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The Summer My Father Was Ten
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.
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.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
6 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Pat Brisson
35 books17 followersI have been writing picture books and easy-to-read chapter books for the last twenty years. My first YA, The Best and Hardest Thing, a novel in verse, will be coming out in May 2010.
I am a former elementary school teacher, school librarian and reference librarian in a public library. I now write full-time and do author visits to schools.
My husband and I have four grown sons. We live in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Our last name has a short "i" sound and rhymes with "listen".
I am a former elementary school teacher, school librarian and reference librarian in a public library. I now write full-time and do author visits to schools.
My husband and I have four grown sons. We live in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Our last name has a short "i" sound and rhymes with "listen".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 4, 2018
This is a book that teaches a lesson on a children's level. I thoroughly would recommend this book for children of all ages.
February 13, 2018
The boy and his father were making a garden. Then the boy's dad told him a story ABOUT HIM AND HIS FRIENDS when he wrecked a guys garden by picking his crops and throwing them. The old man was sad because they wrecked the garden, but they fixed it. I didn't like it because it was not my type.
October 17, 2017
I would give this book a rating of three stars, only because it was a bit bland. I was bored but the ending actually touched my heart and made me give it a couple more stars. The thing about this story is that it covers vegetables and I personally don't see interest in a garden. It also talked about how these kids played baseball and reminded me of a movie I saw called ____. Only difference is when the baseball lands in someone else's yard, the children destroy the yard. I felt bad but the good ending definetly made up for the plain storyline. Another plus is the artistic work of the illustrator will have you enjoying the pictures.
July 21, 2016
This heartwarming picture book is one I definitely want to share with my students. The narrator is a girl who plants a garden with her father every year. She tells a story that her father has told her each and every time they plant it. The story tells of an older gentleman, Mr. Bellavista, who would plant vegetables and flowers in the vacant lot next door. The man spent hours tending his plants, and in one careless moment it was ruined by the storyteller's father. Brilliant storytelling and beautifully painted illustrations come together to tell readers how awful this young man felt about what he'd done and what he did about it. There are so many powerful messages that kids need to read in this story: themes of forgiveness, kindness, and generosity. I also believe this is a great mentor text for writing personal narratives. I'm so glad I have a copy of this in my classroom library.
October 11, 2017
The Summer My Father Was Ten by Pat Brisson is a story of a little girl who is working on a garden with her father. It is an annual thing they do, and every year the father tells the girl of the summer he was ten. The young version of the father lived next door to a man named Mr. Bellavista. He would always plant a garden in the summer time. One day, the father and his friends were playing baseball, and their ball landed in the garden. The father thought it might be funny to throw a tomato at his friends, and soon the boys were destroying all of Mr. Bellavista's crops. The father felt guilty when he saw the look on Mr. Bellavista's face at his destroyed garden, but none of the boys apologized. The next summer, Mr. Bellavista decided not to make a garden. The father felt very bad for what he had done, so he told Mr. Bellavista it wouldn't happen again and that he would help him maintain the garden. Both boys tended to the crops all summer long, and when the vegetables were ripe, they enjoyed a nice meal with them. The tradition continued until Mr. Bellavista became ill and disappeared from the father's life. However, the father continued to plant a garden even in Mr. Bellavista's absence.
The major themes of this book are owning up to your mistakes and helping others. The book does a good job in transmitting the feeling of guilt that the father feels when he sees the disappointed look on Mr. Bellavista's face. It shows that it is always better to own up to your mistakes sooner rather than later to avoid bigger consequences. The second theme is shown by how helping his neighbor leads to him enjoying a nice meal and discovering a new favorite pastime.
This book has become one of my favorites. The images themselves are very beautiful and you can clearly see all the different emotions in the characters' faces. The message is very sweet and inspiring to the reader. It makes you reflect on how limited time is and that helping others is a great way to use that short amount of time.
I recommend this book to all readers of any age because the message is universal and it is never too late to start helping others. Students might even enjoy this book because they can reflect on how the characters that are their age handled the situation. They might also enjoy thinking what their parents were like when they were ten, or what stories they might tell their future children about helping others.
The major themes of this book are owning up to your mistakes and helping others. The book does a good job in transmitting the feeling of guilt that the father feels when he sees the disappointed look on Mr. Bellavista's face. It shows that it is always better to own up to your mistakes sooner rather than later to avoid bigger consequences. The second theme is shown by how helping his neighbor leads to him enjoying a nice meal and discovering a new favorite pastime.
