I really did not enjoy this book. The descriptive language was great. The characters were intriguing. My favorite scene was in the kitchen of the trailer when Summer first arrives with May and Ob. I could visualize exactly what the frig and pantry looked liked. I will definitely use that segment as an example of descriptive language in the future.
The book was just sad. It was a year of mourning May and all that her death represented to Ob and Summer. Summer's fixation on death really made me anxious. Even the attempts at humor through Cletus did not have much impact on me.
I have learned a lot about Cynthia Rylant through reading so many of her books. She is a country girl with deep roots and strong family ties. I enjoy her writing style and lovely language but she is not my favorite. As I talk to my peers about the books I am reading I get strong opinions on both sides. I have found that people either love Missing May or Hate it.
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You know my opinion. Too rural! One of my friends LOVES to teach this book to her 6th graders. I need to go observe while she does to see how she can make it applicable to her students' lives. I hated the descriptions, the names, the sadness.
Would you have used it with your 5th graders when you were in the classroom?
I may have used short clips to model descriptive langauage or character development. I would not have read the book to them or required it to be read because as a whole I did not care much for it. But as the first keynote speaker at VSRA said, it always to helps to bless the books.
When we were to blog about Van Gogh Cafe, I happened to be in the middle of Missing May. I blogged that I strongly did not like V. G. Cafe, but was enjoying Missing May more. That may have been true, but overall, I felt like you did. I really just didn't enjoy it and I would probably never read it again. I like the descriptive language, as well, but did not enjoy the overall death and mourning tone. I think it's good for students to have exposure to these kinds of life events and feelings, but who wants to purposely feel like they're going through mourning by reading a very sad story like this when they don't have to? Maybe I've already been teaching K for too long because I enjoy the happy-go-lucky kinds of stories. I'll pretty much read anything, but this one was too deep and it reminded me of my poor grandfather's death. I didn't like reliving that time in my life.
I guess it all depends on your own situation. When I lived in California, I probably would have hated these "rural books". Now, that I live in King William, VA, I can appreciate them. Although I do not live "way out in the country" I do live in a rural community. My nearest neighbor is 1 mile from me, as opposed to my neighbors in CA whom I could pass bottles of shampoo to through bathroom windows! So, I think my students would find her books more applicable than say students in the heart of Williamsburg. But its good to give them a good taste for other lifestyles. Especially when lifestyles change so drastically in just a short 1 hour drive in Virginia.
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