Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

1. I'm assuming that most of you have seen the movie, and that this is your first encounter with the book. Did it surprise you that Charlie has a dad? Why would the movie version exclude him? What difference does it make? Why doesn't Charlie choose him to accompany him to the factory? Try to think of more than one reason.

2. This book seems to be preaching a couple of things: 1) that children are "better" than adults, and that 2) some children are better than others. First, do you agree with me (you don't have to)? If so, explore what makes children better than adults, what makes some children worse than others, what traits are valued, and who and/or what factors seem to be responsible for making a child good or bad. if not, characterize what you think are the primary didactic thrusts of the book, and explore your assessment.

3. This book has been critiqued for racism (the Oompa Loompas). Do you agree with that critique? Can you see legitimate textual evidence for such a critique? Why or why not?

Matilda

1. This book seems to be all about power. What are the different kinds of power displayed by the different characters? Is one type more or less legitimate than others? Why or why not?

2. What does this book seem to say about families--natural and adopted?

3. How does Matilda get her special abilities? Why do they disappear in the end?

Witches

1. This book deals with some pretty serious issues in some surprising ways: parental death, potential caregiver death, kidnapping, stranger anxiety. What are the traditional ways of thinking about these issues? How does this book turn these traditional views on their head?

2. In what ways does this book violate the usual conventions of happy endings?

3. Every other books has three questions, but I'm blanking right now on a third, so you think one up and answer it if you have time.

James and the Giant Peach

1. I'm assuming that you have seen the movie. The fate of the aunts is different in each. Why would the directors change that feature? Which is more consoling? More satisfying? How do you account for your responses? This also leads to a larger question of visual media versus reading. Why might an author be more free to offer a violent squishy death than a movie director?

2. What do each of the different animal characters bring to the story? How do they each figure in James new family?

3. How does this story compare to fairy tales that you know? What elements are present in fairy tales that are present here? How do themes compare?

Danny the Champion of the World

1. We said in class that children of this age are developing their orientation in moral space--that is, defining what is good, and figuring out how they are involved in the battle between good and evil. Okay, obviously there are some problems with conventional morality here that need to be discussed. So how does Danny decide right from wrong in the case of poaching? Where, how and why does he position himself with regard to conventional morality? Who supports him? What does this tell you about Dahl's sense of morality? Take a look at the official "moral of the story." What do you all think of this?

2.  The books you read last week were episodic in their plot structure. This book follows a more traditional plot diagram. Diagram it: what info are we given in the the introduction? What is the narrative hook? Rising action? Climax? Resolution?