This book has become one of my favorites. The images themselves are very beautiful and you can clearly see all the different emotions in the characters' faces. The message is very sweet and inspiring to the reader. It makes you reflect on how limited time is and that helping others is a great way to use that short amount of time.
I recommend this book to all readers of any age because the message is universal and it is never too late to start helping others. Students might even enjoy this book because they can reflect on how the characters that are their age handled the situation. They might also enjoy thinking what their parents were like when they were ten, or what stories they might tell their future children about helping others.
November 27, 2019
Summary: When a father and daughter plant their garden every year, the father always tells his daughter the story of the summer when he was ten. While playing baseball with his friends, they ended up ruining a man named Mr. Bellavista's garden. His father instantly realized his mistake and decided to try and fix the situation, which ends in friendship and tradition.
Review: I discovered this book last year, and it became an instant favorite! I not only love the message behind the story but the fact that the garden continues to grow physically and metaphorically. The illustrations are an excellent addition to the story and captivate the reader.
Pair: I would pair the book, "The Summer My Father Was Ten," with the book, "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse," by Kevin Henkes. Both of these books show children how, at the moment of having fun or being angry, you sometimes forgot how it would affect others. The father and Lilly realize their mistake and can make amends. These types of lessons will impact children for the rest of their lives!
Quote: After the father and his friends ruined Mr. Bellavista's garden, the father instantly feels terrible, "My father wanted to go over and tell his neighbor he was sorry, but his feet were like heavy stones holding him there." I think this scene is significant because most children have felt this way after making a mistake. It also helps to emphasize how we can fix things once we feel this way, instead of just forgetting about it.
Review: I discovered this book last year, and it became an instant favorite! I not only love the message behind the story but the fact that the garden continues to grow physically and metaphorically. The illustrations are an excellent addition to the story and captivate the reader.
Pair: I would pair the book, "The Summer My Father Was Ten," with the book, "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse," by Kevin Henkes. Both of these books show children how, at the moment of having fun or being angry, you sometimes forgot how it would affect others. The father and Lilly realize their mistake and can make amends. These types of lessons will impact children for the rest of their lives!
Quote: After the father and his friends ruined Mr. Bellavista's garden, the father instantly feels terrible, "My father wanted to go over and tell his neighbor he was sorry, but his feet were like heavy stones holding him there." I think this scene is significant because most children have felt this way after making a mistake. It also helps to emphasize how we can fix things once we feel this way, instead of just forgetting about it.
April 10, 2023
"And every summer my father tells me about Mr. Bellavista and the summer my father was ten."
His neighbor, Mr. Bellavista, always planted a garden. One year, when a baseball got hit into the garden, the boy ended up grabbing a tomato instead and pitching it at his friend. Soon, they were all throwing vegetables at each other until the garden was ruined. Mr. Bellavista said just one thing? "Why?" The next year, Mr. Bellavista didn't come out to plant his garden, so the boy questioned him about it. "So you can destroy again?" But instead the boy volunteers to help Mr. Bellavista plant his new garden.
A good story about living with integrity.
His neighbor, Mr. Bellavista, always planted a garden. One year, when a baseball got hit into the garden, the boy ended up grabbing a tomato instead and pitching it at his friend. Soon, they were all throwing vegetables at each other until the garden was ruined. Mr. Bellavista said just one thing? "Why?" The next year, Mr. Bellavista didn't come out to plant his garden, so the boy questioned him about it. "So you can destroy again?" But instead the boy volunteers to help Mr. Bellavista plant his new garden.
A good story about living with integrity.
June 16, 2018
I think this book, like most others, teaches us a valuable lesson. Several lessons actually. It is a story of friendship after a shakey start and how we need to treat others better. It is sad as well, and I found myself tearing up a bit. Very sweet book for boys and girls!
July 6, 2023
Great kid lit - saying what really can't be taught other than by personal experience OR by great storytelling. A kiddo makes a mistake and spends his following years devotedly making it right. Forgiveness, humility, hard work...
August 22, 2024
A young girl tells the story her father shares with her of an important lesson he learned the summer he was ten. A beautiful picture book about taking responsibility and making things right after a mistake.
