DIFFERENT KINDS OF FRUIT
Grades 5 and Up
Kyle Lukoff
Dial Books, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-59311-118-5
320 pp.
Summary
Bailey, the new kid in Annabelle’s class, is cool, fashionable, funny, and non-binary - which last is new to the small-town community. Annabelle is fascinated with Bailey, but as their friendship progresses, why is Annabelle’s father being so weird about it? Why does the presence of one preteen have such an impact on him and other community members? Annabelle is open to learning and willing to lead the way to a more inclusive town, a town with room for different kinds of fruit.
Curriculum Connections
Science
Annabelle learns a lot about food classification, and you can, too. Try making your own taxonomy charts. You can learn more about taxonomy here or in a book or encyclopedia from your library.
Also see:
Castaldo, Nancy. Ultimate Food Atlas: Maps, Games, Recipes, and More for Hours of Delicious Fun. National Geographic Kids, 2022.
Rothman, Julie. Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts & Pieces of Our Edible World. Storey Publishing, 2016.
You can also apply taxonomy to animals. See:
Broom, Jenny. Animalium: Welcome to the Museum. Big Picture Press, 2017.
Jenkins, Steve. The Animal Book. Clarion Books, 2013.
Research seahorses and their behavior and draw a seahorse life cycle. See these resources:
Falconer, Sam. Life Cycles: Everything from Start to Finish. DK, 2020.
Social Studies
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has lesson plans about gender identity.
Many of these plans are based on picture books, which are fabulous resources at any age for learning about new perspectives. Read a picture book about gender identity and follow the lesson plan.
Major themes of this book are activism and diversity. Throughout the book, students at the lab shared causes and events that were meaningful to them. Some examples are:
Solar power and climate change awareness
Black Lives Matter Week of Action
Women’s History Month
Queer Awareness Month
Disease Literacy Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
AAPI Month
Child labor awareness
Research one of these topics or another cause that has personal meaning to you. Keep notes and use what you learn to write a letter to someone who can help you take action. The Southern Poverty Law Center has a resource for writing a persuasive letter.
Discussion Questions
How did Annabelle’s father react to meeting Bailey? Why did he have such an emotional response?
What are the advantages of studying contemporary issues in social studies class?
How did Dixon change as a person as the book progressed?
Why does Dixon’s mom get involved with the social studies curriculum? What are her arguments? What do you think? Have you heard these talking points before?
How does Julien change as the story progresses?
What kind of teacher is Amy? Why did she change the curriculum even though she clearly didn’t want to? What would you have done?
Author Online
Before becoming a full-time writer, Kyle Lukoff worked at five bookstores, four libraries, and three schools as two genders. Find him on X (Twitter) at @KyleLukoff, Instagram, and Facebook.
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