don't know their mother and on that summer, their grandparents send them across america to Oakland to see their real mother. They set their standards pretty low for what they were going to expect but when they got there, it was even worse. It seemed like their mother, Cecile wanted nothing to do with them.. She treated them bad. Made them get cheap chinese takeout every day. They are sent to a camp and strange men always enter their house. The three girls are very eager to find out who their mother truly is. This is their adventure with so many twists and turns to find out who their mother really is under her shades and her scarf, will they succeed?My first reason why One Crazy Summer is a great book is that it addresses real world problems. If a book has this, it's good because it teaches all the readers a lesson. This book had a lot of this.My first example on page 123 states, “Imagine. To have your father sitting down eating dinner or shining his shoes while watching TV. To have your front door blown off its hinges and the police rush in. To see your father in handcuffs, led away.”This part really got to me. It made me feel very sorry for those african americans that are mistreated by cops like that and we all know how big of a problem that is.My second example on page 76 states, “ Cecile forced us to go to the free Huey rally ‘A teen got shot last rally’ ‘It ain't safe for kids like us,’”This part stood out to me because it told us about the Black Panther rallies and how dangerous they really were.These reasons are why this book addresses real life problems in a great way.My second reason why One Crazy Summer is a great book is that it has great and unforgettable characters. For me, if there isn't relatable characters that i can connect to, I can't really even connect with the book, but this book did a great job with that.My first example on page 215 states “ We weren't about to leave Oakland without getting what we’d come for [...] we needed a hug from our mother.”This was the last page of the book and it really stood out for me because the girls had gone through an internal struggle of their mother not loving them and it really made me love them even more because they never gave up trying and towards the end, she started opening up to them more and more.My second example on page 11 states, “ Heads turned our way. A stewardess rushed to our row. ‘Sit in your seat missy,’ She scolded at me.”This part was really funny and cool because Delphine was telling Vonetta and Fern what to do and she did something wrong and the little girls started yelling at her. This part made me love the characters even more because the little girls didn't care if they were in front of a lot of people, they still had the same personality.These Examples and reasons are why this book had very lovable characters.My last reason why One Crazy Summer is a great book is that it has poetic language. Now, a book doesn't need poetic language that much for me to like it but when it does have it, it is a huge bonus to the book. This book definitely had that.My first example on page 76 states, “A name is important. It isn't something you stop in the litter basket or on the ground. Your name is how people know you.”This phrase right here really stood out to me because I had never heard of someone explain it like that and I totally agreed with what she said. It was poetic because it used a metaphor in it and that metaphor fit in perfectly with what she was trying to say.My second example on page 148 states,” Push here. I move. There. Push. There. I move. Two squares over. Buy those squares. From under my. Feet. i land on. The free square.”This poem by Cecile really stood out to me. At first, I thought Cecile was a bland person, but as I read more and more of the book, I realized what an artist she really was. This personally was my favorite poem of hers because I didn't get it but I loved the wording of it.In conclusion, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is a great book, it has very lovable characters, it addresses real life problems happening around the world and lastly, it has poetic language. I recommend this book really to anyone as it has a mix of tastes. Overall, I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I bought multiple copies of this book to use for small guided reading groups for my 4th grade classroom. I was a little worried that the way the mother treated her daughters in the book might be inappropriate for this age. I had my two highest reading groups read it at the end of the year. They loved it, many of them asked about the other two books in the series and are planning on getting them from the public library to read over the summer. Yay.

All the feelings. All the perspectives. All the interesting facts I needed to know more of.The characters’ voices are strong and deep and the story serves as a perfect timeline to watch them grow, evolve and get to know one another.Being inside Delphine’s head especially made this growth more significant, how she was eleven going on twelve to end up being just eleven.The sisters’ dynamics felt real and good, the community strong bonds were told rightfully so, without much of a fuss.The ending got me teary eyed and I’m only too happy to be recommending this one and the others in the series to my middle grade students and anyone else really.