Ten Kids in a Treehouse to Protest Parent Problems - The Ultimate Slumber Party, or a Disaster Waiting to Happen?

The Great Treehouse War by Lisa Graff

Hello, Readers!

This week, 5th grade book club members are discussing The Great Treehouse War by Lisa Graff. Are you ready for this epic "kids versus parents" showdown?

There are a lot of things you should probably know to understand why a bunch of kids decided to climb up a treehouse and not come down. But to really understand it, you'd probably have to go way back in time, and peek through the living room window of a girl named Winifred Malladi-Maraj, on her last day of fourth grade . . .

That was the day everything changed. The day Winnie's parents got divorced, the day they decided Winnie would live three days a week with each of them and spend Wednesdays by herself in a treehouse smack between their houses, to divide her time perfectly evenly. It was the day Winnie's seed of frustration with her parents was planted, a seed that grew until it felt like it was as big as a tree itself.

By the end of fifth grade, Winnie has decided that the only way to change things is to barricade herself in her treehouse until her parents come to their senses - and her friends decide to join her. It's kids versus grown-ups, and no one wants to back down first. But with ten kids in one treehouse, all with their own demands, Winnie discovers that things can get pretty complicated pretty fast! All th rules have been thrown out the window, but does Winnie have what it takes to hold her ground and keep everyone happy?

(Source: inner book flap)

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. Describe Winnie's parents' personalities. How do they cause a major problem for Winnie? What other options could Winnie's parents have tried instead of the "completely even" division of time?
2. Why does Winnie decide to stay in the treehouse instead of coming back down?
3. How do the kids "get away with" staying in the treehouse? What is the history of the tree that allows them to stay there?
4. Was the list of demands put forward by the "Treehouse Ten" reasonable, unreasonable, or somewhere in between? Why?
5. Some people thought the "Treehouse Ten" were rabble-rousers, and some people thought they were heroes. What do you think? Why?
6. What strategies did the adults use to try to get the kids out of the treehouse?
7. When and how did things start to turn bad for the kids? What position did Winnie find herself in when things started to turn bad?
8. Why do you think the kids began to leave the treehouse?
9. Which of Winnie's friends was your favorite character? Why?
10. What did you think of the format of this book (memoir, sticky notes, transcripts, letters, etc.)? Did you find it interesting, confusing, entertaining, etc.? What was your favorite type of writing to read?

Curriculum Connections:

• Visit Lisa Graff's website to learn more about her and the other books she has written.
• Communication Skills (listening, observing closely, making compromises, critical thinking, questioning accuracy of news reports)
• Character and Social/Emotional Development (dealing with divorce, friendship, problem solving)
• STEM (design, architecture, survival)
• Social Studies (embassies and consulates)

What 5th Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• Our rating: 4.2 out of 5 - We really liked it.
• "I want to talk about how at the end Winnie saw how her friends were fighting and got a family member to write." --Katie
• "If I could be a character in this book, I would be Winnie because I like that Winnie stayed up there and didn't come down until her parents came to [their] senses." --Eliza
• "I want to talk about how the kids got in fights." --Aditi
• "I wondered what [the kids] would be like in middle school." --Sophie
• "One question I wondered was how on earth would the kids be so driven and why?" --Alex
• "I love how [Lisa Graff] put in the book pages for how _____ is made." --Jordyn
• "I want to talk about how cool [it was that] they stayed up in the treehouse so long." --Alexa
• "I would be Squizzy because she was funny and loves books like me." --Aditi

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Wishes and Unlikely Friendships Bring Hope to a Community

wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . .

Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree" —people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with her crow friend Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this "wishtree" watches over the neighborhood.

You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red's experiences as a wishtree are more important than ever.

Funny, deep, warm, and nuanced, this is Katherine Applegate at her very best—writing from the heart, and from a completely unexpected point of view.

