My Brother Sam is Dead

 

1. What did you learn about the historical period of this novel that you didn’t know before? In what specific ways did the novel enrich your sense of the period?

  1. This book was published in 1974. How do the authors make the events of the Revolution relevant to the events of 1974 (Viet Nam)?
  2.  Tim has to “choose” between his brother’s way of thinking and his father’s way of thinking. Do you think he makes a clear choice? On what does he base his thinking over the course of the war? How does this reflect his growth?
  3. Compare Tim to other 15-year-olds you know. Does he seem older or younger? What seem to be his motivating values, his “goods”? How do they compare with today’s teen?

 

Johnny Tremain

 

  1. What did you learn about the historical period of this novel that you didn’t know or appreciate before? In what specific ways did the novel enrich your sense of the period?
  2. Compare Johnny to other 13-year-olds you know. Does he seem older or younger? What seem to be his motivating values, his “goods”? How do they compare with today’s teen?
  3. What are the purposes, in terms of the novel’s and the character’s development, of Johnny damaged hand?
  4. Reread James Otis’ speech toward the end of the novel. Compare that speech with the rhetoric and reality of today’s America. What thoughts does this speech evoke for members of your group?

 

 

Milkweed

 

  1. What did you learn about the historical period of this novel that you didn’t know or appreciate before? In what specific ways did the novel enrich your sense of the period?
  2. Spinelli’s goal in writing Milkweed was to relate the little-known details of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. In what ways is Misha a believable, fully developed character, and in what ways is he just a vehicle to tell the many facets of the story?
  3. Given what you have read in the "Insiders and Outsiders" article, does it bother you that Spinelli has no direct connection to the Warsaw Ghetto or the Holocaust (no personal experience, no relatives who lived through it, etc.)? Why or why not?
  4. Compare Misha to other kids you know. Does he seem older or younger? How is his identity fashioned? What seem to be his motivating values, his “goods”? How do they compare with today’s preadolescent?

 

The Devil’s Arithmetic

 

  1. What did you learn about the historical period of this novel that you didn’t know or appreciate before? In what specific ways did the novel enrich your sense of the period?
  2. Compare Hannah to other 13-year-olds you know, both before she goes through the door and while she’s in the camp. Does she seem older or younger? What seem to be her motivating values, her “goods”? How do they compare before and after her ordeal?
  3. Think about all the uses of stories that are presented in this book. Who tells stories? For what reasons? Why are stories important?
  4. Yolen could have simply told Hannah’s story without including the modern stuff. Why do you think she chose to frame the story as a time travel fantasy? Does this lack of realism help or hurt your appreciation of her message? Why?

 

Number the Stars

 

  1. What did you learn about the historical period of this novel that you didn’t know or appreciate before? In what specific ways did the novel enrich your sense of the period?
  2. Compare Annemarie to other 10-year-old girls you know. Does she seem older or younger? What seem to be her motivating values, her “goods”? How do they compare before and after her ordeal?
  3. Many Holocaust books seem to operate under a fairytale logic—not the happy ending logic, but the wolves in the woods, wicked ogre kind of logic. This story, for instance, is in many ways a Little Red Riding Hood variant. (Stop for a minute and work that out for yourselves.) What are some of the factors of the Holocaust that make fairytale comparisons seem especially apt?
  4.  A friend of mine, who has spent several years living in Denmark, tells me that the people there are Danes first, individuals second. Their customs are very strong, and they wouldn’t think of violating them casually. Lowry relates the story of the boy who said that all of Denmark is the King’s bodyguard, which illustrates this mindset at work. In what ways does knowing this help you grasp why the people of Denmark did what they did? Why would such an ideology be crucial to pulling off the operation of getting the Danish Jews out of Denmark?