For the first time in years, Cat has the opportunity to be a kid again. When a summer trip doesn't go according to plan, Cat and Chicken end up spending three weeks with grandparents they never knew.

Since their mom has had to work double-hard to keep their family afloat after their father passed away, Cat has been the glue holding her family together.īut even the strongest glue sometimes struggles to hold. She's the one who knows what Chicken needs. When he has a 'meltdown' she's the one who scratches his back and reads his favorite story.

We have a wall between us that was built over time from before I was your age.This beautifully written, emotional debut perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt or Ali Benjamin tells the story of a girl, her special needs brother, and the summer they will never forget.Ĭat and her brother Chicken have always had a very special bond-Cat is one of the few people who can keep Chicken happy. The text illustrates this when Cat’s mom says “We have a lot to talk about…He had something to apologize for and so did I. The main character Cat is trying to rebuild the relationship between her mom and grandfather and we think some of our friends, who have family struggles of their own, will feel relieved that they are not alone. Teachers should use this book because it will help students who don’t come from “perfect families” understand they are not alone. When Cat and her brother Chicken spend a summer with grandparents they have never met, Cat is able to come away with a different perspective of her family and learns to have empathy for the adults in her life. When we are young, and in the process of growing up ourselves, it is sometimes difficult to understand why the adults in our lives act the way they do. Gillian McDunn teaches us that family, no matter how fractured, is what helps get us through each and every day. Sixth Grade Book Club Members Think…Ĭaterpillar Summer is a wonderful, figurative language filled story, that shows readers how important it is look at situations from others’ point of view. But no matter what, Cat loved him as wide as the Golden Gate Bridge, as deep as the sea floor, and as fierce as a shark bite.

Caterpillar summer by gillian mcdunn