Module 15 - Olive's Ocean

Cover art retrieved from the book's record in worldcat

Biography

Henkes, K. (2003).  Olive’s ocean.  New York: Greenwillow Books

Summary

After Martha receiving a journal entry, torn out from Olive’s journal, she couldn’t stop thinking about her.  She didn’t really know Olive because she was quiet and shy and now she was dead.  The paper gave some insight into Olive’s life and Martha found they had more in common than she originally thought.  Olive wrote about wanting to be an writer and wanting to see the ocean.  Martha wanted to be a writer, but hadn’t told anyone about her dream and her family was going to visit her grandmother’s house which is located near the Pacific Ocean.   While at her grandma’s house, Martha learns about herself and her family while trying to make sense of Olive’s death.

My Impression

I couldn’t help but like this story.  It was a sweet story and I couldn’t help but sympathize with Martha.  It bothers me that this book has frequently been on the ALA’s challenged and banned book list.  There was nothing about this story that was inappropriate.

Reviews/Awards

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004

Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, 2004 (Honor Book)

John Newbery Medal, 2004 (Honor Book)

“Henkes shows the thought process of a young girl as she struggles internally with issues about growing up.”  —Emily (BookHive (www.bookhive.org))

“Like Henkes' Sun and Spoon (1997), this is another lovely, character-driven novel that explores, with rare subtlety and sensitivity, the changes and perplexities that haunt every child's growing-up process. He brings to his story the same bedrock understanding of the emotional realities of childhood that he regularly displays in his paradigmatically perfect picture books. This isn't big and splashy, but its quiet art and intelligence will stick with readers, bringing them comfort and reassurance as changes inevitably visit their own growing-up years.”—Michael Cart (Booklist, Sep. 1, 2003 (Vol. 100, No.1))

“Martha is so memorable, as are the other characters in the story--Henkes is a master at creating people we know engaged in the business of growing up, in all the shaggy wonder that implies. I think middle school girls will like not being talked down to in Olive's Ocean.”—Susan Hepler, Ph.D. (Children’s Literature)

Suggested Activities

Since this book deals with the unexpected death of a classmate, bullying, and a near death experience, it would make a good choice for a book talk ending with a discussion.