Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

• Genre: Nonfiction; upper middle grade/young adult graphic memoir
• Originally Published: 2018
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile HL510L; grades 6-12
• Structure/Length: Prologue and 8 chapters; approx. 320 pages; approx. 3 hours on audio
• Central Concern: Through drawings and text, Krosoczka tells the story of his difficult childhood and his development as an artist. Born to teenage parents and raised by his grandparents, Krosoczka struggles to accept his mother’s absence due to addiction and eventually decides to contact the father who had abandoned them.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Drug and alcohol addiction; sometimes abusive family relationships; TU resources include topics related to mental health, addiction, and stability in the home

Jarrett Krosoczka, Author

• Bio: Born 1977 in Massachusetts; was raised by his maternal grandparents, in whose honor he later created the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships at the Worcester Art Museum; graduated from Rhode Island School of Design; has written more than 40 books for young readers; produces and performs in audiobook versions of his works; has given three TED Talks; lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and children
• Other Works: Good Night, Monkey Boy (2001); Lunch Lady Books, including Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute (Book 1; 2010); A New Class (Star Wars: Jedi Academy Book 4, 2016)
• Awards: National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (finalist; 2018); Harvey Award Children’s or Young Adult Book of the Year (2019); American Library Association’s Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production (2020); Audie Award for Young Adult Title (2020)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Parenthood and Family
• Comics and Art-making
• Growing Up

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and cultural contexts regarding family life that incite Jarrett’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Parenthood and Family, Comics and Art-Making, and Growing Up.
• Design and demonstrate artistic skills used to cope with difficult circumstances drawing comparisons to Jarrett based on text details.
• Analyze and evaluate plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding Jarrett’s character growth, the importance of friendship, and other topics.