Stargirlby Jerry Spinelli

"Did you see her?"That was the first thing Kevin said to me on the first day of school, eleventh grade. We were waiting for the bell to ring."See who?" I said."Hah!" He craned his neck, scanning the mob. He had witnessed something remarkable; it showed on his face. He grinned, still scanning. "You'll know."There were hundreds of us, milling about, calling names, pointing to summer-tanned faces we hadn't seen since June. Our interest in each other was never keener than during the fifteen minutes before the first bell of the first day.I punched his arm. "Who?"The bell rang. We poured inside.I heard it again in homeroom, a whispered voice behind me as we said the Pledge of Allegiance."You see her?"I heard it in the hallways. I heard it in English and Geometry:"Did you see her?"Who could it be? A new student? A spectacular blonde from California? Or from back East, where many of us came from? Or one of those summer makeovers, someone who leaves in June looking like a little girl and returns in September as a full-bodied woman, a ten-week miracle?And then in Earth Sciences I heard a name: "Stargirl."I turned to the senior slouched behind me. "Stargirl?" I said. "What kind of name is that?""That's it. Stargirl Caraway. She said it in homeroom.""Stargirl?""Yeah."And then I saw her. At lunch. She wore an off-white dress so long it covered her shoes. It had ruffles around the neck and cuffs and looked like it could have been her great-grandmother's wedding gown. Her hair was the color of sand. IT fell to her shoulders. Something was strapped across her back, but it wasn't a book bag. At first I thought it was a miniature guitar. I found out later it was a ukulele.She did not carry a lunch tray. She did carry a large canvas bag with a life-size sunflower painted on it. The lunchroom was dead silent as she walked by. She stopped at an empty table, laid down her bag, slung the instrument strap over he chair, and sat down. She pulled a sandwich from the bag and started to eat.Half the lunchroom kept staring, half starting buzzing.Kevin was grinning. "Wha'd I tell you?"I nodded.

"She's in tenth grade," he said. "I hear she's been homeschooled till now.""Maybe that explains it," I said.Her back was to us, so I couldn't see her face. No one sat with her, but at the tables next to hers kids were cramming two to a seat. She didn't seem to notice. She seemed marooned in a sea of staring buzzing faces.Kevin was grinning again. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he said.I grinned back. I nodded. "Hot Seat."Hot Seat was our in-school TV show. We had started it the year before. I was producer/director, Kevin was on-camera host. Each month he interviewed a student. So far most of them had been honor student types, athletes, model citizens. Noteworthy in the usual ways, but not especially interesting.Suddenly Kevin's eyes boggled. The girl was picking up her ukulele. And now she was strumming it. And now she was singing! Strumming away, bobbing her head and shoulders, singing "I'm looking over a four-leaf clover that I over-looked before." Stone silence all around. Then came the sound of a single person clapping. I looked. It was the lunch-line cashier.And now the girl was standing, slinging her bag over one shoulder and marching among the tables, strumming and singing and strutting and twirling. Head swung, eyes followed her, mouths hung open. Disbelief. When she came by our table, I got my first good look at her face. She wasn't gorgeous, wasn't ugly. A sprinkle of freckles crossed the bridge of her nose. Mostly she looked like a hundred other girls in school, except for two things. She wore no makeup, and her eyes were the biggest I had ever seen, like deer's eyes caught in headlights. She twirled as she went past, he flaring skirt brushing my pantleg, and then she marched out of the lunchroom.From among the tables came three slow claps. Someone whistled. Someone yelped.Kevin and I gawked at each other.Kevin held up his hands and framed a marquee in the air. "Hot Seat! Coming Attraction - Stargirl!"I slapped the table. "Yes!"We slammed hands.

Posted on 11/07/06 by Selena Kid contributor, age 11

found @ www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Stargirl.htmlI

liked the book especially when i found out that stargirl had a boyfriend. She not a girl that would date people. The book was

awesome! Stargirl is cool,even though she could be wierd sometimes. I think that it was a little rude when the "jury" kept asking her

uncomfortable questions, i didn't like that part, i felt bad for her. and the part when they threw a tomato at her i was just mean and of

course when they left her at the school and went to go play a basketball game because they didn't want her to cheer for the other team. Some parts of the book are sad and some are funny, but the

book was great to read!

          

          

 

Themes:Bullying

IndependenceConformity

Coming of AgeTolerance

Nature versus man: a small Japanese village faces the

fury of a volcano and a tsunami.

The tsunami kills many of the fisherman and their

families in the village.  Jiya is from one of these families

but was able to escape before the tidal wave hit.  He is

left to face the death of his father, mother and

brother.  In their culture, the Japanese are taught to

“learn to live with danger” and “enjoy life and do not fear death.” 

Peer Critic’s ReviewPeer Critic’s Review • AnonymousAnonymous

• Good book but too short!Good book but too short!

• Posted October 22, 2008, 7:03 PM EST:Posted October 22, 2008, 7:03 PM EST:

I read this book as a 6th grader and I loved it. The details I read this book as a 6th grader and I loved it. The details were perfect and the characters were wonderfully were perfect and the characters were wonderfully portrayed. Pearl S Buck is a beautiful writer and her portrayed. Pearl S Buck is a beautiful writer and her descriptions of Japan and Japanese culture are very descriptions of Japan and Japanese culture are very appealing. The only problem with this book is that it was so appealing. The only problem with this book is that it was so short. When I was finished, I craved more...But still it was a short. When I was finished, I craved more...But still it was a great book!great book!

Themes:Themes: Dealing with GriefDealing with Grief Survival Survival Resilience Resilience

                                

                               

                              

                            

                                

                              

Jean Craighead George

Genre: Genre: AdventureAdventure

Themes:Themes: Survival Survival Independence Independence Solitude Vs. Solitude Vs.

SocietySociety

“I first became aware of the delightsof the natural world when my father,an entomologist, presented me withwhat looked like a twig. When it got upand walked, my delight was such thatI wrote a poem, ‘To a Walking Stick.’I was in the third grade and havebeen writing ever since.” —Jean Craighead George

Every kid thinks about running away at one point Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons. befriending raccoons.

Sneak Peak:

On the Far Side of the MountainOn the Far Side of the Mountain (1991), (1991), Frightful’s MountainFrightful’s Mountain (1999), (1999), Frightful’s DaughterFrightful’s Daughter (2002) and (2002) and Frightful’s Daughter Meets the Frightful’s Daughter Meets the Baron WeaselBaron Weasel (2007) (2007)

                                                                      

                                                            

George wrote four sequels:George wrote four sequels:

Genre: Survival/AdventureGenre: Survival/AdventureThemes: Themes:

Communing with NatureCommuning with Nature Unlikely FriendshipsUnlikely Friendships

Catskill Mountains, NY

Time to choose!Time to choose!

Name:________________________________Name:________________________________

______ Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli______ Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

____________ My Side of the Mountain by My Side of the Mountain by GeorgeGeorge

______ The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck______ The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck