Small Town Pride

By Phil Stamper.

Published in 2023 by Harper Collins.

Modern, Endearing, Inspiring, Honest, Feel-good ending.

Summary

Have you ever accidentally started crying while watching a television show, resulting in an unplanned coming-out-as-gay to your parents? Well, that is exactly how Jake’s story begins. His parents show their support, loud and proud – by raising a massive pride flag in Jake’s front yard. At first embarrassed and overwhelmed, Jake comes around to his parents’ show of their acceptance and wants to take it one step further by planning his town’s first Pride festival. However, Jake can only achieve his goal if the town mayor and her tightly controlled town council members will allow it.

CCSS Standard

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

Recommended Delivery

Independent Read

Why assign this book for independent reading?

Topics and themes in the text are not too challenging for most students to comprehend; the writing style uses casual language and is fairly accessible to most students.

Small Groups

Why assign this book in small groups?

Students will gain a deeper understanding from talking about the text and collectively working through the novel's many themes such as acceptance, identity, and power.

Comprehension Strategies

Before

Pre-read and make predictions.

From reading this summary or the inside flap of the text, the audience knows that Jake is openly gay, and his family supports him, but some of the townspeople and the mayor are not as supportive. Yet, the mayor’s son becomes increasingly close with Jake after he comes out. Knowing these details, students will make predictions about the plot and character development. Use the following prompts for guidance:

What challenges might Jake face?
What role does the mayor's son play in the novel?
Will Jake be successful in hosting a Pride parade?
What are some possible themes in this novel?

During

Connect to world knowledge and answer questions.

This book refers to many current or recent events, like the 2020 Trump-Biden election, the Black Lives Matter movement, and Pride parades. As student read, they will access the linked websites to read and build background knowledge about these events. The author purposefully mentions these events - why? Students will use the readings to answer the following questions:

What do you know about these events and the groups involved in them? What is confusing or unclear?
When a character speaks about current events, what does it reveal about their values or political beliefs?
How does your community or school district handle "controversial" topics, like Pride and Black Lives Matter?

After

Utilize text structure and extend the text.

First, summarize the text using a chain of events graphic organizer. Students will write a few sentences in each box, but stick to the main events and key details.

Then, students will determine a theme for the novel. To think of a theme, start with identifying Jake's main challenge during the novel, and how he responds to ultimately overcome it.

Lastly, read Phil Stamper's guest post on harperstacks.com. Reflect individually or with a group on how Phil's upbringing influenced how he wrote the novel, and how Small Town Pride is different from his other novels.

Key Vocabulary

1. Simulation: something that is not real but copies or tries to imitate real life.
2. Realtor: someone who organizes the buying and selling of houses and other properties.
3. Forum: in general, a place where people gather to share ideas; regarding video games, an online platform where gamers can discuss their gameplay and share information with other gamers.
4. Controversy: an event, idea, or belief that large groups of people disagree about or are shocked by, often causing fighting or tension between those groups.
5. Homophobia: describes actions or beliefs that are harmful towards LGBTQ+ people.
The following terms’ definitions are sourced from the Welcoming Schools website.
1. LGBTQ+: Acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people plus community members who use different language to describe identity.
2. Gay: People who love people of the same gender.
3. Bi: People who love people of more than one gender (for example, liking boys and girls).
4. Queer: People use this word as a way to identify with and celebrate people of all gender identities and all the ways people love each other. When used in a mean way, it is a word that hurts.

Writing Prompt

Where is Jake after he graduates high school? Write one to two paragraphs to describe his life as a young adult. For guidance, begin by answering the following questions:

Is Jake in college, or working a job? What are his hobbies? Does he still live in Barton Springs, Ohio? Is he still advocating for Pride celebrations in rural towns? Does he keep in touch with Brett and Jenna?

Add more detail as desired.

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