Caterpillar Summer
by Gillian McDunn
Informational Resources
Author Information:
Gillian McDunn’s website:
About Gillian McDunn:
https://www.gillianmcdunn.com/about
Activities & Resources:
Activities:
Fishing
Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Fishing Tips for Beginners:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_cd_k0700_0808.pdf
Videos for fishing beginners:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/angler-education/learn-to-fish
Beach safety
Tips from the Galveston Island Beach Patrol:
https://www.galvestonislandbeachpatrol.com/safety-tips/
\https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS6dGp3uU-A&feature=emb_logo
North Carolina
Gingerbread Island is fictional, but there are many islands off the coast of North Carolina. Here are a few:
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/north-carolina/10-nc-islands/
Use Google Earth to explore the islands of the Outer Banks of North Carolina: https://earth.google.com/web/@35.5341139,-75.4957887,-0.8067275a,151341.71019021d,35y,0h,0.00000254t,0r/data=Ck4aTBJGCiUweDg5YTQ1YjNjYTc3MzZjNzE6MHgxYjc3MTE2MTc1ZDIzNmIzGeqEhrR8x0FAIU4EFmXb3VLAKgtPdXRlciBCYW5rcxgDIAE
Lily collects sea glass she finds on the beach. Read the Wonderopolis article to learn more about sea glass:
https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/where-does-sea-glass-come-from
Design your own sea glass jewelry like Cat’s: https://www.marthastewart.com/274740/sea-glass-crafts?slide=9b4cbd10-10b4-4e56-82f3-13dc1b4a6685#9b4cbd10-10b4-4e56-82f3-13dc1b4a6685
Food
Cat and Chicken try new foods in North Carolina.
Recipe for pimento cheese:
https://jdaniel4smom.com/2013/06/kid-friendly-pimento-cheese-recipe.html
https://mylittlesous.com/kid-friendly-recipes/low-country-hushpuppies-with-royal-honey-butter/
MakerSpace Activities:
Design a fishing pole using straws, wooden sticks, string, paper clips, and other materials.
Use Canva, Google Docs, or another design app to create a poster for the fishing contest.
Chicken had a big blue book full of family photos in chronological order. Create your own book with family photos or illustrations.
Use Google Maps to track the route Cat and her family took from San Francisco to Atlanta by plane, then Atlanta to the North Carolina Outer Banks by car.
Using details from Caterpillar Summer, draw a map of Gingerbread Island.
Discussion Questions:
On page one, the author writes Cat loved Chicken “as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge, as deep as the ocean floor, and as fierce as a shark bite.” What does the author mean by that? What similes could you use to describe something or someone you love?
Cat’s and Chicken’s mom uses experiences from their lives for ideas for her books. How would you feel if someone wrote about your life? What if they did it without permission?
How does Cat feel about having so many responsibilities?
How is Caterpillar from the stories Cat’s mom writes like Cat? How are they different?
How do you think Cat felt when Mom told her they would be going to North Carolina to stay with her grandparents? How would you feel?
Why do you think the author chose the setting of Caterpillar Summer to be an island? How would the story be different in another place?
Do you agree or disagree with the sentence on page 61: “New things can be scary, but they can also be fun?” Why?
What are your first impressions of John Harvey? Does your opinion of him change after reading the ending?
What do Cat and Harriet have in common? How are they different?
Cat is determined to learn how to fish, and Harriet and Macon help her. Have you ever tried to learn a new skill? How did you learn it?
What does the author mean when she writes that Macon “looked like a half-empty balloon” (page 142)?
On page 152, John Harvey walks past Cat and Harriet while they are making fun of him. The author writes, “he had been so nasty anyway, did it really matter if his feelings were hurt?” How would you answer that question?
Why do you think Miss Sunshine ignored Cat when she walked into the ice cream shop (page 156)? Why do you think her attitude changed when Macon came in?
What does Macon mean when he says, “The ocean heard my anger, and eventually washed it away” (page 185)?
Other than fishing, what are some things Cat learned on Gingerbread Island? How did she change?
What does Harriet mean by “sometimes letting him handle things is a way of looking out for him, too” (page 216)?
Do you agree with Cat when she says, “Most people are good and bad all mixed together (page 253)? Why or why not?
How do you think Cat felt when she got second place in the fishing contest?
How do you think life in San Francisco will be different for Cat, Chicken, and their mom after their summer on Gingerbread Island?
What would you include in a sequel to Caterpillar Summer, if Cat and Chicken return to Gingerbread Island next summer?
Book Talk Teasers:
Read the Readers Theater for Caterpillar Summer.
Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bp6NbCcnJ4&feature=youtu.be
Read Alikes:
Loss of a parent:
Lai, Remy. Pie in the Sky. Knowing very little English, eleven-year-old Jingwen feels like an alien when his family immigrates to Australia, but copes with loneliness and the loss of his father by baking elaborate cakes. (NoveList Plus)
Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting by 7s.Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident. (NoveList Plus)
Spinelli, Jerry. Eggs. Mourning the loss of his mother, nine-year-old David forms an unlikely friendship with independent, quirky thirteen-year-old Primrose, as the two help each other deal with what is missing in their lives. (NoveList Plus)
Woodson, Jacqueline. Locomotion. In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school. (NoveList Plus)
Sibling relationships:
Braden, Ann. The Benefits of Being an Octopus. Seventh-grader Zoey Albro focuses on caring for three younger siblings and avoiding rich classmates at school until her fascination with octopuses gets her on the debate team and she begins to speak out. (NoveList Plus)
Clements, Andrew. Lost and Found. Twelve-year-old identical twins Jay and Ray have long resented that everyone treats them as one person, and so they hatch a plot to take advantage of a clerical error at their new school and pretend they are just one. (NoveList Plus)
Foxlee, Karen. Lenny’s Book of Everything. The older sister of a boy who is bullied for his rare gigantism harbors ambitions to study insects while her brother dreams of running away and living in a remote cabin, until the dangerous progression of his disease challenges their richly imagined escape worlds. (NoveList Plus)
North Carolina:
O’Connor, Barbara. How to Steal a Dog. Living in the family car in their small North Carolina town after their father leaves them virtually penniless, Georgina, desperate to improve their situation and unwilling to accept her overworked mother's calls for patience, persuades her younger brother to help her in an elaborate scheme to get money by stealing a dog and then claiming the reward that the owners are bound to offer. (NoveList Plus)
Turnage, Sheila. The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing. After her teacher offers extra credit to the student who can interview the oldest citizen of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, budding detective Mo LoBeau and her best friend Dale decide to one-up the competition and interview the ghost that haunts the Tupelo Inn. (NoveList Plus)