Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson 2018

October is Mystery Month

Inspiration Book:

The Parker inheritance by Johnson, Varian — Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2018 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.9. Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when she finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert. CCBC, CBS, NSSTB 2019, Coretta Scott King  Honor Award

Rationale: While The Parker Inheritance can easily be studied on its own as a stand alone piece of literature, I’ve instead chosen to share a more generic approach, a genre approach. There are so many themes within The Parker Inheritance that are valid and valuable to pursue, themes like friendship, buried treasure,  bullying, segregation and desegregation, civil rights, mothers and daughters, etc. as part of a thematic. You will find Teacher Resources, and a Related Books List below if you choose to do a stand-alone study of The Parker Inheritance.

Actually, it was a paragraph from Classroom Bookshelf for their entry for The Parker Inheritance http://www.theclassroombookshelf.com/2019/02/2019-coretta-scott-king-honor-book-the-parker-inheritance/ that reminded me of a reading promotional activity that I have used off and on for many years. I don’t really have a catchy name for it, maybe “Genre of the Month.” but that’s nor really catchy. And, maybe I’ve recently been doing it so unconsciously that I needed to be reminded. At any rate, each month I feature one genre that I promote via storyhours, displays, bookmarks, bibliographies, etc. Some years we have had book clubs centered on genre reading; some years we’ve had writing contests; some years we’ve written reader’s theater scripts for representative genres; some years we plastered the walls with hand made book jackets representing the genre related books students read….

The monthly categories changes from time to time, but generally follow this schedule

September--School Stories

October--Mystery

November--Historical Fiction and Nonfiction

December--Holiday Stories

January--Folk and Fairy Tales, Fantasy

February--Biography

March--Humorous fiction, Jokes, and Riddles

April--Science and Nature

May--Realistic fiction

I include The Parker Inheritance as part of the October mystery genre promotion, one of the most popular genres of literature for both adult and child readers. In general mysteries cover such a broad range of settings and subject matter that they can easily be integrated across many areas of the curriculum.

Introduce your students to the various subgenres of mystery, from caper to detective fiction to true crime. Gather examples of each mystery subgenre to share with your students. Have them compare and contrast the different subgenres, noting their unique characteristics. You may want to set up book clubs, each reading different subgenre of mystery. Then, invite students to select one of the mystery subgenres and try writing their own mystery in that vein.

The genre study encourages readers to broaden their reading interests. But, even within genres there are subgenres. For example, within the mystery genre for children (There are other and additional  subgenres for adults.) are the following subgenre summarized from http://mysterykidsgenreguide.blogspot.com/p/sub-genres_3.html:

1. Amateur sleuth: The most popular subgenre for kids’ fiction because characters are often of a similar age to readers. These clever amateurs are just ordinary people, like the readers themselves. The obvious appeal to kids is they can imagine themselves stumbling on a mystery in the local area. Typically, these amateur detectives are smart and see clues that others miss. At times the young detective’s ability to solve mysteries is unbelievable. 
2. Animals (Anthropomorphism): This subgenre usually caters to younger children. The animal takes on the role of the kid detective and plots can cover the same range of those with a human sleuth. Generally supporting characters are animals, too. This subgenre every other genre. 
3. Genre-blending: Recent children’s mysteries are often blended with other genres. 
4. Mystery/ Adventure: The two just go together where kids are concerned. Enid Blyton is the pioneer of this genre and her titles are numerous. Common plots do see children mixing with the adult world and encountering evil-doers there (whom of course the children overcome). Danger and risk are also an element of such plots. The children may be taken hostage by the baddies only to escape. In the Alex Rider books, violence includes the young hero using a gun as an adult would.
5. Mystery/ Spy thriller: Often peppered with humour, this subgenre is popular with boys. As with adult books, the kids’ versions must be fast-paced and action-packed. Like in regular mysteries, children will enjoy reading as the unknown slowly becomes known and the excitement of a character they can identify with doing super-kid stuff. The Alex Rider series by Anthnoy Horowitz has been described as James Bond for kids.
6. Mystery / Fantasy:Fantasy makes a great background for a mystery. As suspension of belief is often required, this setting allows the author’s imagination to run wild. The Lemony Snicket series involves orphans looking into the mystery of their parents’ deaths, possibly at the hands of their evil relative, Olaf. The fantasy angle adds an exciting twist, as the children encounter some fantastic adventures while learning about bravery and the importance of family.
7. Mystery/ humor: If it’s not already hard enough to compartmentalise the subgenres, humorous stories may also cross over with any of the other subgenres mentioned above. Some children’s fiction satires the adult “hard-boiled” plots which are far too grim to be suitable for youngsters. The Humpty Dumpty Jr: Hardboiled Detective series is actually quite “egg-citing” and fun. Similarly the cute observations of David in the Walk Right In Detective Agency poke fun at the seriousness of the adult genre.
8. Cozy: The setting is the basis for this genre-  usually a pretty English village with a peaceful exterior. Though violence is not a big feature, murders may occur in an otherwise dull place and makes the plot more exciting. This genre also features a neat ending.
9. The Puzzle (also known as Whodunnit): These stories may also contain an amateur detective, but one who dares the reader to solve the mystery first. Encyclopedia Brown is one such series. Plots are many and varied. The variety of light-weight mystery plots found in children’s fiction is astounding, possibly because writers cannot simply rely on a good-old murder to do the trick. These plots are popular with young readers for whom the challenge of puzzle-solving adds interest. 

The Parker Inheritance is an example of a puzzle or whodunnit mystery subgenre. What makes a puzzle mystery different from other types of mysteries? It is a mystery in which a puzzle must be solved to answer the unknown question (e.g., “Whodunnit?” or in this case, “Where did James Parker hide his fortune?”). The author provides readers with the clues to solving the puzzle along with the characters in the book. If you’re a careful enough reader, you just might solve the puzzle before the characters do. Other examples of puzzle mysteries are listed in the Related Books section. 

Teacher Resources:

Meet-the-Author Recording with Varian Johnson The Parker Inheritance (4:00 min.) Varian Johnson introduces and shares some of the backstory for creating The Parker Inheritance. https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=15432

Author Website http://varianjohnson.com

Author Blog http://varianjohnson.com/blog/

Teaching Ideas from Classroom Bookshelf http://www.theclassroombookshelf.com/2019/02/2019-coretta-scott-king-honor-book-the-parker-inheritance/

Discussion Questions from Middle Grade at Heart Book Club https://mailchi.mp/a7a552ba7fd4/april-discussion-the-parker-inheritance

Audiobook Excerpt narrated by Cherise Boothe The Parker Inheritance (5:00 min.) Audiobook excerpt narrated by Cherise Boothe. https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=14751

Video Book Trailer https://www.teachingbooks.net/booktrailer.cgi?id=4846

Carol Hurst Mysteries in the Classroom--Fiction, Nonfiction and Activities

for Preschool through Ninth Grade.http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/mysteries.html

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