M. C. Higgins, the Great

1. Why does M.C. consider himself great? What does he like about himself (there's a lot--find page numbers to support)? Do you find his self-confidence credible?

2. Why does M.C. feel such a responsibility for his family's well-being?

3. The answers to the first two questions should have pointed your group to an understanding of M.C.'s complex relationship with his father. Characterize that relationship in as much detail as you can.

4. What seems to be the role of the girl in this book? The dude?

5. What do you make of the Killburns? Who are they? What is their role in the story?

Pippi Longstocking

1. It's been my experience that students either love Pippi or hate her. Why does she elicit such strong reactions? Why might she appeal to children? Why might she be threatening to adults?

2. What is Tommy and Annika's role in the story? Especially with relation to the reader?

3. Explore Pippi's ethics. How does she respond to other children? Authority figures? Strangers? Do you see any contradictions in her sense of fair play (think of when she was  a ThingFinder)? Can you resolve them?

4. How do Pippi's specific gifts and talents (including her money) reflect wish fulfillment fantasies for children?

5. Why does Pippi make the distinction that she is the "strongest girl in the world"? How does that violate expectations? How is that distinction important, especially when it comes to the burning building?

Maniac Magee

1. How do Maniac's aunt and uncle act as a metaphor and a foreshadowing for the rest of the book?

2. How do each of Maniac's special abilities relate to his destiny?

3. This book ends with Maniac realizing his fondest wish--to have a home. How does this personal wish depend on community? What does this suggest about the relationship between the personal and the political?

4. How much do Russell and Piper understand about the Rebel game? Justify your answer.

5. What role does Grayson play in the story?

Stargirl

1. This story has a profound emotional impact on readers--spend a few minutes just writing down the different emotional responses your group members had while reading.

2. Analyze some of those reactions. What might they mean about contemporary identity?

3. What point is Archie trying to make about the relationship between Barney and Stargirl?

4. In what ways was Leo right about asking Stargirl to become Susan? In what ways was he wrong? Try to go beyond obvious, kneejerk answers here.

5. Why do the three incidents--the Pledge of Allegiance, the Grisdale funeral, and Danny Pike's bicycle accident--matter so much to the townspeople? What do these three events represent, culturally speaking, and how does Stargirl's intervention expose ideological assumptions that surround these cultural phenomena?

Harriet the Spy

1. Discuss Harriet's relationship with Ole Golly. How does Ole Golly use literature to guide Harriet's growth?

2. Harriet's values change considerably over the course of the book. Describe this change. What does she seem to value at the beginning of the book? How does this precipitate the book's crisis? (There are two crises actually--the incident with the notebook and Ole Golly's departure.) How do each of these crises help her see what's important and readjust her values? What does she value by the end of the book?

3. How does the following paragraph relate to the basic projects and changes of preadolescence?

    "They were so far away that they looked like dolls. They made her think of the way she imagined the people when she played Town. Somehow this way she could see them better than she ever had before. She looked at them carefully in the longish time it took them to reach her. She made herself walk in Sport's shoes, feeling the holes in his socks rub against his ankles. She pretended she had an itchy nose when Janie put one abstracted hand up to scratch. She felt what it would feel like to have freckles and yellow hair like Janie, then funny ears and skinny shoulders like Sport." (297)