The Giver

1. Before you begin answering questions, I'd like you to start with a general discussion of the book. Note (as in write down, with names attached) the things that each of you found interesting, surprising, disturbing, important, as well as those things that you wish would have been different.  From your general discussion, generate and answer at least two discussion type questions.

2. Many people are challenged and generally dissatisfied with the ending of this book. What happens, do you think? (Multiple answers welcome here.) Rewrite the ending and justify your decisions in light of what happens in the rest of the book.

3. Memory and diversity bear heavy weight in this book--what atrocities are committed in light of their absence? Draft an elegant statement of the their importance in light of the society Lowry imagines without them.

A Wrinkle in Time

1. Before you begin answering questions, I'd like you to start with a general discussion of the book. Note (as in write down, with names attached) the things that each of you found interesting, surprising, disturbing, important, as well as those things that you wish would have been different.  From your general discussion, generate and answer at least two discussion type questions.

2. What is the real villain in this book, ideologically speaking? Note the publication date. Why does this book, which seems to be out of any particular time and place, fit into the time period in which it was written?

3. This book has been censored because it is perceived by some to foster an anti-Christian message. Can you locate any justification for that impression? Can you offer an effective counter argument? Imagine you are a teacher who has received a challenge regarding this book. How would you answer such a challenge? Think of this as a multi-layered question with multiple answers and approaches. But remember, you are a public professional, so you can't speak disrespectfully about people's heartfelt beliefs; on the other hand, you are an educated educator, so you can't sanction ignorance and censorship either. What kind of arguments support the inclusion of this book in a middle-grade curriculum or reading program?

Tom's Midnight Garden

1. Before you begin answering questions, I'd like you to start with a general discussion of the book. Note (as in write down, with names attached) the things that each of you found interesting, surprising, disturbing, important, as well as those things that you wish would have been different.  From your general discussion, generate and answer at least two discussion type questions.

2. This book has been described as a "perfect" children's book. Based on what you have learned and read this semester, what makes this book "perfect," if you think of that word as a descriptive term--meaning that it contains all the conventional elements of a book for preadolescent children? 

3. If one thinks of a fantasy as an escape to a more desirable world, what is held out as desirable in Tom's fantasy space? Whose fantasy is it? 

Tuck Everlasting 

1. Before you begin answering questions, I'd like you to start with a general discussion of the book. Note (as in write down, with names attached) the things that each of you found interesting, surprising, disturbing, important, as well as those things that you wish would have been different.  From your general discussion, generate and answer at least two discussion type questions.

2. The first few pages set up a metaphor that is sustained throughout the book. What is it, how does it work, and how does it return throughout the book?

3. Do you think Winnie makes the right decision? Why? How does the author make her decision convincing to a child audience? What does the toad have to do with her decision?

The Children of Green Knowe

1. Before you begin answering questions, I'd like you to start with a general discussion of the book. Note (as in write down, with names attached) the things that each of you found interesting, surprising, disturbing, important, as well as those things that you wish would have been different.  From your general discussion, generate and answer at least two discussion type questions.

2. This book depends on an eerie mood, rather than an exciting plot, to generate and sustain interest. How would you describe that mood? How does the writer set it?

3. Describe the child to whom this kind of book would appeal. Be as detailed and thorough as your own imaginations will allow.