Umbrella Summer

May 27, 2011 Cara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic-fiction, e-book, 2011, sibilings

You know how you get tired of reading the same thing over and over again? I was in that kind of rut. It's not any of the books were really bad, but I wanted something different. I wanted to feel like what it was to be a kid again. You know how you think you won't ever forget? Well inevitably you do forget some things. Thank goodness we have authors who can remember enough so young readers will want to read. If it weren't for authors who wrote for kids I know I probably wouldn't have become a rea...more You know how you get tired of reading the same thing over and over again? I was in that kind of rut. It's not any of the books were really bad, but I wanted something different. I wanted to feel like what it was to be a kid again. You know how you think you won't ever forget? Well inevitably you do forget some things. Thank goodness we have authors who can remember enough so young readers will want to read. If it weren't for authors who wrote for kids I know I probably wouldn't have become a reader. Anyways that's off track; here the author captures what it would be like to be a young girl dealing with a huge loss.

Using the word careful to describe Annie Richards would be an understatement. Just to take a trip down to the local store she wears a helmet, knee elbow and ankle pads, and doesn't even actually ride her bicycle there anymore. Annie's mentality is if it could be dangerous, why take the risk? She didn't used to be like this. Ever since her brother Jared died she has to be careful. He died from something unexpected, and she can't let that happen to her too. Other than being uber careful she still leads a normal life (or so she thinks). She still hangs out with her best friend, and talks to her brother's best friend, but even she can tell that things are off. Her parents seem to be different people now, and nobody seems to understand her. One day a new neighbor moves in and will change Annie's view and help her and the people who love her to be able to start closing that figurative umbrella that she's been using to protect herself. What it was doing was holding her back.

Annie is weird and quirky and has thoughts a regular young girl would have. What spoke to me so much was the fact she didn't act the way you would think after someone had died. But she is a kid and her way of coping would be different. She feels sad, but tries to push it away with being obsessive. Her friend has a hard time understanding her, and her parents thinking is clouded because they are grieving their son.

I love this one line in the book where Annie's mom says, "Your father and I. We're really trying." And Annie whispers, "Try harder." I think that line speaks volumes of people dealing with grief, especially parents who still have to be parents for their other kids. The story is sweet, and shows no matter how young or old you can learn how to live. (less)

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Nov 16, 2012 Adela Bezemer-Cleverley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-stars, wish-list

Lord. I haven't cried so much since the first time I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This book is amazing. It's written so well like it's really from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl who is coping with the aftermaths of her brother's death. It's just so innocent and childish and.. and completely heartbreaking. This is the point where I started crying:

"Don't call me Moonbeam anymore," I told him.
"What?" he said.
"Don't call me that anymore unless you mean it."
Mom came down the las...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book. I really forgot I read it but I was amazing. I read this last year and my heart sank. A young girl's brother,Jared, passes on and her life will never be the same. When a neighbor she never exspects tures into her friend she is made a new. Her best friend and her get in a fight that really takes a toll on what has happened. She will have to look down deep and over come an exspect that Jared has passed on. It was a great book that shows the true meaning of friendship and a young...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Tanya Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-childrens-lit, on-my-kindle, favorites-in-2012, read-in-2012

Young Anne is a dear one - her older brother died earlier in the year and the story spans the first part of July, ending on his birthday reminder. Annie is a true worrywart if not on the brink of hypochondria as a result of her brother's rare death condition. Beautifully written and I loved how the book, Charlotte's Web, was included to bring closure for not only Anne.

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Feb 21, 2013 Kimberley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, fiction, children-fiction, ya-contemporary, i-own-a-copy

What a beautifully sad but happy, heart warming story. I loved every bit of it.
Annie is so adorable and Mrs Finch was such a sweet, kind hearted person.
I'll definitely be reading more of Lisa Graff's books.

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May 11, 2013 Jen B. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: school-books

I struggle with choosing age-appropriate books for students, in terms of trying to label which books are good for which ages. I truly think it is on an individual basis. That being said - this is a great book to read WITH students. There are so many discussion points that can grow students' empathy skills and awareness for sympathy for others during hardship. The main character, Annie, deals with excessive worry, and in today's day and age, I would wonder if students are given opportunities to t...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a book about a family dealing with the loss of a child, told from the perspective of the surviving child. That is not a spoiler...the death happens months before the book begins. I have read many children's books with this subject matter but this is one of the good ones. At first it reminded me of the movie My Girl and I was afraid it was just going to come off feeling like so many other things I have read or watched but it ended up carving out it's own little place in the genre.

