Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Applegate, Katherine. (2015). Crenshaw. New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends.

The rent is behind, there's no food to eat and Jackson and his family are having to sell off everything they own just to get by.  Pretty soon they will be living in their minivan, again.  Now on top of all of this, Jackson is seeing a giant cat that apparently no one else can see.  This is not just any cat however.  It is Crenshaw, Jackson's imaginary friend who he thought was gone years ago, but has reemerged just in time to see Jackson through this difficult period and teach him the importance of being honest with others and most importantly himself. 

Evaluation Criteria: Characters and Theme

Jackson is a soon to be fifth grader who lives in a small apartment with his parents, his little sister and their dog.  Because of his father’s diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis and his mother being laid off from her job as a music teacher, the family is struggling financially and on the verge of being homeless, again.  Even with multiple part time jobs, they continue having trouble paying the rent and putting food on the table, and have resorted to selling almost all of their possessions.  When Jackson’s old imaginary friend Crenshaw the cat reappears in his life, he worries that he might just be going crazy.  We see his internal struggle with expressing his true feelings about their living situation as well as Crenshaw.  The theme of honesty is prevalent throughout this story.  Many times Jackson expresses his wish that his parents would just be honest with him.  He also grapples with his own ability to be honest with his parents, his little sister and his best friend while Crenshaw encourages Jackson to “tell the truth to the person who matters most.”

Q & A with Katherine Applegate

Book Trailer for Crenshaw