The Acorn People is a non-fiction book for middle grade readers first published in 1976. It is a memoir by author, educator and storyteller Ron Jones about a summer he spent at a camp for disabled children. It was made into a movie on March 2, 1981.[1]
Ron Jones looks forward to his summer at Camp Wiggin, where he will work as a camp counselor. Although he knows the children who attend Camp Wiggin are disabled, he assumes he will still be able to have fun enjoying the outdoors, hiking, swimming and boating at the camp. He gets very discouraged in the beginning and says some pretty harsh things. When he arrives and meets the children, however, he is at first appalled at how severely disabled they are. Once he gets to know the children, he really starts to fall for them and even gets attached to the camp. When the camp ends, he is even discouraged to see the children leave.
Then Jones meets his group of children—a group called "The Acorn People." They have given themselves this name because of the acorn necklaces they make at camp. Over time, they teach their counselor that despite their disabilities, they are just like everyone else on the inside and that they are capable of accomplishing much more than he previously understood. Jones comes to care for and love these children as much as the full-time staff at Camp Wiggins.
The Acorn People was honored as the Christian Book of the Year.
Main charactersEdit
This story begins at Camp Wiggens, a camp that is suited to handicapped children. Ron Jones is a camp counselor and is also in charge of five of the campers along with a man named Dominic. Ron didn't expect Camp Wiggens to be such hard job, as he took the job thinking that the children were not so severely disabled.
Benny B: An African American child who has no use of his legs because of polio. He is alert and perceptive, and known as a speed freak; he is brave, determined, and excitable hes also very perspective.
Spider: Has no arms or legs. Amazingly, he can swim. He swims very close to how a dolphin swims. He also came up with the name "The Acorn People."
Martin: The most able-bodied person at camp, he is partially blind and usually sways in a rhythm. Very likeable and outgoing
Aaron Gerawlski (A.K.A.) Arid. Smells awful, he has no bladder or the normal means to pull waste.
Thomas Stewart has muscular sclerosis and weighs about 35 pounds. His body goes limp when he is picked up and he has no muscle control.
ReferencesEdit
^Dore, Elizabeth D. (2004). Diversity and Young Adolescents: More Than Color. Westerville: National Middle School Association. p. 70. ISBN1560901446. Camp Wiggin is a special camp for physically disabled children. These children prove that physical disabilities cannot deter them from swimming and hiking. "The Acorn People" becomes their identifying logo.
acorn, people, fiction, book, middle, grade, readers, first, published, 1976, memoir, author, educator, storyteller, jones, about, summer, spent, camp, disabled, children, made, into, movie, march, 1981, 1977, cover, publ, bantam, books, authorron, jonespublic. The Acorn People is a non fiction book for middle grade readers first published in 1976 It is a memoir by author educator and storyteller Ron Jones about a summer he spent at a camp for disabled children It was made into a movie on March 2 1981 1 The Acorn People1977 cover publ Bantam Books AuthorRon JonesPublication dateJanuary 1 1976 Contents 1 Summary 2 Main characters 3 References 4 External linksSummary EditRon Jones looks forward to his summer at Camp Wiggin where he will work as a camp counselor Although he knows the children who attend Camp Wiggin are disabled he assumes he will still be able to have fun enjoying the outdoors hiking swimming and boating at the camp He gets very discouraged in the beginning and says some pretty harsh things When he arrives and meets the children however he is at first appalled at how severely disabled they are Once he gets to know the children he really starts to fall for them and even gets attached to the camp When the camp ends he is even discouraged to see the children leave Then Jones meets his group of children a group called The Acorn People They have given themselves this name because of the acorn necklaces they make at camp Over time they teach their counselor that despite their disabilities they are just like everyone else on the inside and that they are capable of accomplishing much more than he previously understood Jones comes to care for and love these children as much as the full time staff at Camp Wiggins The Acorn People was honored as the Christian Book of the Year Main characters EditThis story begins at Camp Wiggens a camp that is suited to handicapped children Ron Jones is a camp counselor and is also in charge of five of the campers along with a man named Dominic Ron didn t expect Camp Wiggens to be such hard job as he took the job thinking that the children were not so severely disabled Benny B An African American child who has no use of his legs because of polio He is alert and perceptive and known as a speed freak he is brave determined and excitable hes also very perspective Spider Has no arms or legs Amazingly he can swim He swims very close to how a dolphin swims He also came up with the name The Acorn People Martin The most able bodied person at camp he is partially blind and usually sways in a rhythm Very likeable and outgoing Aaron Gerawlski A K A Arid Smells awful he has no bladder or the normal means to pull waste Thomas Stewart has muscular sclerosis and weighs about 35 pounds His body goes limp when he is picked up and he has no muscle control References Edit Dore Elizabeth D 2004 Diversity and Young Adolescents More Than Color Westerville National Middle School Association p 70 ISBN 1560901446 Camp Wiggin is a special camp for physically disabled children These children prove that physical disabilities cannot deter them from swimming and hiking The Acorn People becomes their identifying logo External links EditRon Jones s website IMDB page for The Acorn People movie nbsp Children s literature portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Acorn People amp oldid 1157649858, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
