48 pages • 1 hour read
Gillian McDunnCaterpillar Summer
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 20-28Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 20 Summary
Cat studies the maps on the bedroom wall, recognizing them as the sites of various books. She is surprised when Lily tells her that Mom drew them. Cat helps Lily fold clean socks, and they talk about Mom and Macon, then Cat’s father.
Cat is surprised to find herself opening up to Lily. Lily comforts her, then their talk turns back to the laundry. They joke about the mismatched socks, and Cat is content.
Chapter 21 Summary
Cat awaits Mom’s arrival that night. She and Chicken head to the park with Harriet and Neddie. While Cat and Harriet swing, Cat thinks about how familiar Gingerbread Island has become and how close she has become to Harriet.
Just then, she spots John Harvey, playing with Chicken and the other younger kids. Cat worries, but Chicken seems to be having fun. The group moves to the merry-go-round, but Chicken falls off as it spins. Cat yells at John Harvey for hurting Chicken, but Chicken defends him, insisting the fall was accidental and that he is not hurt. Cat realizes that Chicken is changing.
Chapter 22 Summary
Cat helps make waffles for breakfast with Mom the next morning. She suggests they spend the day boogie-boarding, which confuses Cat, who thought they would go fishing.
Cat tags along anyway, hoping to fish with Mom later. While Mom teaches her how to boogie-board, Cat tells her that Macon has been teaching her to fish. Mom responds that Cat will not need her to teach her, then, but Cat disagrees, still hoping that Mom and Macon will spend time together.
Chapter 23 Summary
Cat and Harriet head into town for the July Fourth parade. Chicken breaks away from his seat with Mom, wanting to sit with Cat. They watch happily as the floats go by, then the girls notice John Harvey nearby. As the firetrucks approach, they sound their sirens and John Harvey gets Cat’s attention, then points at Chicken, asking what is wrong with him.
Cat immediately believes John Harvey is making fun of Chicken, but quickly realizes he is upset by the loud sirens. He is trying to scream but cannot, and tears cover his face. Cat and Harriet try to get Chicken away from the crowd, but he darts off. Cat catches up to him just before he encounters the path of a car. They return to Mom and Lily, and Cat thinks of how John Harvey has likely saved Chicken.
Chapter 24 Summary
That night Mom braids Cat’s hair. She has difficulty freeing many of tangles, and Cat takes it personally when Mom tells her that her hair is a mess. They remember how Cat’s father used to braid her hair and how Mom had to learn to do so after he passed away.
Cat asks Mom if she will go fishing with her before she leaves the next day, telling her it is important to her. Mom promises to try if the traffic does not appear to be too bad.
Chapter 25 Summary
Cat wakes early and prepares the fishing equipment, but Mom insists she must leave before the traffic becomes any worse. Cat emphasizes how much she wanted to fish with Mom, then tells her of the fishing contest. Mom is unwilling to stay but suggests they can fish on her next visit. Cat tries to ask her about her fight with Macon, but Mom is unwilling to discuss it.
That evening, Cat and Chicken attend the pre-firework dinner with Macon, Lily, Harriet, Neddie, and their parents. Neddie teaches them how to peel the shrimp. At one point, an argument nearly breaks out between the boys, but before Cat can intervene, they resolve the disagreement on their own.
Chapter 26 Summary
Cat has plans to go on a bike ride with Harriet, but Chicken wants her to spend time with him. Cat decides to keep her plans with Harriet, promising Chicken she will read with him later.
She and Harriet bike to the other side of the island, arriving at the miniature golf course owned by John Harvey’s family. Cat is skeptical, but they play and enjoy themselves. They encounter John Harvey fixing part of the sidewalk around the course, but no trouble ensues. At the end of the round, Harriet hits her ball into the shark’s mouth and wins a token for a free game. She gives it to Cat, telling her it is insurance that Cat will come back for a visit.
