Book Discussion Guide - The Summer My Father Was Ten

In The Summer My Father Was Ten, a young boy tries to make amends to his neighbor, after he and his friends thoughtlessly destroy the old man's garden. "Growing a garden is fact and metaphor in this profoundly moving cross-generational story with a neighborhood drama that children will relate to and exquisite watercolors that celebrate renewal and connection." —Booklist, starred review In the book, the main story about the father as a young boy is framed at the beginning and end by the daughter's narration. Do your students think the frame adds to or takes away from the story? Setting is often an important element of a story. Judging from the illustrations, where do your students think the story is set? The author imagined the story taking place in an urban setting such as Brooklyn. The illustrator chose to set it in Portland, Maine, where she had often visited her grandmother when she was a child. Does setting make a difference in a story? Names of characters can also be important in a story. “Bellavista" is made up of two words: Bella is Italian for beautiful and vista means view. Is this a good name for this character? Why or why not? Find the statue in the illustrations of the garden. Can your students identify who this is? Why do your students think Mr. Bellavista would have the statue in his garden? When the boy meets Mr. Bellavista on the stairs and offers to help him with a garden, Mr. Bellavista studies him silently for a few minutes before answering. What do your students suppose Mr. Bellavista was thinking? Writers often use phrases with three things in them because it gives a sense of completeness. "...we water, mulch and tend it all through the summer", "...he trudged with rake, garden fork and trowel...", "...weeding, watering and watching over his plants&quot; are some examples from this story. Can your students find any others? Can they think of phrases or stories with threes in them? Discuss with your students: Which is more important, to say you're sorry or to prove that you're sorry by your actions? Or do you need to do both? How would the story have been different if, after the boy apologized to Mr. Bellavista, he had not been allowed to help make a new garden? How important is it to be forgiven, and how do you know when you have been forgiven? The Summer My Father Was Ten by Pat Brisson; Illustrated by Andrea Shine. 9781563978296. Ages 5-7. $10.99-US/$14.99CAN.

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Book Discussion Guide - The Summer My Father Was Ten

Published on Jul 16, 2022

Astra Publishing House

By Pat Brisson In this touching book with a moral message, a child retells the story of her father's youth when an impromptu baseball game gets out of hand and some unthinking boys end up destroying an old man's garden. Every year my father and I plant a garden. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, marigold, and zinnias grow in neat, straight rows...and every spring my father tells me about Mr. Bellavista and the summer my father was ten. That was the summer a boy lost a baseball under a tomato plant in Mr. Bellavista's garden. And someone tossed a tomato back instead of the baseball. A lively battle took place, which seemed like great fun at the time, but in the end, Mr. Bellavista's garden was ruined. In a touching story of one boy's efforts to make amends, we see the rebuilding of a garden and the forming of a relationship across generations. With luminous, beautifully detailed watercolors, this excellent book for the whole family shows how we can turn our mistakes into some of life's greatest moments.