A Boy No More, By Harry Mazer

A Boy No More

Harry Mazer author of books for young readers is known for A Boy at War, The Wild Kid, Snow Board, and A Boy No More.  In his book A Boy No More Mazer depicts a 15 year old boy named Adam Pelko who has witnessed the USS Arizona sink in Pearl Harbor, which his father was on.   His family (mother and sisters) decides to move from Hawaii to California.  Moving away from his best friend Davi Mori (Japanese - American), Adam has received letters informing him that Davi father is missing and been arrested.  Adam longing to help his friends find his best friends father where about has made him do things that his father and mother would never approval.

This is an excellent book for middle school / intermediate grade reading that not only is grade level appropriate but can also integrated history into reading.  Students are able to read about a time in history when Japanese Americans were treated different after the Pearl Harbor attack.  This is a great way to introduce American History on WWII on the aftermath of Pearl Harbor bombing to middle school grade.


Students will learn about the historical events during this time along with comparing and contrasting events that occur through out the story.

Some Activities that can be used with this reading are:

1. 1.     Pretend that you are a magazine writer.  Write a article to share your experience on the attack of Pearl Harbor and the aftermath.  Explain what emotions you felt. 
2. 2.    Create a time line of events that occurred through out the book from the time of bombing to present time at the end of the story. (collage illustration - using images and resources from the internet)
3. Create a "Missing Person" flyer on the back of a milk carton to help find Davi father.
4. Book report about the story creating a mural that depicts one event in the story.
5. Write a letter to the Government on the importance of equal rights and treatment to all people.

Assessment - Students describe how the Character of Adam has changed and grown from the beginning of the book to the end.  What events have lead him to change, why,  and how?


Standards:

Concept 6: Comprehension Strategies 

PO 5.  Connect information and events in a text to experience and to related text and sources. 

PO 6.  Use reading strategies (e.g., drawing conclusions, determining cause and effect, making inferences, 

sequencing) to comprehend text. 

Concept 1: Elements of Literature

PO 4.  Analyze how a character’s traits influence that character’s actions.  

PO 6. Determine of all the aspects of the setting (e.g., time of day or year, historical period, place, situation) in a literary selection.