When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Around the World. Acknowledging Diversity. 
Personable. Friendly. Imaginative.

Stead, 2009.

Stead, 2009.

When You Reach Me

Written by Rebecca Stead.

Cover illustrations by Kate Gartner.

Published by Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.

Absorbing. — People Magazine

"Every word, every sentence, has meaning and substance ... [in this] smart and mesmerizing book." — The New York Times Book Review

"Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward." — The Wall Street Journal

"No detail is small, no character minor, in this intricately plotted novel in which the nature of time emerges as the most compelling mystery of all." — The Washington Post

"[T]een readers will circle back to the beginning and say, ‘Wow...cool.’” — Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"Closing revelations are startling and satisfying, but quietly made." — The Horn Book Magazine, Starred

"[Q]uite wonderful … [j]ust as Miranda rereads L’Engle, children will return to this." — Booklist, Starred

“This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers.” — School Library Journal, Starred

“It’s easy to imagine readers studying Miranda’s story as many times as she’s read L’Engle’s.” — Publishers Weekly, Starred

Winner of the 2010 John Newbery Medal

Nominated for the Andre Norton Award, 2009

The New York Times Notable Book, 2009

Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books, 2009

Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year, 2009

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, 2009

Booklist Editors' Choice, 2009

Horn Book Fanfare, 2009
Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner, 2009

ALA Notable Children's Book, 2010

Nominated for the Indian Paintbrush Book Award, 2011

Winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 2012
A Book Sense Children's Summer Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year - Outstanding Merit 

Written by a John Newbery Award Medalist and New York Times seller, Rebecca Stead introduces a story that is mind-blowing and out of this world. Miranda's adventure in finding her answers are suspenseful and page-flipping that you will not want to stop reading. When You Reach Me is set during the late 1970s where many events occurred during this time such as the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon. The story opens up with a young girl named Miranda, who lives in a small apartment complex in New York City with her mother. Miranda has a decent life. Her mother is chosen to play in The $20,000 Pyramid, which is a game show to win BIG MONEY. Her best friend Sal are closest as they could ever be, and her mother's boyfriend Richard treats her with the utmost respect and teaches her how to tie intricate sailor knots. However, as time swings by, mysterious and odd events start to occur in her life:

1. Her best friend Sal is attacked by the boy in the green army jacket named Marcus...
2. After the attack, Sal refuses to speak to Miranda and thus, they no longer are friends...
3. Miranda's apartment has been broken into and their hidden key and one of Richard's shoe are stolen...
4. There is a looney man called the "laughing man," who sleeps on the corner of their street under a mailbox that creepily looks and repeats... "bookbag, pocketshoe" to Miranda and lastly... (Stead, )
5. Miranda has been receiving small little pieces of letters in random places from an anonymous writer that talks about things in her life before she even knows! 

Overwhelmed by these stressful situations, Miranda reflects to herself and tries to understand the deeper meaning of everything that is going on. As she does this, she also creates and mends new friendships, helps her mother practice for the game show, develop the understanding of complex theory of time travel, bonds with Richard, works at Jimmy's with a couple of schoolmates, and learns more about this "laughing man" and the person who punched Sal than she ever would. Readers will fly through this story and watch Miranda grow as she lifts her veil to "see the world as it really is," and her true self (Stead, ).

Extras: In When You Reach Me, on the back jacket cover, there are reviews for this John Newbery Award Winning book from the prestigious School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Voice of Youth Advocates. Great for students and teachers to view so that both know that this book is high-quality literature. In the inside jacket, there is a brief summary of the story and how it is a Junior Library Guild Selection. The book also includes a brief summary of the author and an acknowledgment page where she expresses her gratitude to the people who supported/inspired her.

Literary Genre: Historical & Science Fiction, Young Adult

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 750L, Grade 4/5

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read or Small Group Read

ISBN-13: 978-0385737425

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Teachers... Here are some resources to help 

you teach When You Reach Me

Electronic Resources:

Author's Site: Rebecca Stead - This link is a great source for teachers and students. Great to use before and during reading so that teachers and students will understand who the author is and why she is writing such novel or how she was inspired to write the novel. Provided are a biography of the author and what influenced her to become a writer, a blog that discusses her upcoming events, a collection of books that the author wrote and reviews that prestigious journals have written, links to another website that focuses on her novel First Light and educator guides, and the ability to invite the author to your school or to contact her.