It went...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Esther Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I was in the library in the beginning, of the quarter, i was looking for a book that would entertain me. When I saw this book in the library, i immediately knew that I had to check it out. This book revolves around Annie, who is obsessed with learning about diseases after her brother's sudden death. Throughout the book, she meets an old lady that moved in right across of her street named Mrs. Finch. Mrs. Finch is experencing the same situtation as Annie, because her husband recently passed...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Dephny rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who love stories that has happy endings

Because everyone thought that Jared, Annie Richard's brother, was okay after being hit in the chest and he just passed away the next day, Annie began to worry about everything such as diseases she might have. She bikes weekly to get bandages. She doesn't do anything that a normal kid would do like run around and just be a kids.
When a new neighbor moves in, Annie began to learn things from her. Ms. Finch teaches Annie that she is okay and should stop worrying. As Ms. Finch says,"It is like open...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is not my style, but I liked it. I am so into fantasy, that sometimes when I read other books, I tend to be more critical of them. This book is about a young girl who suddenly lost her brother to a one-in-a-million chance type of health issue. He went in for chest pains after playing and the doctor sent him home and then later he died from some rare thing. Anyway, the little girl now finds herself obsessed with diseases and thinks she could at any moment catch something and die. She is...more

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Apr 18, 2012 06emmah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Annie Richards lives with her mom and dad. She used to have an older brother Jared, but he died a few months before the story starts. Jared was playing hockey when he got hit by a puck and the puck damaged his heart. All the doctors they went to said that he would be fine. Now, Annie is super careful about everything. She wears tons of bandaids and she often has to go to the store to buy new boxes. She walks her bike slowly down hills instead of riding it fast like she used to. Things are also...more

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Mar 06, 2012 IndyPL Kids Book Blog rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kid-life

Annie never goes anywhere without being prepared. She wears a bicycle helmet, sometimes even when she’s not on a bicycle. She carries lots of band-aids. She checks for black widow spiders. She doesn’t ride her bike fast or climb too high and she always, always wears sunscreen. Annie even does research looking up the symptoms of diseases in the medical encyclopedia so she can know right away if she’s got something weird.

Annie knows there’s a lot of dangerous stuff in the world and if you don’t lo...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Amanda (Born Bookish) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love reading middle grade books because the characters are always so quirky and lovable. In this book the main character Annie is afraid of everything ever since her brother Jared dies unexpectedly. Annie’s parents haven’t been the same since her brother’s death, but they refuse to talk about it, leaving Annie to deal with things in her own way. She wears a helmet when walking down the street, goes through more boxes of band-aids than a family of 12, and knows more about diseases than any 10...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Bonnie Weglin rated it 4 of 5 stars

After Jared died Annie's whole prospective of life changed. Everyday things like riding in the car or walking down the street, she looked at as dangerous or fatal. Her brother Jared's birthday was coming up soon after he had died a few months earlier, her family was pretty quiet about it though. As a ten year old you might think that her summer would be easy going and fun for her. But no, she rode her bike to the store to buy band aids with elbow pads, knee pads, and a helmet everyday. Until one...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-fiction, compassion, death, friendship, grief, humor, relationships, siblings, 5013

Annie Richards can't be too careful, you see, she just might catch some dreaded disease, or break an arm, or get poison ivy. Annie Richards didn't always used to be so worried...it wasn't until her brother, Jared died a few months ago from a defective heart condition that no one knew he had, that she became a hypochondriac.

Bicycle helmets (even riding in a car), bandages, and medical books are Annie's best line of defense. When her best friend, Rebecca is fed up with her nuerosis and especially...more

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May 19, 2011 Nichole.a added it · review of another edition

UMBRELLA SUMMERS
Umbrella Summers by Lisa Graff is a really good book for you if you like some sadness in a good book. This is a book for both the girls and the boys. It is from a girl’s point of view but still for all people. I like this book a lot but it was not the best book that I have ever read. I do recommend it to all of you.
In this book there is a girl named Annie and she is worried to mush about all the diseases that there is in the world. She is worried about all the diseases in the w...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Mollie F rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff. This story was about losing someone you love and learning to cope with the grief that follows. The book reminded me of losing my great grandmother this past summer. Annie, the main character in this story, became very fearful about life and was extremely cautious about everything in her life. I was totally able to relate to Annie's feelings. When you lose someone you love, it changes the way you view life. I also understood why Annie was s...more I really enjoyed reading Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff. This story was about losing someone you love and learning to cope with the grief that follows. The book reminded me of losing my great grandmother this past summer. Annie, the main character in this story, became very fearful about life and was extremely cautious about everything in her life. I was totally able to relate to Annie's feelings. When you lose someone you love, it changes the way you view life. I also understood why Annie was so angry with her parents. They were grieving and unintentionally leaving her feeling all alone. When my great grandmother passed away, my mom was very busy helping her mom with arrangements. She wasn't there in the mornings to fix my breakfast, and she wasn't there in the evenings to kiss me goodnight. It made me feel all alone. I knew in my heart that my mom still loved me, but it hurt my feelings because it seemed as if she didn't care anymore.

This book is great at using symbolism. My favorite character in the book, Mrs. Finch, is the person who symbolically uses an umbrella to help Annie with her grief. She explains to Annie that we use umbrellas to protect us. Sometimes we get so caught up in this protection that we don't realize that we no longer need it. She teaches Annie how to close her umbrella. Then Annie teaches her family about closing their umbrellas. I loved the symbolic use of the umbrella. I think we all use an umbrella at different times to hide our problems. I will be able to use this lesson that Mrs. Finch taught for myself. Instead of hiding from my problems, I will try to face them head on.

I think the author wrote this book to teach people about facing their problems. It is a book that I highly recommend to everyone because it is a lesson that everyone needs to learn. Boys should take note to not be fooled by the cover. It may look like a "girly" book, but in reality it is a life changing book. As the saying goes, "never judge a book by its cover."(less)

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Dec 09, 2010 Brenda Young added it

Shelves: black-eyed-susan-2010

Annie Richards knows there are a million things to look out for—bicycle accidents, food poisoning, chicken pox, smallpox, typhoid fever, runaway zoo animals, and poison oak. That's why being careful is so important, even if it does mean giving up some of her favorite things, like bike races with her best friend, Rebecca, and hot dogs on the Fourth of July. Everyone keeps telling Annie not to worry so much, that she's just fine. But they thought her brother, Jared, was just fine too, and Jared di...more

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Apr 23, 2010 Jeni Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recently, during a 3 1/2-hour flight to Phoenix, I read Lisa Graff's UMBRELLA SUMMER, and I tell you, I cannot count the number of times I cried while reading this book. It's the story of Annie, a 10-year-old girl whose brother, Jared, died of a undiagnosed heart condition after being hit by a hockey puck five months earlier. Now, Annie is obsessed with protecting herself from harm: She wears a bike helmet during car rides, covers her mosquito bites with Band-aids (and wonders if they might be c...more Recently, during a 3 1/2-hour flight to Phoenix, I read Lisa Graff's UMBRELLA SUMMER, and I tell you, I cannot count the number of times I cried while reading this book. It's the story of Annie, a 10-year-old girl whose brother, Jared, died of a undiagnosed heart condition after being hit by a hockey puck five months earlier. Now, Annie is obsessed with protecting herself from harm: She wears a bike helmet during car rides, covers her mosquito bites with Band-aids (and wonders if they might be chicken pox), and steals a medical dictionary so she can study every possible disease (and self-diagnose herself to avoid the same fate as her brother, whose condition wasn't discovered by doctors until after he died).

So why did Annie's story bring me to tears? It wasn't just that her situation is heartbreaking, or that the way in which she deals with her sorrow -- by putting all her focus on ways to keep herself safe, so much that there's little time left to think about Jared and confront her grief -- makes the reader's heart ache for her right from the start. It was the idea that Jared wouldn't see his 12th birthday -- that he would always remain 11 -- that really tore at my heart.

My son, Sam, is 13-on-the-verge-of-14. Yesterday, before my flight, I watched his travel baseball team play two games. Some of the boys still look 12 -- young, with just a touch of baby face, still. But some of them -- like my son, who is pushing six feet tall -- are caught in that stage between boys and men. They're tall, as tall as men, and lanky, and they shave, a little. But they tease each other like boys ("Go, Rojo Grande [Big Red}," they'd yell to my red-headed son as he pitched or went up to bat), and they still hug their mothers and tell them "I love you," quietly, after games. And as I read about Jared, who would always be almost-12, I couldn't help but think about these boys, who have so much potential, and so much room to grow. And it broke my heart a little to think of Annie and her parents dealing with the grief of having lost their brother and son much too young, and not knowing how to emerge from their grief.

Lisa Graff's UMBRELLA SUMMER is a treasure of a middle-grade novel, and I highly recommend it. She speaks at the Indiana SCBWI event this May. I'm so looking forward to hearing her speak. In the meantime, I'm reading Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE, which is also a must-read (the pep rally scene toward the beginning of the novel is laugh-so-hard-you'll-snort funny).(less)

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Jul 01, 2009 babyhippoface rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kids-fiction

Racing downhill and feeling the wind in her hair is a thing of the past for 10-year-old Annie. Now she walks her bicycle down the hill, even though it takes 5 times as long, because it's much safer. Elbow and knee pads, ankle wraps, and boxes of Band-Aids have become symbols of her life since her older brother Jared died. Mom and Dad say she's safe, that they'll always protect her, but that didn't help Jared, who died as a result of a rare heart condition aggravated by a hockey accident.

Now Ann...more Racing downhill and feeling the wind in her hair is a thing of the past for 10-year-old Annie. Now she walks her bicycle down the hill, even though it takes 5 times as long, because it's much safer. Elbow and knee pads, ankle wraps, and boxes of Band-Aids have become symbols of her life since her older brother Jared died. Mom and Dad say she's safe, that they'll always protect her, but that didn't help Jared, who died as a result of a rare heart condition aggravated by a hockey accident.

Now Annie is the model of paranoia, spending her time reading about the prevention and treatment of diseases and illnesses (and believing she probably has several of them), wearing her helmet when she rides in the car (just in case), and refusing to join in the fun of building and running through obstacle courses. She's a likeable, realistic kid who feels she's being practical and safe and is tired of everyone giving her the dead-brother look.

Just how does a child cope with the sudden death of a loved one? Sometimes, like Annie: fearfully and with a heavy sense of doom. Especially when the other people you love the most are having just as much trouble coping. Her mom has chosen to push it aside, literally, locking the door to Jared's room, and with it, any reminders of Jared. And while Mom is blocking the memories out, her father is blocking the world out, and Annie, too. He has emotionally (and often, physically) removed himself from life, immersing himself in work or reading. Quite simply, they are a loving family struggling to come to terms with the death of a child.

When Annie's best friend Rebecca's hamster dies, Rebecca is distraught but Annie is frozen. She cannot face another death, another funeral. Angry that Rebecca is so upset over an animal and doesn't see how this might affect her, Annie yells that "it's not like your brother died!" and runs. Now Rebecca is hurt and angry, and turns her back on Annie, who chooses to release her frustration at a Junior Sunbird car wash.

Along comes Mrs. Finch, the new neighbor who looks, to Annie, as boring as "a box of toothpicks". But Mrs. Finch is kind, good-humored, patient, wise, and although Annie doesn't know it, Mrs. Finch is grieving, too. Through weeding the flower bed, sharing "arm-scrape tea", and playing gummy rummy the two develop an easy friendship. This was my favorite part of the book, watching the two of them interact, listening to their conversations.

Mrs. Finch gives Annie a copy of Charlotte's Web in an attempt to get her to "close her umbrella"--stop being so worried about the rain that she shuts out all the sunshine. I would have liked to have seen Annie emotionally connect with the Wilbur and Charlotte a little earlier in her reading.

Worth mentioning is the admirable Doug Zimmerman, who is determined to lift Annie out of her worry and back into the world of kid-fun. Persistent, good-natured, and compassionate, Doug is a truly noteworthy character.

I read this one straight through in about 2 hours, and it packed a small wallop at the end. This is a terrific little book and a good discussion-starter for kids. The situations and emotions are real, the characters are well-developed, and there are some very nice touches thrown in: Dr. Young's Word Wall, Charlotte's Web, and pillow races, to name three.

