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1-Page Summary of Crenshaw

Overall Summary

Katherine Applegate’s Crenshaw is a novel about Jackson, a boy who has an imaginary friend named Crenshaw. The book explores the impact of poverty on family and community, as well as how to face the unknown productively.

The book is divided into three parts. Quotes from Ruth Krauss’s A Hole is to Dig provide a framework for each part.

The first part of the book begins with an epigraph by Margaret Wise Brown, “A door is to open”. The quote refers to a re-emergence of Crenshaw in Jackson’s life. He has not seen him since second grade, and he does not think that he is the kind of person who would be friends with an imaginary friend. He wants to be a scientist when he grows up and likes facts more than stories, unlike his parents or sister who are musicians or storytellers respectively. His favorite book is about a crocodile named Lyle who lives in a brownstone apartment building with human beings as neighbors.

For Jackson, facts are tangible and can be measured. He doesn’t like lies because he thinks they’re not true. He believes that Crenshaw is a bad omen for his family’s future. He thinks that the signs of trouble in his life are similar to when his family was homeless: unpaid bills, arguments between parents, and lack of food on the table.

Part 2 begins with a quote from Jackson’s article about homelessness. He was not aware of how dire his family’s financial situation had become, and he saw them working multiple jobs to make ends meet. His father became sick, but the family still needed money for rent and food. After fourteen weeks living in their van, they were able to move into an apartment where Jackson could return to school. However, this experience left him anxious about instability and fearful of the unknown.

Part 3 begins with an epigraph that says, “The world is so you have something to stand on,” which refers to the author’s emotional growth and acceptance of life’s unknowns. In this part, Jackson’s family prepares for a yard sale in order to raise enough money for their back rent. The family tries not to discuss what is happening but instead jokes around and acts positive, which makes it even worse for Jackson because he feels like his parents are lying about their situation. He also doesn’t want Robin to worry about having no place to live again, so he uses his parents’ avoidance techniques when they talk about the possibility of living in their minivan again.

Jackson is a boy who lives with his parents. He doesn’t like Crenshaw, the imaginary friend of his younger sister, but he keeps it to himself because he thinks that would hurt her feelings. However, when Jackson finds out that Crenshaw was created as a way for his mother to cope with being in an abusive relationship and having no one to talk to about it, he feels guilty for not telling the truth sooner. In addition, Jackson realizes that honesty can help people deal with their problems rather than avoiding them or creating new ones by lying.

Chapter 1

The narrator notices four weird things about the surfing cat. First, that it is a cat surfing on its own and wearing a t-shirt that says “CATS RULE, DOGS DROOL”. Second, the umbrella it holds is closed even though there isn’t any rain. Third, no one else sees this cat but him. The fourth thing he notices is how familiar it seems to be with him as he whispers its name: Crenshaw. He closes his eyes and counts to ten before opening them again. When he opens them up again, Crenshaw’s umbrella lands at his feet. However when Jackson closes his eyes once more for another count of ten seconds or so—the umbrella disappears from sight! Jackson feels like something amazing will happen next so he shivers in anticipation of what might come next…