3. About this Relatable Author
Born in Jamaica in 1972, Nicola Yoon is a self
advocate and proud member of the “We need
Diverse Books Team.” (Yoon, 2015)
She sings Karaoke, badly, self admittedly.
(Yoon, 2015)
Earned a Masters in Creative writing at Emerson
College (All Things Considered, 2015)
Hand writes all her drafts and keeps her empty
pens (Yoon, 2015)
Was inspired to write diverse books because of
her own background and because of her
daughter, who is mixed race. (Yoon, 2015)
4. Notable Works by author
Novels:
•Everything Everything
•The Sun is Also a Star
Short Stories:
•The Man in the Moon
•Prototype
5. About the Work “Everything Everything”
•Written in 2015
•Lexile score HL 610
•Diversity present in book
(biracial protagonist)
Themes that relate to adolescents
include, but are not limited to:
•First Love
•Bravery, courage, risk
•Parental relationships/ dysfunction
•abuse
•Humor/sarcasm
6. Everything Everything…in Choir
Class?!
• One of the main themes in Everything Everything is
taking risk.(All Things Considered, 2015)
• The BIGGER the risk; the BIGGER the reward.
• Taking risk is essential in the performing
arts!
7. Ways to Implement into
Content Area
• “Book Club”
• Discussions
• Tie in of themes to class activities
• Critical Listening Activity “Yoon’s
Soundtrack vs. Hollywood’s”
8. Presentation of Content to
Students (1/3)
It is apparent that Yoon knows and understands her
audience –or at least remembers being a teen!
The subject matter –first love/risk and the age appropriate
way that Yoon delivers the text makes it digestible and
difficult to put down. Also, there are no chapters! Instead
the book is organized with subtitles and even
illustrations/charts, to keep the reader’s attention.
The question is, what teen doesn't’t want to read a book
without chapters?!
9. Presentation of Content to
Students (2/3)
The unconventional organization of the book is not
the only thing that helps communicate Yoon’s tale
to young audiences, the book also includes IM
messages, art and more.
On the right – Yoon’s
main character’s,
fake medical article.
It is explaining the
common affliction,
“butterflies in the
stomach.”
10. Presentation of Content
to Students (3/3)
The drawing above was done
by Yoon’s husband. It was
used to show an exotic fish
and the idea just came to
Yoon as she was writing that
section of the book (Yoon,
2015)
The main
character makes a
sketch after a
meet up with a
boy, Ollie. (Yoon,
81)
11. Ways the Book Relates to
Students Needs
• Diverse characters, including a mixed race
protagonist
• Sarcasm/humor
• Risky but relevant topics ranging from first kiss
to suspected abuse of a friend
• Cognitive needs are met and challenged through
on level text, humor/sarcasm and stimulating
drawings, charts
12. Cross Curricular Art
Lesson
•Pair up with art class
•Pair 1 to 1 with students in art class
•Read selection of book to them that does not
already have an illustration; have them make a
sketch for the book
•Go back to class pair off again; show class mates
–how does the new illustration add to the text? If it
does not, can they do better?
13. References /Works Cited
• All Things Considered [Transcript, Radio series]. (2015, August 30).
Baltimore, MD: NPR. Retrieved April 17, 2017, from
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/30/435500605/the-glimmering-sheen-of-a-wide-
world-seen-from-inside-a-bubble?
utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20170417&
utm_campaign=npr_email_a_friend&utm_term=storyshare
• WHSMel, and WHSFreya. "Nicola Yoon: Everything Everything
Soundtrack." N.p., 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 17.
• Yoon, Nicola, and David Yoon. Everything, Everything. New York:
Delacorte, 2017. Print.
• Yoon, Nicola. "Bio, The Unofficial Version." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
Editor's Notes
In the Book Everything Everything, the main character is eighteen years old and suffers from a life crippling auto immune disorder. She has never even left her house, until she meets and falls in love with her new neighbor Ollie.
Her new found love challenges her and she begins to question the life she had before, as well as the idea of settling vs. taking risk for what you care about. (Yoon, 67)
Risk and Reward is a theme that I almost “preach” to my choral students. You step out of your comfort zone and you grow. Some singers may be stuck in their shell just like the main character, and then one day have the courage to step out… I would definitely. as a teacher use this book as a reference or a connection to challenge my singers. This is an authentic connection. You step out big time, you grow even more. An example would be the reward for singing out in class and the personal growth that day vs. stepping out and singing a big solo in front of a thousand people. This novel is excellent because the main character is so close to their age and because the character is depicted in such a positive way, as such a good role model. She takes a HUGE risk and after much suspense, it does pay off. This novel could serve as an excellent book club/discussion topic in our class.
Even though it turns out that Nicola Yoon is a pretty bad karaoke singer (Yoon, 2015) she is still really inspired by music and loves to sing/listen before and after she writes –not during.
One way to further the lesson with this story would be to explore the song list she created for this book and compare and contrast it to the sound track created for the movie adaptation. This activity meets Maryland Music Standards and National Standards for Music for comparing and contrasting /evaluating music.( mdK Stand 4.1.2.B)
Yoon relates well to readers, especially students born and bred in the technological age. She mixes age appropriate narrative (that is not set up in the traditional chapter style) with a number of multi media inserts, such as: IM conversations, drawings, journals, charts, sketches, fictitious websites and made up definitions…. The list goes on, see next slide.
The presentation of the text is not only really cool but also ties into the cognitive and developmental needs of the students. For example, many of the IM excerpts are 1-3 pages long, reading comprehension as well as student interest here is stimulated as the student switches from one reading style to another, one that ties in closely to their daily life.
The sketch on the left keeps the reader thinking about the scene, even after the event has passed. Yoon has a unique was of doing this (with her husband’s art).
The topics included in Everything Everything are done so in a respectful and noble way; students want to talk about them, want to learn about them. Topics such as abuse of a close friend and not knowing what to do as well as dealing with your own set of problems at the same time. The topics are covered with light humor, respect and a hint of sarcasm, a wonderful mix for the adolescent brain.
The two collaborating teachers could decide how in depth to take this lesson as far as background for the art students as well as evaluation of the end product. In the end this could be a great way for two classes to collaborate that would usually never do so. All thanks to this book!