January 25, 2017
It was a really touching story that had me thinking about things I've done in the past and how i handled them.
November 27, 2017
Great story about how you can resolve your mistakes. Wonderful lesson for the youngsters. I mostly enjoyed this book because of the beautiful illustrations.
February 26, 2019
This is a solid narrative. I am not sure it would move off the shelf on its own. It would work well as a teacher resource.
Read
November 14, 2019beautiful example of remorse,
empathy and friendship!
Wonderful watercolors
empathy and friendship!
Wonderful watercolors
February 7, 2020
My fifth graders were in tuned while I read this to them.
July 13, 2020
A friend is not necessarily someone our own age. Alissa couldn't understand the tomato fight.
January 30, 2022
I know it's a kids book, but I read it today while my son looked for books at St Vincent. I think it made me cry.
April 26, 2026
Lovely watercolor illustrations. The story made me teary eyed. 🥹
April 19, 2022
Historical Fiction
K - 2nd grade reading level
This is a great story. It teaches a good lesson about being kind to your neighbors and helping others. The illustrations are really detailed. Overall a good story.
K - 2nd grade reading level
This is a great story. It teaches a good lesson about being kind to your neighbors and helping others. The illustrations are really detailed. Overall a good story.
April 23, 2012
Gardens bring people together. The hard work of spring when the soil is prepared and seeds are planted is made lighter by many hands. The summer months of growing, weeding, watering, and waiting are more enjoyable with company. The fall harvest is more delicious with friends sharing in the work. This is a story of such a garden, where not only plants grew, but understanding and friendship as well.
The narrator in this picture book is a girl who looks to be about 10 years old. On the first page she talks about the garden she and her father plant every summer. For them, gardens are a ritual and tradition dating back to the summer her father was 10 (as the title of the story indicates). As a boy, her father lived in an apartment building next to an empty lot. There was an old man who lived in the same apartment building, named Mr. Bellavista. Mr. Bellavista was made fun of by the children in the building because of his accent and funny clothes. The book never states it directly, but the man is an immigrant, probably from Italy. The girl’s father taunts the man along with his friends.
Every summer Mr. Bellavista plants a garden in the empty lot. The author makes sure to include, but not dwell, on how hard it was to make the lot suitable for growing flowers and vegetables. The love the man feels for this patch of earth is obvious from the care and time spent with it. After the weeding was done in the early morning, Mr. Bellavista would sit in the garden by himself and listen to opera music on the radio.
Then one day the children’s baseball game accidently lands a ball in the tomato patch of the garden. The future father goes to retrieve it, only to have mischief hijack his thoughts. He wonders how his friend would react if instead of a ball, he threw back a tomato. The baseball game soon breaks down into a food fight of the freshest and most precious produce. The garden is destroyed, and so is the spirit of an old man. All the other boys run off, but not our protagonist. Feeling guilt beyond words, he shuffles off, eventually.
The next spring comes and no garden is planted. One day the boy and old man run into each other the boy asks him why. The old man says he sees no point in planting a garden, only to have children destroy it. The boy apologizes and promises to help Mr. Bellavista plant the garden. No longer does the man tend to his garden or listen to his music alone. From this single garden comes a tradition that continued every summer since the boy was ten. It is a tradition he now shares with his own daughter. Also shared every summer while they garden is the story of Mr. Bellavista.
This book is filled with touching and often sad moments. Many opportunities present themselves for class discussion. Guilt and reconciliation are major themes. Everyone has done something they are ashamed of. This book would lend itself well to a project or discussion about finding forgiveness and making amends. If the class is doing a project about gardening, this book could also be useful. This book also works well for themes about traditions and rituals.
The illustrations are done in watercolors, emphasizing the characters emotions in many instances. This book is probably a little too text heavy to be a read aloud for younger grades. It may be difficult to get little ones to sit still and listen to the average 2 paragraphs per page. With older elementary students this shouldn’t be such an issue since they generally have the attention span to handle it. There are several points in the book where a teacher could pause for discussion and keep the students engaged in the story. “What would you have said to Mr. Bellavista if you had ruined his garden?” “What do you think the boy can do to fix his mistake?” “Is there anything you and your family do every year like the garden in this story?” “What do you think your parents were like when they were your age?”