(Source: http://www.wishtreebook.com/#book)

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. RED – What is Red? Describe her personality. Why does Red decide to speak to the kids when she isn’t supposed to speak to humans?
2. BONGO – Who is Bongo? Describe the friendship between Red and Bongo. What differences do they have? Why do you think they are friends? Why do you think Bongo gives Samar little tokens or gifts?
3. SAMAR - Describe Samar’s personality. Why does Samar always come out to sit under Red late at night? What was Samar’s wish? Why isn’t the neighborhood welcoming toward Samar’s family?
4. WISHES – How are wishes both a problem and a solution in this story? Discuss Red’s plans for helping to make Samar’s wish come true.
5. THE ANIMALS - Discuss how the various animals choose their names (crows, frogs, skunks, barn owls, raccoons, opossums). Why are they comfortable with Samar? Why do you think the animals are able to live together as a community?
6. STEPHEN - Describe Stephen’s personality. How does he help to make a difference in the neighborhood on Wishing Day? When Stephen says, “My parents aren’t bad people. They’re just … afraid of things” (p. 125), what does he mean?
7. FRANCESCA – What role does Francesca play in the story? Who and what would be affected by her decision to cut down the tree?
8. SOLUTIONS - “Hollows are proof that something bad can become something good with enough time and care and hope” (p. 25). What do you think Red means when she says this? What are some examples of something good coming from something bad (in this story or in your life)?
9. FRIENDSHIP – On p. 82, Red asks Bongo, “How does friendship happen?” What do you think? What examples of “unlikely friendships” show up in this story?
10. MESSAGES – What message(s) do you take away from this story?

Curriculum Connections:

• wishtree Teacher's Guide provided by the publisher
• Character Development (friendship, problem solving, kindness)
• Social Studies (communities, immigration, traditions)
• Real World Problems (discrimination, community building)
• Language Arts (names, groups of animals)
• Science (deciduous trees, woodland animals)

What 4th Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• We rated it a 4.1 out of 5 - we really liked it.
• "I want to talk about how the wishtree told his story because he believed he would die." --Jack
• "Did the tree have a gender?" --Ryan
• "Who was the one who did the carving in the tree?" --Gabby
• "Why did Francesca want to cut down the wishtree?" --Jeb
• "Can animals actually talk?" --Rehet
• "I want to talk about why the animals all ran up the tree at the last minute." --Hailey
• "I wondered who was the boy who carved the leave sign." --Alex
• "I want to talk about the boy with the screwdriver." --Ryan
• "One word that stuck out to me was buttinsky." --Varun
• "I want to talk about Plan Two when the baby opossum doesn't listen that well." --Addie

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How Hard Could It Possibly Be for a Third Grader To Be a "Perfect" Angel?

Third Grade Angels by Jerry Spinelli

First grade babies!
Second grade cats!
Third grade angels!
Fourth grade rats!

So goes the rhyme at George (aka "Suds") Morton's elementary school. Suds has been looking forward to third grade so he can finally be an angel. But what does that mean, exactly?

It means his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every week to see which student deserves to be awarded "the halo" - which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect. Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but being good all the time can be pretty stressful. Does he have to be good even outside of school? Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister? And if Mrs. Simms doesn't actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count? (Source: inside book flap)

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. On page 18, Suds says, "All of a sudden it was like there was no door between my brain and my mouth." What does he mean? Why do you think that was happening? Have you ever been in a similar situation?
2. Why do you think Suds feels a bit uncomfortable about Joey?
3. What does Suds mean when he says he feels "chipmunky?" When have you ever felt that way?
4. What strategy does Suds use to help himself calm down when he worries? What do you do when you need to calm yourself down?
5. On page 48, Mrs. Simms says, "This may be the first class where nobody gets a halo." Why does Mrs. Simms say this?
6. Why does it bother Suds when his sister, whom he calls Zippernose, says, "He always has to be first..."? (page 55-56)
7. What did Mrs. Simms mean on page 63 when she said, "Yes - you must earn your halo. But no - you may not buy your halo. I cannot be bribed."
8. Suds wonders, "Does it count if the teacher doesn't see it?" What do you think?
9. "Being nice means doing something, not doing nothing." Agree or disagree? Why?
10. Even when Suds was doing many good deeds and trying hard to be an angel, he couldn't relax. Why was he still worried? (page 91)
11. Who wins the first halo, and why?
12. Do you think Mrs. Simms has "spies"?

Curriculum Connections:

• Visit Jerry Spinelli's website to learn more about other books he has written.
• Character Development (problem solving, how to deal with stress and worries)

What 2nd and 3rd Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• Our rating: 4.1 out of 5
• "My favorite part was when he saved the dog." -- Joliz
• "I want to talk about why Constantina got the first halo of the year, but George did the same thing." -- Jake
• "One question I wondered was does Mrs. Simms have spies?" -- Rivian

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What We're Reading Next:

Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey