Adolescent Lit. Response 7/15/08 D, PR, C, S

Cooney, C. B. (1994). Driver's Ed. New York: Delacorte Press
Cummings, P. (2004). Red kayak. New York: Dutton Children's Books.

Adolescent Mystery is the genre and I will be discussing a "text to self", followed by a "text to text" connection. First I will review Driver's ed. It's very realistic portrait of some teens and the way Drier's Education is taught. I honestly believe the theme could and probably has happened. In fact, I'm sure the "Myth Buster Guys" could probably research and find many cases in point. Teens have been know for their lack of thinking about the consequences. In Driver's ed, the high school students create a game of adventure to "steal" road signs, not as a "prank"but,just for their own enjoyment. At this time, I can add my own "text-to"self" connections, my husband has a stop sign in his possession from "somewhere". When I first met him at the age of nineteen, I saw it in the back of his bedroom closet, when he was packing for college. He claims he and his "cross country buddies" found it while out running. "yeah, sure, I believe that"....another connection is that, for the past ten years I had a speed limit sign on my parkway placed by the village, underneath the sign, I had a village approved sign that I paid for, and it was made by the village that said, "Slow down, we (heart)(love) our children. In May 2008, when I went out on "weed-patrol", I discovered that my sign was gone, but the bolts that had secured the sign were in the grass. I reported the missing sign to my neighbor and alderman, and he was disappointed because he lives across the street and has young children and appreciated the sign. He did some investigating and the village street crew did not have it nor did they have a requisition to remove it. So, from past experience, I know the local the high school Driver's Education class has an assignment that the students take pictures of unusual street signs and present them to their peer during class. Probably once a semester, I see cars pull-up and a teen jumps out and snaps a picture if the sign and drives off. I image this last time, the student loosen the bolts and "just took the sign". So, I can connect to the Caroline Cooney's book. Another feature in this book, is the lack of teaching and responsibility that the Driver's Ed teacher has in regards to his class. My own son, took Driver's Ed through a private driving school and it was quite "hap hazard". I was appalled how the program was supervised and structured. A young man in his early twenties taught the class and I when I say, "taught" I mean put on the films and took the students out for the required "drives". My son would report that it was not a very "serious" experience. I however, was proactive with my son and had him drive with me every day to school and even after he received his license, I supervise his driving in he same manner.
Next, I will make a "text to text" connection. The book, Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings deals with "consequence" and also has the "mystery" element. In Driver's Ed, there is the unknown about bashed up mail boxes and of course the death of a driver. In Red Kayak, there is a child's death and property damage. Caroline Cooney does not get law enforcement totally involved in the "consequences" of the teens actions and lets the parent and survives express their disapproval and grief. In contrast, Priscilla Cummings, show a realist, full-blown, court case and "juve" outcome. I found both books, engaging and puzzling. Everyone that reads either or both books will find them hard to put