This book is definitely worth having on hand to supplement a variety of different themes. The Summer My Father Was Ten has many potential lessons to teach without getting bogged down in ideals and losing the story. Overall, I would say that this is a book rich with potential for the classroom.
The narrator in this picture book is a girl who looks to be about 10 years old. On the first page she talks about the garden she and her father plant every summer. For them, gardens are a ritual and tradition dating back to the summer her father was 10 (as the title of the story indicates). As a boy, her father lived in an apartment building next to an empty lot. There was an old man who lived in the same apartment building, named Mr. Bellavista. Mr. Bellavista was made fun of by the children in the building because of his accent and funny clothes. The book never states it directly, but the man is an immigrant, probably from Italy. The girl’s father taunts the man along with his friends.
Every summer Mr. Bellavista plants a garden in the empty lot. The author makes sure to include, but not dwell, on how hard it was to make the lot suitable for growing flowers and vegetables. The love the man feels for this patch of earth is obvious from the care and time spent with it. After the weeding was done in the early morning, Mr. Bellavista would sit in the garden by himself and listen to opera music on the radio.
Then one day the children’s baseball game accidently lands a ball in the tomato patch of the garden. The future father goes to retrieve it, only to have mischief hijack his thoughts. He wonders how his friend would react if instead of a ball, he threw back a tomato. The baseball game soon breaks down into a food fight of the freshest and most precious produce. The garden is destroyed, and so is the spirit of an old man. All the other boys run off, but not our protagonist. Feeling guilt beyond words, he shuffles off, eventually.
The next spring comes and no garden is planted. One day the boy and old man run into each other the boy asks him why. The old man says he sees no point in planting a garden, only to have children destroy it. The boy apologizes and promises to help Mr. Bellavista plant the garden. No longer does the man tend to his garden or listen to his music alone. From this single garden comes a tradition that continued every summer since the boy was ten. It is a tradition he now shares with his own daughter. Also shared every summer while they garden is the story of Mr. Bellavista.
This book is filled with touching and often sad moments. Many opportunities present themselves for class discussion. Guilt and reconciliation are major themes. Everyone has done something they are ashamed of. This book would lend itself well to a project or discussion about finding forgiveness and making amends. If the class is doing a project about gardening, this book could also be useful. This book also works well for themes about traditions and rituals.
The illustrations are done in watercolors, emphasizing the characters emotions in many instances. This book is probably a little too text heavy to be a read aloud for younger grades. It may be difficult to get little ones to sit still and listen to the average 2 paragraphs per page. With older elementary students this shouldn’t be such an issue since they generally have the attention span to handle it. There are several points in the book where a teacher could pause for discussion and keep the students engaged in the story. “What would you have said to Mr. Bellavista if you had ruined his garden?” “What do you think the boy can do to fix his mistake?” “Is there anything you and your family do every year like the garden in this story?” “What do you think your parents were like when they were your age?”
This book is definitely worth having on hand to supplement a variety of different themes. The Summer My Father Was Ten has many potential lessons to teach without getting bogged down in ideals and losing the story. Overall, I would say that this is a book rich with potential for the classroom.
October 12, 2017
Grade Range: 2-5
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
This book was wonderful! This could easily be one of my new favorites! It's a great story about how one can make mistakes and resolve those mistakes with such kind results! I would read this book to any student and make the point that other people may suffer from your choices! This book is awesome! The illustrations are beautiful too!
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
This book was wonderful! This could easily be one of my new favorites! It's a great story about how one can make mistakes and resolve those mistakes with such kind results! I would read this book to any student and make the point that other people may suffer from your choices! This book is awesome! The illustrations are beautiful too!
October 2, 2010
Title: The Summer My Father Was Ten
Author: Pat Brisson
Illustrated by Andrea Shine
Interest Level: K - 2
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9
Lexile® measure: 1040L
DRA: 40
Guided Reading: Q
Summary: Themes of growing a garden and growing up fit together seamlessly in this moving, cross-generational story. A father and daughter share a spring tradition: every year they plant a garden in their yard. But as the young girl knows well, the tradition began long before she was born — and the story of the summer her father was ten makes its annual appearance along with the tomatoes, peppers, onions, marigolds, and zinnias they cultivate with such love.
