(2 bks)
Johnson. A. (2003). The First Part Last. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.
Johnson. A. (2003). The First Part Last. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.
Book type: chapter (parts) book, 132 pages.
Grades: 8th and up
Awards:
2004 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Literature for Young Adults
2004 Coretta Scott King Award for Best African-American Children's Writer
Summary: Johnson’s incredible twist of using the father’s voice to tell the story and starting with now and working backwards to the beginning is dramatic, hence “first part last”. This novel is about a teenage father’s struggle to raise his infant alone. Bobby, 16, makes the decision to raise his daughter by himself after a tragic birth that leaves the mother, Nia, in an irreversible comma. This novel alternates between “then” and “now”. The “then” tells the story of Bobby and Nia during the pregnancy and the decision on what to do about the child. Bobby’s choice to stand by Nia during her pregnancy shows his responsibily as a father. Even though they lived across town from each other, he even gets up very early in the morning to head across Manhattan to take her pizza, which comes from the cravings of pregnancy. Their plan was to put their daughter, Feather, up for adoption. Their choice to do this was so their daughter would have a better life and they could continue to go to college and fulfill their dreams. The “now” tells about Bobby’s struggles and decisions about raising his infant, Feather. Even though Bobby has a great support system, he is forced to raise this child himself without the help of his parents while trying to juggle school, work, and friends. Bobby is overwhelmed by the responsibilities that he has to his daughter. Johnson captures the love that the father has for his daughter and the emotional and physical strength that it takes to care for such an innocent human being.
Credibility of Author: Johnson is the author of picture books for children, novels, poetry, and short stories for young adults. She gets her inspiration from things that she has seen or heard. Her inspiration for this book came from when she was on the subway in New York, she saw a teenage boy with a baby. Her first thought was that the baby was the boy's sister, but then it occurred to her that she could be his daughter. From her thoughts about what this boy’s life must be like, came this novel.
Illustrations/Illustrator: Cover photo of father with infant is by John Healy. Cover design is by Russell Gordon.
National Standards: Science: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Access features: The headings “now” and “then” help the reader to understand what part the chapter is discussing. Additional books are given for young adults to read. The last page gives information about the author.
My response to the book: This novel required special attention to detail that helps the reader understand why Bobby gave up on the idea of adoption, which Nia and Bobby both had agreed to. Not only did this book show the love that the father had for his daughter, but it also show the struggles that a teenager goes through when becoming a parent at such a young age. This book was very powerful and touching.
How I would use this book in my classroom: This would be a great book to use in a sex-education classroom. It would help teens to see the struggles that a one must go through to raise a child as such a young age. Also, it would be a great book when discussing actions, consequences, and responsibilities.
Related text: Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard
Grades: 8th and up
Awards:
2004 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Literature for Young Adults
2004 Coretta Scott King Award for Best African-American Children's Writer
Summary: Johnson’s incredible twist of using the father’s voice to tell the story and starting with now and working backwards to the beginning is dramatic, hence “first part last”. This novel is about a teenage father’s struggle to raise his infant alone. Bobby, 16, makes the decision to raise his daughter by himself after a tragic birth that leaves the mother, Nia, in an irreversible comma. This novel alternates between “then” and “now”. The “then” tells the story of Bobby and Nia during the pregnancy and the decision on what to do about the child. Bobby’s choice to stand by Nia during her pregnancy shows his responsibily as a father. Even though they lived across town from each other, he even gets up very early in the morning to head across Manhattan to take her pizza, which comes from the cravings of pregnancy. Their plan was to put their daughter, Feather, up for adoption. Their choice to do this was so their daughter would have a better life and they could continue to go to college and fulfill their dreams. The “now” tells about Bobby’s struggles and decisions about raising his infant, Feather. Even though Bobby has a great support system, he is forced to raise this child himself without the help of his parents while trying to juggle school, work, and friends. Bobby is overwhelmed by the responsibilities that he has to his daughter. Johnson captures the love that the father has for his daughter and the emotional and physical strength that it takes to care for such an innocent human being.
Credibility of Author: Johnson is the author of picture books for children, novels, poetry, and short stories for young adults. She gets her inspiration from things that she has seen or heard. Her inspiration for this book came from when she was on the subway in New York, she saw a teenage boy with a baby. Her first thought was that the baby was the boy's sister, but then it occurred to her that she could be his daughter. From her thoughts about what this boy’s life must be like, came this novel.
Illustrations/Illustrator: Cover photo of father with infant is by John Healy. Cover design is by Russell Gordon.
National Standards: Science: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Access features: The headings “now” and “then” help the reader to understand what part the chapter is discussing. Additional books are given for young adults to read. The last page gives information about the author.
My response to the book: This novel required special attention to detail that helps the reader understand why Bobby gave up on the idea of adoption, which Nia and Bobby both had agreed to. Not only did this book show the love that the father had for his daughter, but it also show the struggles that a teenager goes through when becoming a parent at such a young age. This book was very powerful and touching.
How I would use this book in my classroom: This would be a great book to use in a sex-education classroom. It would help teens to see the struggles that a one must go through to raise a child as such a young age. Also, it would be a great book when discussing actions, consequences, and responsibilities.
Related text: Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Hanging on to Max by Margaret Bechard
3 comments:
One of the things that struck me about this book is that Bobby and Nia are from well-to-do, well-educated families rather than families of poverty, which is often the case in books about teenage pregnancy.
This book was so different than the typical hardships of teenagers who are parents--to have the young father's perspective provides a different point of view.
This was a book that was a part of unit on teenage sexuality in one of my classes last semester. The members of the group enjoyed the book and it sounds like an interesting read!
I really liked that this book captures the young father`s point of view. You just don`t see that very often.
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