That afternoon, Cat reads to Chicken from Where the Red Fern Grows. The father in the story causes Chicken to ask questions of their own father. He and Cat flip through a photo album, and Cat tells Chicken of him. Chicken asks Cat to promise that they will always remain together, and Cat does.
Chapter 27 Summary
Cat speaks to Rishi in India via a video call. She shares the details of the upcoming fishing tournament with him and her experiences on the island. Rishi, too, has been busy visiting family and eating many of his favorite foods.
Chapter 28 Summary
Macon and Cat review the rules of the fishing contest. Macon lets Cat know that there was a challenge to her entry, as she is not a permanent resident of the island. He explains that the challenge was overruled as he and Lily are year-round residents. Macon does not know who challenged Cat’s entry, but Cat suspects John Harvey.
Chapters 20-28 Analysis
Cat finds herself growing close to the people she has met on Gingerbread Island, including Macon, Lily, and Harriet. Her initial disappointment and sadness at missing the trip to visit Rishi has diminished, and Cat finds herself genuinely enjoying her time on the island. The fishing contest provides her with an opportunity to challenge herself, but Cat also uses it to repair the damaged relationship of Mom and Macon. Mom repeatedly serves as an obstacle to Cat’s goal, breaking her promise by boogie-boarding and leaving no time for fishing, then insisting on leaving the island early on Sunday morning. Mom intentionally makes excuses to avoid Macon, and not because she does not wish to spend time with Cat. Regardless, this is further proof of Mom’s dedication to her work and avoidance of her family, at the expense of Cat. Cat voices her hurt to Mom, such as by explaining her feelings are hurt when Mom tells her she is “a mess” because her hair has not been cared for. This confession adds to the novel’s theme of Family Dynamics and their intricacies that affect every family in a specific way.
The loss of Cat and Chicken’s father and their grief is prominent in this section. That Cat is initially reluctant to open up to Lily about her sadness highlights that Cat may have not been given much opportunity to share this loss with others. Whether or not she has been encouraged to grieve is unclear, but that Lily allows her to do so is important to Cat. Further, it draws her closer to Lily as Cat sees that Lily is someone she can trust. Cat is further reminded of his absence when her mom braids her hair, which is a task that her father handled before his passing. Though the novel does not state outright, one can conclude that Cat and Chicken’s father was African American, and thus had knowledge of how to specially care for Cat’s hair in a way that Mom did not. The racial similarity between Cat and her father is also something that bound her to him in ways that she cannot experience with Mom. Indeed, his absence is felt by Chicken, too, who has few memories of him and relies on Cat to fill in the gaps for him. Chicken latches on to the father in Where the Red Fern Grows, an indication that he is not only curious about his own father, but that he seeks a model so that he can imagine what his own father was like. Cat uses the Big Blue Book of photos to help Chicken know their father, explaining that the photos in the book signify the importance of those pictured in them. In this way, the Big Blue Book becomes an important symbol.
Indeed, Chicken is gradually changing for the better during his stay on Gingerbread Island. He is becoming increasingly trusting and comfortable around Lily. This provides a much-needed break for Cat, allowing her to make her own new friends, like Harriet, and to explore new hobbies, such as fishing. Harriet points out to Cat the ways in which Cat’s care may hinder Chicken, preventing him from learning how to problem solve on his own. When he is safely allowed to do so, Chicken gains autonomy. Indeed, it becomes clear that Cat’s protection, to some degree, is a flaw in her character. She is so fearful of him being out of his comfort zone, that she fails to provide opportunities for Chicken to learn how to cope with discomfort on his own.
Ironically, John Harvey plays a role in Chicken’s growth. Not only does he alert Cat that Chicken is upset by the loud sound of the firetrucks, but he also helps Chicken when he falls off the merry-go-round. In both instances, Cat is quick to assume that John Harvey intends to harm her brother. Her negative experiences with John Harvey have predisposed her to think the worst of him. In these instances, however, that is not the case, and Cat must re-evaluate her assumptions of John Harvey. These plot details show that John Harvey is a complex character, hinting that his mean-spiritedness may be a front for hurt.
