From: Megan Schliesman <Schliesman>
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:55:49 -0500

Julie Schumacher's novel "Grass Angel" (Delacorte, 2004) is one that comes to mind for me when I think of summer. While it is (I believe) a contemporary story, in my mind it is set in the 1970s because of so perfectly echoing that restless, directionless feel of summer back then
(at least for me).

That makes me wonder how and if summer has changed for kids over the years, and how and if those changes are reflected in literature. I think of summer as a time when less structure (at least for some kids) can mean more possibilities--for contemplation, connection, adventure
(thinking of Lynne Rae Perkins's "Criss Cross"), but also for challenges that may be beyond them. To that end, Sharon G. Flake's novel "Bang" just jumped into my mind, for example, and that harrowing journey the two boys must make after Mann's father abandons them on a camping trip. And perhaps in part becuase it is summer when the story opens, Mann has a lot of free time to dwell on the negative things happening in his family and community, and there is nowhere for him to turn.

Megan












Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, UW-Madison 600 N. Park St., Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706

ph: 608-262-9503 fax: 608-262-4933

schliesman at education.wisc.edu www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 06 Jul 2006 02:55:49 PM CDT