Q&A Video: Rebecca Stead - This source is a great link for teachers and students as it shows a Question and Answer with Rebecca Stead talking her book When You Reach Me and how she came about writing this novel. Great for students and teachers to view before reading so that both have an idea of what the book will be about and to engage and interest students.

Audio Interviews with Rebecca Stead - Great website for student and teachers who are interested in learning about this fabulous John Newbery Award Winner. There are several questions that are asked and you will be able to hear her answers by clicking the link. Great to view before, during, or after reading so that students or teachers could learn more about the author and what her next book will be about. Also a way to interest and engage students and to hear who the actual writer is.

Junior Library Guild: Teacher's Guide - This link is another great source for teachers as it provides before, during, and after reading activities, how these activities correlate to the national standards, biography of the author, step-by-step activities for each chapter, worksheets, vocabulary terms, suggestions for further reading and many more. Great to review before having students read and for teachers to gain lesson plan ideas.
Random House: Educator's Guide - This is another great educator's guide for teachers, especially if they still need more ideas for their lesson plan. Included in this teacher's guide are summaries of the book and the author, Q&A with the author, great curriculum connections, discussion questions that go through the different themes within the story, recommendations of other Newbery Medal Winner/Honor books, and credible book reviews from prestigious reviewers. Great for teachers to view before reading.

Scholastic Teacher Resource for When You Reach Me - This link is another great source for teachers as it provides two end of novel project choices that relate to the story. Great to use for after reading and a way to enhance or create more options for the lesson plan. These projects may also be used as extra credit in your classroom.

Albert Einsetin's Big Idea - Watch the video above to learn more about Einstein's Big Idea on the theory of relativity or the ability to move through time.

Key Vocabulary: omen, fundamental, clomps, repulsive, burden, tenant, stark, scoured, terse, prosecutor, shorthand, et cetera, epilepsy, velour, oblivious, teleportation, allegations, origami, relativity, Shakespeare, paralegal, processed food, radiator

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text in Social Studies to learn more about the American culture and what the norms of society were during the 1970s. Have students interview people who lived during that time period to get different perspectives. Then, have students compare and contrast the culture now to then.
2. Use this text in Science to explore more topics on Time Traveling or Time on Earth or Space. Who were the first people to pioneer these theories or topics? How does time affect people in Earth and Space? By clicking this link, it will bring you to a short video by PBS that talks about time in its "true nature."
3. Use this text in Political Science to discuss the Miranda Rights that appeared in Things You Hide. Discuss with students how this type of civil action came about and why Miranda mother's decided to name Miranda after this law? Who uses the Miranda Rights and why is it important for these people to recite them? What did Miranda originally think she was named after?
4. Use this text in Art to learn how to tie and untie different types of Sailor Knots. What were the purpose of sailor knots and how do they help sailors? Have students research and demonstrate an activity where they will teach the class how to do a certain knot.

Comprehension Strategies (You do not necessarily have to do all the activities, they are just suggestions):