Ooh. And I need to go buy a big bag of gummy bears and teach my girls to play gummy rummy.(less)

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Apr 25, 2009 GirlwiththeBraids rated it 5 of 5 stars

The summer after her brother died from a rare accident, Annie Richards is overprotective and far too careful in everything she does. She wears a helmet when she is walking down the street, uses all of her allowance on Band-Aids, and isn’t herself anymore. What if she got a scratch and it became infected? What if she got gangrene? Anything and everything can bring a sickness, deformity, or future medical problem. When an old lady moves into the house across the street, Annie realizes that maybe,...more

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Apr 21, 2009 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Umbrella Summer was a quick and easy read. It didn't capture me at the beginning like I had hoped, but it packed a punch at the end. Annie is quite a character and it was easy to fall in love with her. I found myself wanting to just give her a hug! Especially since her parents, though grieving the loss of their son, were totally uninvolved with her life. It almost seemed that Annie had better relationships with the adult neighbors around her than with her own parents. Through one of those relati...more

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Jan 06, 2011 10-11 Estrella rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Annie's brother died this past febuary. Her whole family is still sad about it. Annie worries to much about stuff,she worries about getting all sort of sickness. Jared Annie's dead brother he died all of the sudden. They had told his family he was ok but the very next day he died. So thats why Annie is very cafeful. Everyone tells Annie to stop worrying to much. She knows that theres a million of things out there she should worry about food poisoning,chicken pox,small pox and a bunch of other si...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Jeanette rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, 2009

After the sudden death of her older brother Annie copes by becoming ultra cautious about injuries and illness. Instead of racing her friends on her bike she decides to make turtle tracks, a competition to see who can ride the slowest and that is really just the tip of the iceberg. Band-aides covering her body, wearing a helmet, knee pads and ace bandages everywhere she goes Annie is taking no chances.
This was a sweet book about loss, sorrow and friendship. Some great characters, especially Anni...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Reegan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was amazing! It is about a girl named Annie Richards who has a brother Jared. Annie always lived life to the fullest, never really worrying about anything. Until her brother died. Now she looks out for everything, sunburn, sprained ankles, rug burns. She is extra careful with everything she does, only because of Jared. Her best friend Rebecca is the complete the opposite; Rebecca loves haunted houses, and danger. Rebecca encourages Annie to try new things, and not be so careful. Annie...more

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Jun 16, 2011 Stacy Ford rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cre, girl-protagonist, death-dying, sequoyah-2011

Annie Richards' brother has passed away from a heart related maladay related to getting hit with a hockey puck a few days earlier. Annie keeps her grief at bay by constantly thinking about potential things that could cause her to have an illness: ebola, chicken pox, gangrene, riding her bicycle, high blood pressure, mosquito bites and more. Her parents aren't getting along too well either. They still care for Annie and provide for her and even try to talk to her. But, they aren't quite there for...more

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May 18, 2013 Smiles Make the world Go Round rated it 4 of 5 stars

Book Title: Umbrella Summer
Author: Lisa Graff
Genre: Fiction, Inspirational
Books like it: Love, Aubrey
My favorite quote:
"Maybe it only took one person to open an umbrella and stick it up in the air to block out the rain, but it took a whole lot of people to close it. And even though I was pretty sure I still had a few more inches to go, I knew that once my umbrella was all the way closed, I was going to keep it that way for a long time. Because it turns out, I like the sunshine.”

Brief Syn...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction

This book is definitely for upper elementary. Annie is a young girl whose brother died a little less than a year ago. And she is dealing with it by worrying about every possible illness she could contract. She and her friends used to race their bikes and now they "make turtle tracks" riding as slow as possible. Annie makes a friend with a new grandma neighbor and with her help begins realizes what she is doing while at the same time Annie's life is imploding. She makes her best friend mad, and c...more

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Dec 07, 2009 Amy Wilder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bittersweet story of a girl who abruptly lost her brother to a heart defect, her parents to their own grief and her sense of safety. As serious about protecting herself from the dangers of the world as any good obsessive-compulsive, Annie covers herself in band-aids and knee-pads, hoping to avoid an early death. Meanwhile, her mother locks the door to her brother's room and clams up and her father becomes increasingly absent-minded.

This book has a heroine as endearing as Beverly Cleary's Ramona...more

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Oct 25, 2012 lia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-books

This is a nice short story from Lisa Graff about how people cope with the lost in their life.

Jared, Annie's brother died suddenly in February. He died because he has a very rare heart problem that no one knows about and since then Annie is extra careful with anything.

Annie and her parents are struggling with Jared's birthday coming up and not knowing how to handle things and pretends that everything is still okay.

It turns out that the one person that can make Annie feels better and close her '...more

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