Summer reading for a 5th grader

She climbed on to the bed, snuggled next to me and said - “ They found a noose in the locker room. I am scared. Why are people so mean?” I sighed and said -”Well, people are sometimes mean, very very mean...” We chatted for a little while about the topic at hand - lynching and racism.  As she lays next to me quietly in her thoughts, I contemplate if I should talk about the violence against Asians that happened recently. I cannot bring myself to do it, I just want to snuggle and cocoon her from everything wrong with the world... I know it is a foolish thought, but I still decide that the topic is for another day. 

But it made me wonder, are most 5th graders ready for this kind of conversation? Are they ready to talk about grief, divorce, lynching, police brutality, parents not accepting queers. Apparently the school thinks they are ready for it...When I looked at the summer reading list for rising 5th graders - I felt like a completely ignorant out of touch parent.

Out of touch parent who thinks her child is above everyone else - I am self aware of that aspect of me...so that one doesn't surprise me as much as the ignorant part. When I was a 10 year old, I was a voracious reader. The books I read were mostly fiction, they were fun adventures of other children, detectives, fantasy land, super powers, magic, mysteries and the occasional horror. But when I looked at my 10 year old’s summer reading list -  I felt so out of touch with children’s books because I had not read a single one of them.

The first book I picked from the list was - “The remarkable journey of Coyote Sunrise” by Dan Gemeinhart. I listened to half of the book as I was driving to work and back...it is an excellent audio book and the narrator does an amazing job, but I just couldn’t stand the slow pace of the audio book. So I started reading the book just so that I don't have to wait for a car ride. The book is that good!

It is a story of a 12 year old and her father on a journey. It has all the elements from my childhood books -  kid on an adventure, cliffhangers(maybe way too many...), super fun, humor, totally unreasonable things kids want to do but adults don't let them do, friendship, pets.  I cheered Coyote on the ridiculous drive at the end to her hometown just like a child would do but as an adult I rolled my eyes at the absurdity/over the top nature of it. 

Even though this book has elements similar to the ones I would have read as a child, this book is also completely different in how it handles big emotions and grief. There is no tip toeing around the issue of Coyote’s family’s tragedy. Tears streamed my cheeks as I read the last few chapters and I didn't even try to stifle them. I wanted to weep with Coyote and her loss. I was cheering for her and crying at the same time. The book briefly talks about domestic violence too. 

Even Though the book is one of the best I have read in recent memory, thoughts raced through my mind as I read it - Can my 10 year old handle the big emotions, maybe she is totally fine and I am the sensitive one? I don't think she has any idea about domestic violence, or am I the naive ignorant parent who has no clue about the exposure their child has. I honestly don’t know. Maybe this should be required reading for parents to analyze the maturity of their children, maybe I am over analyzing a simple book...actually I am sure I am over thinking this...

If I think this book is a lot for my emotionally mature child, then what about the 5th graders? Well, the book is meant for kids and it is part of the official summer reading list from school. It means most of the 10 year olds are reading it. I guess the point is for the children to read and understand grief, feel the emotions and maybe reach out to the adults? I don't know...I can only hope that other parents are reading the book before the children are reading them and preparing themselves for the conversations. Anyway, I fell in love with the characters and this book and I hope my daughter does too!

The second book I picked for my reading and the first one my daughter chose to read from the list is “Blended” by Sharon M Draper.  This book gets deep into the topic of divorce, race and identity crisis being blended (the kid in the book has a white mother and a black father). I really liked how the book talked from the perspective of a child torn between two parents who loved her but not each other.

I think my daughter picked the book as she is blended and she is more aware about racism and divorce. It was certainly interesting to read the book and wonder how my child would interpret this book. For example, in the book, the mom asks the child which race box she checks in her school test - what does she identify as - a white or a black. As I read it, I wondered, what would my child choose - Chinese American or Indian American? 

As I read this book, I wondered - is this what summer reading for children has come to? Mix a bunch of social issues into one book , package it with some slushies and slimes and let them swallow the pill? Who came up with this list for 5th grade?

 My daughter finished the book in a few hours and loved it...we had some good conversations and I could see how she feels more empathy towards a child in her class whose parents recently divorced. She couldn’t believe that the character and her black friend were asked to leave a fancy store and asked me - “ That’s just fiction, that surely doesn't happen in real life, does it?” That is when I realized that whoever came up with the summer list knew what they were doing...and I need to accept that my baby may be ready for all these topics whether I think she is ready or not...

The next book on my list is "A Night Divided" by Jennifer A. Nielsen and I cant wait to discuss my 5th grader! Also, I am so excited that I found this whole genre of books that I have seemed to missed in my childhood!