Stargirl movie tiein edition by jerry spinelli, paperback. No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion. At first everyone thinks that star girl was the best thing that ever happened to mica high, but as time goes on everyone starts to realize star girl isnt really a miracle anymore. Spinellis hilarious books entertain both children and young adults. Stargirl explores a character that doesnt try to fit in and is still happy in her own skin. She goes to the ocotillo ball by herself and has a blast. Love, stargirl is a 2007 young adult novel by jerry spinelli the book is the sequel to the new york times bestselling book, stargirl, and centers on the worlds longest letter in diary form. Stargirl is a young adult novel written by american author jerry spinelli and first published in 2000. Stargirl quotes by jerry spinelli meet your next favorite book. With stargirls help, leo becomes more observant of the beautiful common things around him, like ants carrying things across the road or an old man sitting on a bench. From the day she arrives at quiet mica high in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of stargirl, stargirl. Archie, the neighborhood wise man and resident cool old guy, is a retired paleontologist. Comprehension by chapter, vocabulary challenges, creative reading response activities and projects, tests, and much more. The setting of a story is where and when the action takes place.
Every middle schooler should read and discuss this and, fortunately, many of them do. She will remind them of favorite movie characters that do crazy things. The book called stargirl by jerry spenelli is one of the best books i have ever read. Although, i must say as my one critic that stargirl is the focus of the book and at times other minor characters can often get forgotten. Archie is a mentor and friend to leo and other kids in the neighborhoods. Then stargirl arrives at mica high and everything changesfor leo and for the entire. It was really exciting to read and really interesting. The greatest heroes and some bad guys of all time in order. When you really get to see stargirl, who she really is and what she does.
Somewhere in the midst of stargirl s arrival and rise and fall, normal leo borlock has tumbled into love with her. Stargirl chapters stargirl by jerry spinelli summary and analysis. Stargirl, book by jerry spinelli mass market paperback. Many characters had a great personality and others had a horrible one,but it was really interesting while you read it. Stargirl was well received by critics, who praised stargirls character and the. Leo borlock speaker, stargirl susan caraway, archie brubaker. Few parents will have objections to the content, but there is one scene in particular where stargirls peers verbally attack her on a television show. No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and. Leo and his friend kevin have a talk show called the hot seat. The story opens on the first day of school when we. Some of stargirls character traits that the students witness are her. Leo is the narrator of the book, or the one telling the story.
At first he thinks that star girl is strange and is going to be the topic of the year. Free stargirl worksheets and literature unit for teachers. This meaning that no one should have judged star girl by the way she appeared or by the way of her being different. Leo and his friend kevin have a talk show called the hot seat, this show is for kids in his school who want to see what is going on. Hillari hillari is the antagonist, she most strongly apposes stargirl represents conformity in the school, and the bad attitude of the general student population toward stargirl. It is amazing how jerry spinelli captures the feelings, actions, and anxieties of the modern day high school student. No one in the town sees stargirl again after that night, and leo learns that she and her family have moved away. If everyone had taken the time to fully understand her, like leo did, everyone would have realized the. Courtney elizabeth whitmore, known as stargirl often called stars or star, is a fictional superhero created by geoff johns and lee moder who appears in american comic books published by dc comics. He helped homeschool stargirl, and he passed away by the end of the book. A modernday classic and new york times bestseller that celebrates the power of individuality and personal expression from beloved newbery medalist jerry spinelli. Stargirl is a touching and thoughtful book, a celebration of individualism and a condemnation of the kind of society that would stifle it. Students love stargirls antics throughout the novel.
This time, she is telling the story through a yearlong letter to leo. Senor saguaro is the giant tattered cactus that grows in archies backyard. In the magical moonlight of my bed at night, i pretended she would become more like them and they would become more like her, and in the end i would have it all. Jun 03, 2015 leo is as ordinary as it gets, struggling to conform to the rest of his peers, he has to chose between having a normal life or a life with stargirl. After lunch, as she usually did, stargirl wandered around the lunchroom. She stopped at an empty table, laid down her bag, slung the. She is new at mica high and she is not like any of the other kids. Love, stargirl is a sequel to the spinellis bestseller stargirl, which is referenced throughout the book. One of the themes, or morals of this story is never judge a book by its cover. Dont miss the sequel, love, stargirl, and jerry spinellis latest novel, the wardens daughter, about another girl who cant help but stand out. Mcshane is the faculty representative to the state oratorical contest. If everyone had taken the time to fully understand her, like leo did, everyone would have realized the amazing person inside of her.
Stargirl is the catalyst for all the changes that occur in the novel. You can relate to the characters, maybe you were them or maybe you are them. Stargirl promised her that she would not sing to her. Spinelli uses his young heroine to tackle the difficult adolescent issues of selfesteem, popularity, and friendship. Stargirl caraway is undoubtedly the central focus of stargirl, even though readers are never privy to her interior thoughts. Throughout the story, archie helps leo understand stargirl and his feelings about her. She has grown up a lot in this book, and met lots of new people along the way.
