Book: Barbara Park. The Graduation of Jake Moon. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000.
Awards: Could not find awards received specifically for this book.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: In this book, Jake Moon adores his grandfather, Skelly. Throughout the book, Skelly's mind deteriorates. He develops Alzheimer's which forces Jake to become like the adult. It is very difficult for Jake and his entire family. The story is about the balance that Jake is forced to find between his personal and personal life and his family issues. It is a complex situation that he goes through andn struggles to cope with what is happening to Skelly.
Audience: I would read this book with grades 5 through 8.
Themes: Disease is a major theme in this book. As mentioned above, Skelly has Alzheimer's Disease in this book. Some students will have experiences with this and some students will have no knowledge of this disease. This will be important to discuss with the students because this knowledge is very helpful when reading this book. Sharing my experience with my great grandmother will also be important to help the students relate.
Balance is another important theme in this book. Jake struggles throughout this book to find the balance between school, his friends, his family member, the things his grandfather is going through, Jake's new responsibilities, etc. Having discussions about this with the students will be important. Finding things that they can relate to will help the students understand what Jake is going through. Some students will have similar experiences and some students will have to use other experiences to relate.
Evidence:
"The two boys shut up after that. I mean, they chuckle a little bit and all. But you can tell they're not exactly busting with pride over making fun of a retarded old man." pg. 2.
"On account of the third kid turned out to be the most shameful of all. Because the third kid was me. And the old man in the Dumpster was my grandfather." pg. 3.
"It's one of those lessons in life we can all learn from, I think. Never complain about a hair in your pie when your waitress is teetering on the brink of insanity." pg. 6
Connections: This book is somewhat similar to Heartbeat that we read earlier this semester. Annie goes through a similar experience with her grandfather and finds ways to cope and find a balance in her life. I would use this book if a student was going through a struggle with their family. This book could help that student relate to other kids or find new ways to cope.
Reactions: I didn't hate this book but I personally didn't really get into it. I really like Barbara Park but I don't think this is her best work. I found it to be a bit boring and hard to get through. I probably wouldn't use this book in my classroom. I liked Heartbeat much better for coping skills and such. Other than that, I think students would find this book somewhat boring.
Reception:
"This book seriously was the most amazing book I have read in a long time. Although I felt dumb at Einstein Bagels today reading a 115 page, kid-print book, I didn't even care because I was so consumed in the plot line. I love how the author Barbara Park shows a child's view of peer acceptance, single-parenting, dysfunctional family dynamics, and maturing. The whole book Jake Moon would try to make light of his grandpa's Alzheimer's and he always said how embarrassing and hard it was to be a kid. But at the conclusion, he came to terms that he loved his grandpa in sickness or in health. Having my grandpa die of Alzheimer's my freshman year of high school, I didn't really understand what was going on; I was about Jake's age. Contrasting our maturity, I really see the other side of things. This book made me feel genuine empathy towards mine and Jake's grandpa's illness. They are still great people, just an illness keeps them from being the way they used to be. I love how Jake in the end realizes what matter most, loving your family. He showed that by helping his grandpa on stage and by sticking by his mom's side and helping out most the book."
"The Graduation of Jake Moon" was a good book. It was a quick read, compared to other books I have read. The book gave some insight about Alzheimer’s disease due to Jake's grandpa's(Skelly) condition. Overall, I would not read this book again due to the lack of action. However, it was well written and is a good story. I would recommend this book to middle school or freshman students, because it was an easy read since Jake was graduating from middle school and they would be able to connect with him."
Hyperlinks:
Scholastic
(No Author Web Page Found)
Awards: Could not find awards received specifically for this book.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: In this book, Jake Moon adores his grandfather, Skelly. Throughout the book, Skelly's mind deteriorates. He develops Alzheimer's which forces Jake to become like the adult. It is very difficult for Jake and his entire family. The story is about the balance that Jake is forced to find between his personal and personal life and his family issues. It is a complex situation that he goes through andn struggles to cope with what is happening to Skelly.
Audience: I would read this book with grades 5 through 8.
Themes: Disease is a major theme in this book. As mentioned above, Skelly has Alzheimer's Disease in this book. Some students will have experiences with this and some students will have no knowledge of this disease. This will be important to discuss with the students because this knowledge is very helpful when reading this book. Sharing my experience with my great grandmother will also be important to help the students relate.
Balance is another important theme in this book. Jake struggles throughout this book to find the balance between school, his friends, his family member, the things his grandfather is going through, Jake's new responsibilities, etc. Having discussions about this with the students will be important. Finding things that they can relate to will help the students understand what Jake is going through. Some students will have similar experiences and some students will have to use other experiences to relate.
Evidence:
"The two boys shut up after that. I mean, they chuckle a little bit and all. But you can tell they're not exactly busting with pride over making fun of a retarded old man." pg. 2.
"On account of the third kid turned out to be the most shameful of all. Because the third kid was me. And the old man in the Dumpster was my grandfather." pg. 3.
"It's one of those lessons in life we can all learn from, I think. Never complain about a hair in your pie when your waitress is teetering on the brink of insanity." pg. 6
Connections: This book is somewhat similar to Heartbeat that we read earlier this semester. Annie goes through a similar experience with her grandfather and finds ways to cope and find a balance in her life. I would use this book if a student was going through a struggle with their family. This book could help that student relate to other kids or find new ways to cope.
Reactions: I didn't hate this book but I personally didn't really get into it. I really like Barbara Park but I don't think this is her best work. I found it to be a bit boring and hard to get through. I probably wouldn't use this book in my classroom. I liked Heartbeat much better for coping skills and such. Other than that, I think students would find this book somewhat boring.
Reception:
"This book seriously was the most amazing book I have read in a long time. Although I felt dumb at Einstein Bagels today reading a 115 page, kid-print book, I didn't even care because I was so consumed in the plot line. I love how the author Barbara Park shows a child's view of peer acceptance, single-parenting, dysfunctional family dynamics, and maturing. The whole book Jake Moon would try to make light of his grandpa's Alzheimer's and he always said how embarrassing and hard it was to be a kid. But at the conclusion, he came to terms that he loved his grandpa in sickness or in health. Having my grandpa die of Alzheimer's my freshman year of high school, I didn't really understand what was going on; I was about Jake's age. Contrasting our maturity, I really see the other side of things. This book made me feel genuine empathy towards mine and Jake's grandpa's illness. They are still great people, just an illness keeps them from being the way they used to be. I love how Jake in the end realizes what matter most, loving your family. He showed that by helping his grandpa on stage and by sticking by his mom's side and helping out most the book."
"The Graduation of Jake Moon" was a good book. It was a quick read, compared to other books I have read. The book gave some insight about Alzheimer’s disease due to Jake's grandpa's(Skelly) condition. Overall, I would not read this book again due to the lack of action. However, it was well written and is a good story. I would recommend this book to middle school or freshman students, because it was an easy read since Jake was graduating from middle school and they would be able to connect with him."
Hyperlinks:
Scholastic
(No Author Web Page Found)