Rescue and Jessica
Author: Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes
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Illustrator: Scott Magoon
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Date: 2018
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About the book:
Rescue and Jessica both have their lives turning upside down when a huge change occurs. Rescue is told he is a better fit as a service dog and doesn't want to let anyone down. Similarly, Jessica doesn't want to let anyone down once she becomes an amputee. Together, they build an unbreakable friendship that helps them grow in life together. This own voice book is emotional once you know the authors' background.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Meet the Authors
Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes are both survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing that took place in 2013. Jessica and Patrick both lost legs in this awful situation. Jessica and Rescue is their story of how they received their service down Rescue and changed their life forever. This story is told in an own voice perspective. "Ownvoice means that if you are writing a main character who is part of marginalized group, you are part of that marginalized group" (Blue Crow Publishing, 2018). In this case, the main character in the book reflects what the author went through in real life. Jessica is part of a marginalized group because she is disabled after she was injured. Becoming an amputee is life changing, therefore Rescue had to come in and rescue her. Once you understand Kensky's history of also becoming an amputee, the perspective of the book changes. It's important to understand Ownvoice when reading a text because Kensky and Downes are able to tell their story in a kid friendly way. The illustrator, Scott Magoon was also a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing and is now suffering from PTSD from the event.
Possible Classroom Discussions
Based on the Theme: Examining Multiple Perspectives
Often when we think of marginalized groups, we think of race, religion, social class, relationship status, or appearance. One marginalized group that is often overlooked is people with disabilities. They have a different lifestyle than what is familiar to most people, whether it is caused from a traumatic event or someone is born with the disability. Either way, it is relevant in our society in various ways and needs to be discussed in the classroom. Rescue and Jessica is a great way to introduce disabilities that occur later in life. There are different sources that can help lead discussions that help students understand the lifestyle of someone who is considered disabled.
Using the Teacher's Guide
Using Nerdy Book Club
The teacher's guide provides us with a lot of discussion questions used to guide meaningful communication on what it means to be disabled. When students are able to define what is means to be disabled and what it might look like, we can go into a deeper conversation about developing communities of compassion and inclusion. Jessica is a believable character that students can relate to, even if they don't have to live with a disability themselves. This character has to overcome so many obstacles that are not under her control, but she is able to gain control when she is introduced to Rescue. Together they are able to be a team to help one another. Jessica helps Rescue feel important in his new job while Rescue helps Jessica when things are out of her reach or control. Students can relate to this situation once they understand the difficulty that comes with a disability. Students can ask each other questions like the ones found on this teacher's guide:
From what we learned before about this book being an own voice, it is still important to consider the illustrator's approach to telling the story in a different way. Scott Magoon, the illustrator, was also a part of the Boston Marathon bombing. Unlike Kensky and Downes, Magoon did not lose any limbs during the tragic event. Rather, he now has to deal with another disability that is not as visible, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This brings up the conversation about how disabilities may not different from one another to the point where you can't even see the disability at all. That is an important conversation to have with your students when discussing people with disabilities.
But as the illustrator who also went through the same event, he was able to put Kensky and Downes's words into visuals for us. In the Nerdy Book Club resource, Magoon talks about his artistic choices he made to demonstrate how Jessica was feeling in the book. When you are able to match his reasons to his illustrations, you can understand further how people are feeling. Students can discuss what symbolism is and how Magoon made it apparent in his choices through the book.
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Jessica encountered many challenges throughout the story. What were Jessica’s visible and invisible struggles? How did she overcome those obstacles as the story progressed? How did Jessica change throughout the story? What caused her to change emotionally and physically?
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Everyone has strengths and areas of challenge. What are things you are good at doing? What things do you need to practice or try a new way in order to improve?
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Why is it important to ask someone if they want assistance before providing help? What are other ways that you can respect an individual’s independence? How do you know if you are giving too much help to someone? What are the signs?
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It is important to respect everyone we meet in order to create an inclusive community. How can you show respect to someone with a disability? How can you acknowledge the types of things people with disabilities are able to do independently?
Magoon talks about the meaning behind the bridge. Students could be provided this image and they need to try and understand the meaning for the bride, the colors in the sky, or even other details throughout. Afterwards, they can read what Magoon's take on the image is. He chose Jessica and Rescue leaving the dark skies and heading towards a brighter day. There's also meaning behind why the bridge is important to the authors.
When you look further into the image, why do you think the sidewalk is in that pattern? What does it symbolize? How can this relate to the story?
Overcoming Obstacles Text Set
In memory of Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, and Sean Collier
Citations
Magoon, S. (2018, April 2). Dog Stars: Symbols in RESCUE & JESSICA A LIFE-CHANGING FRIENDSHIP by Scott Magoon. Retrieved from https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2018/04/02/dog-stars-symbols-in-rescue-jessica-a-life-changing-friendship-by-scott-magoon/
Magoon, S. (2018). Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship Teacher's Guide.
What does #OwnVoices mean? (2018, October 23). Retrieved from https://bluecrowpublishing.com/2018/03/30/what-does-ownvoices-mean/