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Booktalking Colorado Full Record:
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Title: |
Stargirl |
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Author: |
Spinelli, Jerry |
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Date Published: |
2000 |
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Genre: |
Real Life |
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Grade Level: |
5 - 12 |
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Booktalker: |
Susan Bartel |
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Awards: |
Former Blue Spruce Award Nominee |
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Booktalk:
I’d like you to think about what would happen if this person showed up at ______________.
Her name is Stargirl. That’s not her real name, they say she gave herself the name. She dresses however the spirit moves: it might be in a pioneer-style dress; it might be in bright red overalls. She carries a ukelele with her and sings during lunchtime. If it’s your birthday, you’ll be PERSONALLY serenaded. She carries her pet mouse Cinnamon in her backpack with her. Before each class period she covers her desk with a lovely tablecloth and a vase with a daisy in it. So whaddya think? What would be the reaction of you and your friends?
Leo, who’s the 16-year-old narrator of this book says his school’s reaction could be summed up in one word … HUH? Here’s his description of Stargirl:
She laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music.
She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school.
In her answers in class, she often spoke of sea horses and stars, but she did not know what a football was.
She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.
The interesting thing was, Stargirl’s enthusiasm began to make her popular. So the cheerleaders asked her to join the squad. Do you think Stargirl fit the mold of a cheerleader? No, of course not. And things began to turn against Stargirl again. You know why? She cheered for both sides. And when games were close and important games were on the line, this didn’t go over well at all.
So Leo, our narrator, is totally and completely confused, because you know what? He’s finding himself quite attracted to Stargirl. On the one hand he wants her to be more normal, so she’ll fit in with everyone else, and so he can hang out with her and not feel the accusatory stares of his friends. But Stargirl’s unpredictable spirit is who she is – it’s what makes her Stargirl. Leo’s torn – he really likes Stargirl, but the opinion of his friends matter to him a lot.
What to do with Stargirl…
What would you do with Stargirl?
What do you imagine happens to Stargirl?
Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
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