Characters

Leigh Botts, Bonnie Botts, Bill Botts, Mr. Henshaw

Bandit, Miss Martinez, Mr. Fridley, Katy

Miss Neely, Barry, Angela Badger

Conflict

Person-against-self - an internal conflict of feelings.

Person-against-person - the typical protagonist vs. antagonist scenario.

Person-against-society - the protagonist battles against the larger organizations of society
(or a system of beliefs held by society).

Person-against-nature - the protagonist is threatened by a component of nature.

Themes/Symbols

Analyze themes such as: friendship, acceptance, loneliness, courage, believing in yourself, coming of age, divorce, working mothers (latch-key kids), poverty/economic hardship, honesty, and the power of writing/journal keeping.

Do symbols foreshadow the plot, affect tone and/or meaning?

Pre-Reading/Post-Reading Activities

Social Studies: Economic Hardship & Poverty

Classroom Projects: Art, Vocabulary, Journal & Letter Writing