Naiba book award for young children teachers guide stargirl overview background through the characters of leo and stargirl, author jerry spinelli shows the importance of accepting people for who they are. This was usually the time when she would stop in front of the birthday person and serenade them. The stargirl book series by jerry spinelli includes books stargirl, love, stargirl, and stargirllove, stargirl boxed set. She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school. Somewhere in the midst of stargirls arrival and rise and fall, normal leo borlock has tumbled into love with her. At first he thinks, like everyone else, stargirl is unusually strange. If youve never read stargirl and you really should heres what. In a celebration of nonconformity, jerry spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularityand the thrill and inspiration of first love. Falling action stargirl accepts the fact that leo can not love her for who she is. The next day the school was all astir waiting to see if stargirl would keep her promise.
People start to stop wanting to be friends with her, and everyone wants to kick her off the cheer leading team. In the end, we cant help but sympathize with leo, despite all his mistakes. Jerry spinelli is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers, including maniac magee, winner of the newbery medal, and stargirl, a new york times bestseller and an ala top ten best book for young adults. Free stargirl study unit worksheets for teachers to print. The character of stargirlsusan caraway in stargirl from. Like the title character, the book stargirl also falls into more than one category, or genre, of fiction. When it was time for star girl to be on the show, leo says no, and does not let her come. Stargirl is a young adult novel written by american author jerry spinelli and first published in 2000 stargirl was well received by critics, who praised stargirl s character and the novels overall message of nonconformity.
She was a 10th grade girl with blonde hair and freckles. Summers are very hot and dry in the mostly desertlike environment. Characters speak and dress in an everyday way, and fall in love just like the rest of us. Young adult fiction in most libraries, you will find stargirl with the young adult fiction. Style 55 jerry spinelli is able to capture the tensions perfectly to create a piece that creatively flows with innovative injections of humour and is able to convey a sense of deeper meaning without. From the day she arrives at quiet mica high in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of. List of main characters stargirl susan this is the main character, the protagonist. He must have really loved stargirl, if he still thinks about her, fifteen years later.
They might not all be the a listers but, they are the best. This study guide consists of approximately 40 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of stargirl. This character is first described as rather averagelooking with long sandybrown hair and freckles across her. Who are minor characters in the book stargirl by jerry. Robineau is the faculty advisor to the hot seat television show that leo and kevin run, and. Nevertheless, stargirl falls under the realism genre because its a book about very believable teenage life. It was a new york times bestseller, a parents choice gold award winner, an ala top ten best books for young adults award winner, and a publishers weekly best book of the year. In her answers in class, she often spoke of sea horses and stars, but she did not know what a football was. I would recommend you read this book because i know you will like this book. Leo is as ordinary as it gets, struggling to conform to the rest of his peers, he has to chose between having a normal life or a life with stargirl. It had lots of drama and it had lots of funny parts. In her answers in class, she often spoke of sea horses and stars, but she did not know what a.
The danny pike incident carves yet another chink in the armor of stargirl s popularity. Both girls and boys can relate to the themes in this story. She captures leo borlock s heart with just one smile. She sparks a schoolspirit revolution with just one cheer. This character dreams of being a sports announcer someday and seems comfortable in his own skin, but he seems a little more sensitive to his feelings and the feelings of others than most of the other characters in the novel. In fact, leo and stargirl have a wonderful time all the time. Stargirl was well received by critics, who praised stargirls character and the novels overall message of nonconformity. Spinelli made his picture book debut with my daddy and me, a loving tribute to fathers and sons. The stargirl community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Although, with a book this short, exaggerated characters are pretty much a.
Students love stargirl s antics throughout the novel. Jerry spinellis story stargirl takes us to mica area high school for the school year. I think it is because she has something mysterious about her and he dose not really want to figure it out. I loved the concept and jerry spinellis cast of characters leap right off the page at you. In the book stargirl, what did hillari kimble do to stargirl and what was. Readers see his life in his autobiography knots in my yoyo string, as well as in his fiction. See the complete stargirl series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. It picks up where the previous novel left off after stargirl left mica high and describes her bittersweet memories in the town of mica, arizona along with the involvements of new people in her life, in. Stargirl is set in the dry, southwest desert region of arizona in a small, fictitious, or fake, city called mica.
Crash came out of his desire to include the beloved penn relays of his home state of pennsylvania in a book, while maniac magee is set in a fictional town based on his own hometown. A romantic relationship also develops between the two main characters, but its completely innocent. All the reminiscing is new to the uninitiated reader and. Leo leo is a protagonist and is one of the books main.
It shows the true personality of the characters as i thought they were real. Cite examples from the book that show how archie helps one of the main characters. With stargirl s help, leo becomes more observant of the beautiful common things around him, like ants carrying things across the road or an old man sitting on a bench. Few parents will have objections to the content, but there is one scene in particular where stargirl s peers verbally attack her on a television show. But stargirl is introduced one chapter later and until three end of the book so she main charter to. It was a new york times bestseller, a parents choice gold award winner, an ala top ten best books for young adults award winner, and a publishers weekly best book of the. This works great if the two are read in reverse order love, stargirl and then stargirl. However, she left a lasting impression on leo and the other students at mica high. Perhaps its only all these years later that a now mature leo can look back and understand what stargirl truly meant to him.