Module 7: Year of the Jungle: Memories for the Home Front

Book Summary

Suzy’s dad is going to Vietnam, just as she is entering first grade. She knows he’ll be gone for one year, but she doesn’t really understand how long that is. She knows he’ll be in the jungle, so at first she is happy imagining life among the monkeys and elephants. He sends her post cards, and a beautiful doll for Christmas. But Suzy notices that when adults find out where he is, they look worried. Suzy’s fears for her dad start showing up in her daydreams. Then for her birthday, Dad mixes up her birth date with her sister’s. The postcards quit coming as often and when they do, the messages are strange. Now she is worried about her dad. Suzy sees the war of TV before her mother rushes to shut it off, and now her dreams are frightening war scenes. After she nearly drowns at swim practice, she admits that she can barely remember what he looks like and worries that he won’t come back. When Dad suddenly appears, he is sickly, but she doesn't care. Her father seems to have some sort of stress syndrome. But things gradually get back to normal, and she loves him even more.

APA Reference of Book

Collins, S. (2013), Year of the jungle: Memories for the home front. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Impressions

This book deals with a terrifying situation for young children, but does so in a way that very young readers can comprehend. Based on the real life of the author, it is told using language that a first grader would use to speak with her friends. Much of the story is told through the illustrations, showing wordless pages of Suzy’s thoughts transitioning from happy imaginings to dark and terrifying nightmares as the story progresses that reveal her childish understanding of what her dad must be experiencing. The entire story is from Suzy’s perspective, helping readers of any age to experience a little girl’s fears for her father.

Professional Review

Vibrantly colored cartoon illustrations, outlined in thick black ink, underscore a child's point of view. The characters' enormous eyes and boldly colored pupils provide an arresting motif. Suzy's increasingly haunted imaginings, depicted on spreads of painterly gray tones with bursts of color, stand in stark visual contrast to the narrative text and illustrations framed by generous white space. The author's spot-on memories paired with child-friendly art create a universal exploration of war and its effect on young children, ideally shared with and facilitated by a sensitive adult.

Finn, K. (2013, April). Year of the jungle: Memories for the home front. [Review of the 
       book Year of the jungle: Memories for the home front, by S. Collins]. School Library Journal, 59(8), 69. 
       Retrieved from www.slj.com

Library Uses

This is a book about problems that very young readers may face. Reading this book at story time could help children deal with their own situations of missing parents. It’s good for young children to know that they aren’t alone with their problems, and it could lead to an acceptance and deeper understanding of their situation. A craft that could accompany this story time could be to draw a portrait of a family member or someone they miss.