Grand Rapids — Grand Rapids fifth-graders are making their way through this year’s One Book, One City for Kids reading challenge, and they’re learning about all kinds of unexpected things along the way — from art, geography and trip-planning to family dynamics and how to cope with grief.
One Book, One City for Kids is a partnership between GRPS and the Grand Rapids Public Library. Each year, the program provides all the district’s fifth-graders with a copy of the same book, and encourages them to read and discuss the selection at the same time.
‘It’s a good book about a boy and his grandpa going across the country.’
— Fifth-grader Calliope Nelson
This year’s book, “A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation” by author Pablo Cartaya, tells the story of 12-year-old Gonzalo, who is grieving the recent death of his father. Gonzalo’s mother sends him to California to spend time with his grandfather, Alberto, whom Gonzalo has never met. Gonzalo accompanies Alberto, a curmudgeonly but very successful author, on a cross-country press tour for one of his popular children’s books, and though it’s awkward at first, over time the two bond and find joy in each other’s company.
Throughout the district, fifth-grade teachers like Kristina Morton and Jen Magalski at Burton Elementary are finding inventive ways to apply the book to the classroom, using art, geography, math and more to contextualize the lessons of the novel.
During a recent visit to Burton, Morton told SNN about what her students have been working on with respect to the book. They’ve been using maps, she said, to track the stops Gonzalo and Alberto make between California and Florida, and they’ve been designing their own imaginary trips across the U.S.
“The kids are learning basically how to read a map, how to determine miles in between places using the map keys, and (how to use) the compass rose,” Morton said. “They’re going to create their own travel plan where they’re going to pick a place they’re going to start from, and pick a place they want to go. And they’re going to budget expenses, such as food, lodging or gas, to try to plan out this trip to bring in the financial side of it.”
Fifth-grader Elvis Lopez was in the early stages of planning a trip to the American Southwest.
“I would maybe go to Texas,” he said. “I want to see what it’s like, because I’ve never been there before.”
Getting Artsy with the Text
Students have also excelled at art projects inspired by the book, making shields with designs similar to family crests, and drawing pictures of scenes from the story. Elvis flashed a smile as he displayed a drawing depicting a setting California sun with a pair of green eyes hanging overhead. The green eyes, which represent Gonzalo’s grief, turn up frequently in the book.
Elvis, who had just about finished “A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation,” said he was enjoying the book, and called it “crazy and interesting.”
Classmate Calliope Nelson agreed, as she marked up a map to track the characters’ progress.
“It’s a good book about a boy and his grandpa going across the country,” she said.
In Magalski’s class, fifth-graders Ari Arelleno and Marcos Perez showed off some of the things their class has worked on, including a fully decked-out doorway covered with key words and imagery from the book.
“We also made a real-life sculpture of Gonzalo (and Alberto),” said Marcos, noting that he brought clothing from home to dress up the two dolls, which now sit just outside Magalski’s classroom.
Both Marcos and Ari had already finished “A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation.”
“I loved it,” Marcos said. “It’s funny, and it feels like you’re really in the book.”
“And it’s serious at the same time,” Ari interjected.
Marcos said he wasn’t sure he’d like the book when he first cracked it open, but it improved “once you get to know the characters and feel what they’re feeling.”
Morton said the annual reading challenge is a great way to build students’ love for reading, and that this year’s selection was a perfect pick for GRPS fifth-graders.
“They can relate to it,” she said. “It deals with emotions — kids’ emotions — and dealing with grief and the loss of a family member, and things like that. … When they have their own personal situations or issues (represented), they’re like, ‘OK, I’m not the only one in this.’”
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