Children's Literature @ NYPL

Booktalking "The Summer of May" by Cecilia Galante

May and Olive text each other all day long. May's fiery temperament is calmed by Olive's gentle ways; they seem to complement each other... until they stop understanding each other.

English teacher Movado the Avocado and best friend Supercali were the same way. From first grade through age sixteen, they were tight as ever... until Supercali had the bright idea to jump into Emerald Falls... and she was never the same again.

Dad is always busy at work, at home fighting with May, or scheming up plans for May's summer.

Gram is depressed and a shadow of her former self. She refuses to emerge from bed, and she rarely eats more than a sliver of anything. She has lost easily half of her weight.

Mom is gone for some unknown reason.

Hermit crab, Sherman, travels up and down May's arm when she lets him out of his cage to play.

13-year-old May struggles to deal with her life.

The Summer of May by Cecilia Galante, 2011