My Thoughts On... "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" (Book talk #2)


Book Talk
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
By: Judy Blume
Summary: This book is about the crazy pre-teen life of Margaret Simon, a 12 year old girl who is moving from the big city to the suburbs. As she makes a group of friends in her new school, she finds herself in a whole new world filled with girl talk about boys, changing bodies and oddly enough religion. Her new friends are shocked to find out that Margaret does not have a religion considering the fact that they all do. What Margaret does not tell her friends however, is her constant conversation with God about everything. This book follows this young girl around while she is facing some of the most relatable problems that pre-teen girls face, and how she overcomes those problems.
Rationale: I chose this book because I teach this age of students in my practicum, and I had received this book as a pre-teen as well. I remember reading this book and relating very heavily to it. This book would probably be most appropriate with students around the same age as the main characters or even one or two years younger. The book itself is a fairly easy read because it is told from the perspective of a young girl. I think this boo would be important for girls around this age to read because it brings forth problems that every girl has to face around this age. It is very crucial that girls know they are not alone in what they are facing, and this book brings to light the fact that other girls deal with these types of things too.
Teaching Ideas:
1.      Book club—This book could be used as a book club book if several students really wanted to read the novel.
2.      Personal book sharing assignment—This novel could also be used as a book for a personal assignment such as a presentation about the book in general, or an activity with theme.
3.      Lit circle—This book can be used for a literature circle for students who are comfortable with reading about the subject matter.
Challenges: Some challenges that may arise with this book include parents not wanting their child to read a text with religion in it, administration thinking the same as the concerned parents, student interest. This is solely a book for girls, boys often time feel uncomfortable around this age with things like periods, and bras. Ultimately this book could have a lot of backlash unless chosen by a student directly and not just given to them as a required text to read. I would however, have this book in my classroom on my bookshelf if students want to read the book then they would be able to.

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