Umbrella Summer

maddyp18 - I loved this book so so so so so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a great realistic fiction story!!!!!! It is about a girl that ever since her brother Jared died, she has been to careful about things that she shouldn't worry about at her age. But when a new neighbor mores in the neighborhood, she starts to realize that she shouldn't worry so much. I think the message for this story is ''It is good to be careful, but not to careful''. I think this story is more for girls then boys because I just don't think a boy would understand how Annie feels as well as a girl. In the story my favorite character is Annie because of how much she understands all of her friends and her family. If I could, I would ask the author ''how did you come up with this story plot'' because I wonder how she got the idea that a boy would die, and things like that. I hope you like it!!!!!!!!

June 1, 2009
Gr 4-6-After her brother's unexpected death from a rare heart ailment, adventurous Annie Richards changes into an overly cautious child who diligently tries to prevent any illness or accident happening to her. Each cut or bump is bandaged. Instead of racing her friend Rachel on her bike, the 10-year-old invents turtle racing to see who can ride the slowest. Games she deems too dangerous are avoided. Annie's neighborhood is filled with friends and neighbors who care, but too often she sees the "dead brother" look on their faces. Only when Mrs. Finch moves into the long-vacant "haunted" house in the neighborhood, and Annie attempts to sell her outdated Junior Sunbird cookies, do things begin to change. Friendship, shared moments, and some careful listening help Annie close her umbrella of sadness. As in "The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower" (2008) and "The Thing About Georgie" (2007, both HarperCollins), Graff has created a lively, quirky individual who tells her story with frankness and humor. Annie's three friends come across as real kids who treat Annie's eccentricities with a mixture of understanding and occasional anger. A more complex read than Andrea Beaty's "Cicada Summer" (Abrams, 2008), Annie's story deals with death with sensitivity, love, and understanding."Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2009
Grades 3-5 Nine-year-old Annie knows that bad things can happen even if youre careful. Her older brother Jared died even though he went to the doctor. So now she is extra careful. Annie pores over a medical encyclopedia, wears a helmet in the car, preemptively wraps her ankles for bike rides, and never roller-skates down the hill with one eye closed the way she and Jared loved to do. A fight over the funeral of her best friends hamster leaves Annie even more alone, but she finds an unlikely friend in the new neighbor, Mrs. Finch, who lends her Charlottes Web, reveals that she is a recent widow, and helps her learn to close the umbrella that she has put up to shield herself since Jareds death. Annie grapples with what to do to mark Jareds approaching birthday, and together with his best friend, Tommy, they find a fitting tribute to joyfully remember Jared. This tender book about love and loss benefits from Annies quirky personality, which lightens the serious tone.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)