• Before Reading: 
• A great way to introduce this novel to students is to have students participate in a Text Impressions. Have students take a look at their copy of When You Reach Me and ask them what they believe the book will be about. Have students look closely at the illustrations on the cover and the title of the book. What do those images represent or might represent. What does the title mean... when you reach me where? Who? How? Also, have students look through the headings of each chapter. What does "Things You Keep in a Box" mean to the student (Stead, )? This will help students generate questions and hopefully answer their questions while they read. Moreover, provide an excerpt so that students can also grab a sense of what the writing/language style and what the book may be about. Moreover, have students do a Think-Pair-Share and write their prediction down in their student journal. When they read, have students check their old predictions to see if they agree or disagree if with their prediction.
• Introduce to students that they will be reading about a young girl who goes under tremendous amounts of thinking, but to help her think, she does an activity. Ask students to list some activities that they do to think. Later in the story, ask students what Miranda does to think by completing an Exit Slip.
• During Reading: 
• Students will notice that there are many references to Madeline L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, which is Rebecca Stead's and Miranda's favorite book. While reading, have students make text-to-text connections by asking why the author included certain parts throughout the story and how it connects to When You Reach Me. Ask the students if the two books have similar themes, main ideas, settings or story plots. Are they both fictional stories? Also, ask students if the characters Meg and Miranda have similar or dissimilar goals and characteristics. What is Meg and Miranda's major conflict that they both have to solve or discover in each of their story? How does Miranda reading Wrinkle in Time help her solve her problems?
• Friendship is an important theme in this story. Miranda, in this case, has lost her true best friend, but gained new friendships. Have students take a look at Miranda and Sal's relationship. Have them compare and contrast Miranda and Sal's friendship using a Venn Diagram. Have students think about how these characters transformed throughout this story? How has their friendship changed from the beginning to the end? What did they both gain or lose in their friendship? How did Miranda and Sal both deal with their friendship situation? What did they learn about each other? 
• Students may also compare and contrast the other characters, such as Richard and Miranda's Mother, Miranda and Annemarie, Miranda and Colin, or Miranda and Julia. Students could use a T-Chart to analyze these character's relationship. Have students think about what their feelings were toward each other in the beginning and how it has changed toward the end? What factors cause the both characters to change? For either comparisons, have students use examples from the text to support their Venn Diagram/T-Chart.
• Readers will read how Jimmy, the owner of his sandwich store, expresses his negative feelings to Julia and that he does not want her stepping her feet in his store. Moreover, when Jimmy's Fred Flintstone bank container is stolen, Jimmy makes a comment to Colin, Miranda, and Annamarie about who may have stole his bank container. Ask students: what does Jimmy mean by..."Some things are in the blood. All the money in the world can't change a person's blood" (Stead,) Who is Jimmy referencing to? Why do you think Jimmy think it is this person who steals the bank and not anybody else? Is this considered discrimination? Have students make a list of other times people are discriminated in the story, not only by race, but other contributing factors as well. After, have students make text-to-self connections by reflecting if they have ever been accused of doing something (because of your race, sex, etc.) and to have them describe their emotions.
• After Reading: 
• Have students create their own version of The $20,000 Pyramid Game Show. Have students create the Speed and the Winner Circle round. Encourage students to make the cards creative and challenging. Students, who are having a difficult time with the vocabulary in the story could create cards with those words and practice them until they fully know it. This is an interesting and engaging way for students to enjoy the book when they finished reading it. Also, students will understand how it feels to be put under pressure and to work with their partners: be a team player. In addition, students will learn to be quick and use their prior knowledge to connect the concepts when guessing the word or creating the clue for the partner. Divide the students into small groups and within the group, create their cards, then have the group switch their cards to another group so that they are not familiar with their own cards and are challenging themselves.
• Have students participate in Reader's Theatre. Have students select a scene that they are interested in, particularly scenes that have plenty of dialogue, and to act it out. This after-reading strategy is a great way to assess if students understand and develop the perspective of the character and that they are able to put themselves in the character's personality. Also, to evaluate if they are comprehending the particular scene and what the setting or conflict is presented.
• Throughout the novel, Miranda is badgered with many mysteries. What were some of those mysteries? For example, one mystery is, who is Miranda writing to... who is You? or why does the laughing man repeat..."book bag, pocketshoe..." over and over again (Stead, )? Have students create a list of the mysteries and have students compare and contrast their lists with other students. After, have students answer or solve the mysteries by using evidence from the story.

Student Writing Activity:

• At the end of novel, readers will see that Miranda is relieved that she knows who had been writing those secretive letters to her. She also decides to write the letter and to hand it to Marcus. However, what does she mean when she says on page 197, "He'll understand. He's a smart kid," when she wants to give her letter to Marcus? Have students use examples from the book to show that students can support their answers and to assess they are comprehending and making connections to the story.
• The topic of time traveling is heavily referred in When You Reach Me. It helps Miranda solve one of her biggest conflicts, which is to show that Marcus is the "laughing man," who travelled back in time to save one of Miranda's friend. However, why does Miranda believe that the laughing man and Marcus are the same person, in which she gives the finished letter to Marcus? How does she connect these two together? What about the laughing man's drawing with the woman? How is she connected to Julia? Have students complete either activity in a student writing journal.
• Students may create an Acrostic Poem of their favorite characters or a Poem for Two Voices.

Stead, R. (2009). When you reach me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.