P.S. Be Eleven (Ala Notable Children's Books. Middle Readers)

P.S. Be Eleven (Ala Notable Children's Books. Middle Readers)

By Rita Williams-Garcia

22 ratings 22 reviews 13 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 5n/a4.653593

In this Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel and sequel to the New York Times bestseller and Newbery Honor Book One Crazy Summer, the Gaither sisters return to Brooklyn and find that changes large and small have come to their home. This extraordinary novel earned five starred reviews, with Publishers Weekly calling it "historical fiction that's as full of heart as it is of heartbreak" and The Horn Book considering it "funny, wise, poignant, and thought-provoking."

After spending the summer in Oakland, California, with their mother and the Black Panthers, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern arrive home with a newfound streak of independence. The sisters aren't the only ones who have changed. Now Pa has a girlfriend. Uncle Darnell returns from Vietnam a different man. But Big Ma still expects Delphine to keep her sisters in line. That's much harder now that Vonetta and Fern refuse to be bossed around. Besides her sisters, Delphine's got plenty of other things to worry about—like starting sixth grade, being the tallest girl in her class, and dreading the upcoming school dance. The one person she confides in is her mother, Cecile. Through letters, Delphine pours her heart out and receives some constant advice: to be eleven while she can.

This extraordinary novel will find a home in the hearts of readers who loved Brown Girl Dreaming and As Brave as You.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Publisher: Amistad
ISBN-13: 9780061938641
ISBN-10: 0061938645
Published on 1/27/2015
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 304

Book Reviews (25)

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After I read the first book, One Crazy Summer, I really wanted to read the sequel. Now I read the sequel and I thought this book was AMAZING. It was a perfect read to start summer reading this book. It was fresh and had a voice of it's own. The setting was unusual, but that was why I enjoyed this book. It was written uniquely, and the writing was it's own style. There were many problems in the story waited to be solved, and you could relate to the story a lot, especially the character.

This is a great book about three children who don't know they're mother. They go to visit her and are surprised at how strongly she feels about black-white equality.

This is a good book about Delphine and her sisters Vonatta and Fern. There Pa is already married and is dating someone named Ms. Marva. Delphine likes her other mother mother named Cellie and is writing letters. They are watching a show at night because Delphine has a friend named Lucy who told her to watch the show so they did. On the show where the Jason's. Uncle Darnell comes home home and Pa is forcing him out and Big Ma said ''stop forcing him out so you can bring Ms cute lady in" This is pretty good and I don't like it as much.

Some problems are challenging, but you sometimes have to think hard enough to be able to think up of the solution. Delphine has moved from Brooklyn and is twelve. She's really nervous about starting sixth grade because of her tallness and her first school dance. Delphine's parents are already divorced but her father now has a girlfriend. Then the twelve year old's uncle comes back from Vietnam. With so much, she decides to write to her mother in California. When her mom writes back to say, "Be Eleven," Delphine is bummed. She is completely clueless why her mother says to be eleven when she was twelve, but she finds out.

An absolutely amazing story! There is a lot of details and I love the problems in the story because it happens to people a lot, and can actually give advice.