Perry's Killer Playlist

Perry’s Killer Playlist

By Joe Schreiber   Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  (2012)                   ISBN: 9780547601175

In Perry’s Killer Playlist, Perry, a recent high school graduate, has an opportunity to make his music dreams come true: He and his band, Inchworm, have a summer, European tour scheduled. Perry feels so bless, especially since he is falling in love with his beautiful, sophisticated band manager, Paula. Even though Paula is in Perry’s life, he still can’t seem to shake his feelings for Gobi, a spy posing as foreign exchange student that stayed with him last school year. Before Gobi left the United States, she and Perry agreed to rendezvous in Venice, which just so happened to be Inchworm’s second stop of the summer tour. Once in Venice, Perry finds himself caught in an international spy scheme that involves illegal arms trade and the CIA. Perry’s Killer Playlist is a velocity read that reminds a reader of a teenage James Bond adventure, with Gobi as 007.

Quantitative: Lexile Level—850L; ATOS—5.3.

Qualitative: Due to age relevance of the characters, this book is would interest upper grade students—those in high school. However Perry’s Killer Playlist does not pose much difficulty in the area of language. Some areas to consider regarding complexity are the European cultural references, especially in the Venice region. Students may also struggle deciphering Gobi’s dialogue. Because she is Lithuanian, Gobi’s English reflects the gaps in her language acquisition. Furthermore, Italian and Lithuanian terms are used throughout the story. Structurally, Perry’s Killer Playlist maintains a fairly linear plot line with only a few flashbacks used to connect contextualize Perry’s relationship with Gobi. Lastly, all of the novel’s chapter titles are the titles of songs, hence, the title of the book.  

Content Area: English; Government; Music.

Curriculum Suggestions: To me, Perry’s Killer Playlist is nothing more than a fun read. Yet, if teachers wanted to use this in their classrooms, I would recommend this book for an English class exploring intertextuality. Since the chapters are titled after songs, students could analyze both the songs’ lyrics and the chapters they correspond to. Students could examine not only the lyrics, but the structure of the song and the chapters. How does the novel’s form and structure compare to an album? Or playlist?

Common Core Standards: RI 9/10.3, 5. RL 9/10.7.

Additional/Digital Content:

• Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (Book 1 of the Perry and Gobi series
•  Explore all the locations Gobi and Perry visit using Google Earth--http://www.google.com/earth
•  App—My Playlist Maker--https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.schima.apps.mpm2 

**Meets the “Reading for Pleasure HS/MS” requirement

The Virtuoso, Marcus Roberts

60 Minutes--The Virtuoso, Marcus Roberts segment

Journalist: Wynton Marsalis

Producer: David Browning and Paige Kindig

Original air date: March 30, 2014

Marcus Roberts, 51, is musical genius following the lead of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. After becoming blind at the age of 5, Marcus gravitated to the piano, teaching himself the basics. Today, he amazes his audience not only with his masterful playing, but with his encyclopedic knowledge of America’s jazz heritage. Roberts has an uncanny ability to take other jazz greats’ music and give it his own unique twist. His fancy finger work connects listeners to the jazz of the past and present.

Quantitative: Flesch-Kincaid grade level--6.2 (Transcript of the segment was scored by Readability-score.com). No Lexile Level or ATOS available.

Qualitative: Although the structure of the segment is fairly linear with the language  a Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score of 70.5, this piece would best align to high school level students since it is an extension of core content.

Content Area: English; Social Science--U.S. History; Music

Curriculum Suggestions: This segment can be used in both English, U.S. History, and music classes. Oxnard High School is lucky enough to have a jazz band. However, the likelihood of this being using in the classroom will most likely be applied to English. I was actually fortunate to share this segment with one English teacher whose class was conducting research on an aspect of African American Culture. Some ways to connect the segment are:

1)      Research the musicians mentioned in the piece: Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Errol Garner, James P. Johnson, Thelonious Monk, and Duke Ellington.

2) Connect the piece to the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance—how does Marcus Roberts maintain the jazz legacy established in 1920s?

3) Use the 60-Minutes piece as a visual model for constructing an essay. For the English teacher that showed the piece to his class, I recommended that the class discuss the information needed to create the piece and the structure of the information. How could the segment be transformed into essay format?

Common Core Standards:W.11/12.2; SL.11/12.1-6; RH.11/12.1-3

Additional/Digital Content:

• 60 Minutes--The Virtuoso, Marcus Roberts-- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-virtuoso-marcus-roberts/

Personal Thoughts: Showing students information in another format, other than writing, allows them to see the patterns required of sharing research. Video structure is just as important as essay structure if an audience is going to understand the content. Additionally, the segment relies on primary and secondary sources. It provides an opportunity for a teacher and teacher-librarian to work together in order to promote information literacy and 21st-century skills while connecting history to modern times.

*Meets the “Media Items” requirement