A stray baseball was the cause of the trouble; it flew into the garden of Mr. Bellavista, the old neighbor the kids called "Spaghetti Man." When the boy who would become Dad went to retrieve it, he couldn't resist throwing back a tomato instead. His friends responded, and soon the kids were having a glorious time, rampaging through the carefully tended garden, throwing every tomato, onion, and pepper they could get their hands on. But Dad heard the old man's one-word question — "Why?" — and watched him silently clear away the wreckage. The following year, when Mr. Bellavista showed no sign of planting anything new, the boy apologized and offered to help. They cleared, dug, planted, grew, and harvested the garden, and from that year on it became their shared endeavor — the memory of which continues in the framing story.
Shine's bright, detailed watercolors are full of light and movement, bringing vividly to life the people and neighborhoods in both time periods, while giving special attention, of course, to the satisfying daily work of gardening. Brisson has a sometimes difficult story to tell, but she uses a light touch, trusting readers to understand the message she resists spelling out: that the courage to take responsibility for your actions can bring sweet, surprising, and long-lasting of rewards.
Response: A young boy thoughtlessly destroys his neighbor's garden. He waits for the neighbor to rebuild the garden, but it does not come. Again, the young boy waits until the next season, and the garden does not come. He approaches his neighbor about the garden, only to apologize by helping him rebuild his garden. This story, is retold to the daughter of the young boy. The story teaches readers about respect for others' interests and property, and how actions, can be stronger than words when apologizing. The reading level is a Q and recommended for third graders.
Author: Pat Brisson
Illustrated by Andrea Shine
Interest Level: K - 2
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.9
Lexile® measure: 1040L
DRA: 40
Guided Reading: Q
Summary: Themes of growing a garden and growing up fit together seamlessly in this moving, cross-generational story. A father and daughter share a spring tradition: every year they plant a garden in their yard. But as the young girl knows well, the tradition began long before she was born — and the story of the summer her father was ten makes its annual appearance along with the tomatoes, peppers, onions, marigolds, and zinnias they cultivate with such love.
A stray baseball was the cause of the trouble; it flew into the garden of Mr. Bellavista, the old neighbor the kids called "Spaghetti Man." When the boy who would become Dad went to retrieve it, he couldn't resist throwing back a tomato instead. His friends responded, and soon the kids were having a glorious time, rampaging through the carefully tended garden, throwing every tomato, onion, and pepper they could get their hands on. But Dad heard the old man's one-word question — "Why?" — and watched him silently clear away the wreckage. The following year, when Mr. Bellavista showed no sign of planting anything new, the boy apologized and offered to help. They cleared, dug, planted, grew, and harvested the garden, and from that year on it became their shared endeavor — the memory of which continues in the framing story.
Shine's bright, detailed watercolors are full of light and movement, bringing vividly to life the people and neighborhoods in both time periods, while giving special attention, of course, to the satisfying daily work of gardening. Brisson has a sometimes difficult story to tell, but she uses a light touch, trusting readers to understand the message she resists spelling out: that the courage to take responsibility for your actions can bring sweet, surprising, and long-lasting of rewards.
Response: A young boy thoughtlessly destroys his neighbor's garden. He waits for the neighbor to rebuild the garden, but it does not come. Again, the young boy waits until the next season, and the garden does not come. He approaches his neighbor about the garden, only to apologize by helping him rebuild his garden. This story, is retold to the daughter of the young boy. The story teaches readers about respect for others' interests and property, and how actions, can be stronger than words when apologizing. The reading level is a Q and recommended for third graders.
April 29, 2014
The book, The Summer My Father Was Ten, is a father sharing a story with his daughter about something that happened to him when he was ten years old. The story is that he and his friends ruined his neighbor’s garden by rooting up and throwing tomatoes and vegetables at each other. The boy apologizes and helps the old man (neighbor) plant his garden every year. When the old man moves into a nursing home, the boy continues to plant the garden and brings him flowers from it. This is a beautifully written story with a beautiful message. The boy takes a mistake he has made and makes it right with the person that he has hurt. We can all learn from this example. As I was reading the part when the neighbor sees his garden being destroyed, I wanted to cry for the boys and the neighbor. The author, Pat Brisson, did a great job evoking reader empathy for both of the main characters. I also like how the book shows a cross generational friendship between the young boy and older man. This is moving story that I would definitely want to read aloud to children (ages 8-12).
