MANATEE SUMMER
Grades 4 and Up
Evan Griffith
Quill Tree Books, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06309-491-8
288 pp.
Summary
Peter is looking forward to a summer of adventures with his best friend Tommy, recording nature finds in their discovery journal and searching for the elusive manatees that are said to inhabit the canals near his Florida home. Peter’s plans take a hit when he is given the responsibility of caretaking his increasingly forgetful grandfather while his mother works - and discovers that Tommy is moving away. Despite Peter’s new normal, he manages to discover a manatee close to his home. When the manatee is injured by a speed boat, Peter embraces the role as her protector and begins a fight that will impact him and his community for years to come.
Curriculum Connections
Science
Learn about manatees!
The Florida Wildlife Commission Teacher Resources site has a link to a printable workbook about manatees for grades 3-7, plus a plethora of other related links.
What is the difference between endangered, threatened, and extinct species?
Create a chart showing examples of species in each category and the reason they are in trouble or became extinct. Discuss ways of helping threatened and endangered species.
Example:
Take a virtual visit to a manatee haven in Crystal River, FL.
Language Arts
Create your own Discovery Journals. Follow these easy steps to create simple journals, complete with pockets to store small nature discoveries. You’ll need lunch-sized paper bags, glue sticks, scissors, a hole punch, paper, yarn or ribbon, and markers or crayons.
Why are manatees starving? Research what is currently causing the deaths of hundreds of Florida manatees.
Write a persuasive essay explaining why help is needed to deal with the pollution-causing algae that are eradicating the manatees' primary food source. See information here.
Art
Discussion Questions
Peter’s mom gives him the responsibility of taking care of grandfather who has Alzheimer's disease during summer vacation. Do you think this was a fair thing to ask of him? Do you ever feel your parents give you too many responsibilities?
Peter and Tommy share a Discovery Journal where they record new experiences they have in nature. What is something that you might record if you had a journal?
Why did Peter name the manatee Zoe? Do you think that was an appropriate name for her? What would you name a manatee?
Tommy is afraid of water, even though he knows how to swim. What do you think caused him to decide to swim with Peter and the group of manatees?
Why does Peter become so mad at Tommy? Are they able to fix their friendship? Have you ever had a friend move away? Were you able to stay friends or did the friendship fade away?
Vocabulary
1. Quivering (pp. 37, 201)
2. Extracurricular (p. 26)
3. Analyst (p. 5)
4. Transferred (p.196)
5. Conspiracy (p. 207)
6. Pertinent (p. 222)
7. Comprehensive (p. 225)
8. Craggy (p. 227)
9. Polarized (p. 237)
10. Subset (p. 207)
Author Online
Evan Griffith studied creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and got his MFA in Writing for Children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he is now on the faculty. He lives in Austin, Texas, with a mischievous tuxedo cat and several overflowing bookshelves. See an interview with Evan on the Vermont College of Fine Arts website and find him on Instagram and X at @Evan_Griffith.
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How to Speak Dolphin
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Lily and her half-brother Adam, who is autistic, bond with a dolphin, Nori – but even though Adam loves Nori, Lily believes that she should be released to rejoin her family. A story about love, freedom, and letting go.
Song for a Whale
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Twelve-year-old Iris, a tech genius, is deaf. When she hears about Blue 55, a whale who can’t communicate with other whales, she’s determined to invent a way to sing to him.
The Manatee Scientists: Saving Vulnerable Species
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Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet
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Twelve=year-old Haven is anxious about the climate crisis – so she takes on a project to study the frog population and analyze water samples from the local river. She soon discovers that the new factory where her father works is releasing damaging pollutants.
Manatee's Best Friend
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Shy Becca Wong Walker hardly speaks at all – but she’s made friends with Missy, a manatee. When Missy shows up with a new baby, Becca is determined to save them both from boaters.
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Lucy’s marine biologist mother, collecting shark data off the coast of Massachusetts, died when Lucy was seven. When a close friend dies, drowned in a quarry, Lucy copes with grief by pursuing her mother’s studies.
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A powerful nonfiction account of the dangers facing today’s oceans.