December 14, 2010
This book is a story that a father shares with his son. The father remembers an older man that lived in his neighborhood who always grew a big garden. One summer when the father and his friends were playing baseball, the ball rolled into the garden. The boys ended up distracted by the baseball sized tomatoes and started having a tomato fight which ended up destroying the old man's garden. The next year he didn't plant a garden. When the father tries to apologize and ask the old man why he wasn't planting a garden this year. The old man tells him there is no point because it will only get destroyed. The boy agrees to help him do the work this year. The father has been planting a garden every year since. This book promotes a lot of thinking. Students are able to make connections, ask questions, and make predictions.
September 5, 2018
-Summary of the book
The Summer My Father Was Ten is about a dad when he was young. He tells the story to his son of how he had a neighbor that grew a beautiful garden and one summer him and his friends started playing on it and destroyed it. He felt so bad because the next year the old man did not have a garden so he helped him to plant one and they created a lasting bond and a tradition in which the dad carried on to his son.
-Evaluation of the book
I loved this book. It was so sweet how the father was able to learn from the old man after correcting his mistake of destroying the garden. The only thing I hated is how the old man died at the end of the book.
Ÿ- One detailed teaching idea using the book
This book could be used as an example of a memoir when teaching about them.
The Summer My Father Was Ten is about a dad when he was young. He tells the story to his son of how he had a neighbor that grew a beautiful garden and one summer him and his friends started playing on it and destroyed it. He felt so bad because the next year the old man did not have a garden so he helped him to plant one and they created a lasting bond and a tradition in which the dad carried on to his son.
-Evaluation of the book
I loved this book. It was so sweet how the father was able to learn from the old man after correcting his mistake of destroying the garden. The only thing I hated is how the old man died at the end of the book.
Ÿ- One detailed teaching idea using the book
This book could be used as an example of a memoir when teaching about them.
April 16, 2011
An older, Italian neighbor creates a garden in a vacant lot every summer. When the narrator's father was ten-years-old, he and his friends destroyed the garden when they decided to play baseball with the tomatoes and it went downhill from there. The old man cleaned it up, but couldn’t bring himself to replant the garden. The next summer, the narrator’s father decides to help his neighbor plant the garden as an apology for destroying it. He helps his neighbor every summer until the neighbor passes away. Now, every summer the man plants his own garden and tells the story to his children.
Themes: Making choices; maturity; consequences of choices; an event that shapes one’s identity
Themes: Making choices; maturity; consequences of choices; an event that shapes one’s identity
January 15, 2010
A boy thoughtlessly destroys his neighbor's garden, but when he sees how he's devastated the old neighbor, he returns the next spring to help him plant a new garden. It's nice to see a story where the main character decides for himself to make things right, rather than having punishment imposed from outside. This is a good way, too, for kids to see that the choices they make as a kid can affect them for the rest of their lives - the story is told by a girl who plants a garden every year with her dad, because he remembers what he learned the summer he was ten.
April 8, 2011
The Summer My Father Was Ten can be incorporated to a language arts and math lesson. The book can be used to explore inferences, use illustrations for clues, and brainstorm where the story might have taken place. Extend this book into a math lesson about estimation by looking at the size of a bushel of tomatoes (bring in a bushel for students to see and get an idea of the size). Allow students to wad up old newspapers to approximate the size of an average size tomato. Estimate how many tomatoes would be in a bushel then have them place waded up "tomatoes" in the bushel.
October 7, 2012
Personal narrative. A girl hears her father tell the same story every year - the story of a mistake he made as a child. When he was ten, he did something to his neighbor's garden. Something he was ashamed of but not sure how to fix.
This is a powerful story of a lesson learned, of multi-generational and multi-cultural understanding, told through flashbacks. Much to discuss here for upper elementary students about point of view and plotting.
Full page watercolor illustrations with embedded text.
This is a powerful story of a lesson learned, of multi-generational and multi-cultural understanding, told through flashbacks. Much to discuss here for upper elementary students about point of view and plotting.
Full page watercolor illustrations with embedded text.
April 2, 2014
The Summer My Father Was Ten, tells a story about a father who tells his son about how he destroyed his neighbor's garden and what he did to make amends with him. Apology of action is the theme of this story and it's a great book to read during a morning meeting. To teach literacy students can even do a really special activity and grow a garden together at the school and write in their journals the meaning behind growing a garden with others. The students will learn how a garden is used as a metaphor for how we move through life and start out small and grow into something beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews