Mother/Son Bookclub: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Book Review:

While it can be read as a stand-alone novel, The Giver is also the first in a series of four books. It was a 1994 Newbery winner and has become a classic in children’s literature. Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a town that the community thinks is idyllic, but it is colorless and devoid of emotion. When Jonas becomes the Receiver and begins to receive all the memories of human history, he realizes life is not as simple as he thought. He begins to question everything, including whether or not his way of life is the best choice.

The boys had mixed feelings about this book. Most liked it. Some of the younger boys found it a little confusing. Still, we had a great discussion about the ability to make choices and why experiencing emotions is a good thing.

Discussion Questions:

(taken from https://msu.edu/user/lillyang/questions.html)

 1. What is the Ceremony of Twelve? Why do you think Jonas is so apprehensive about it?

2. What do you think is meant by the term “releasing”? What happens to those who are released?  Why do you think this?

3. Who are the “newchildren”? Where do they come from? So far in the novel, it seems as if only the best “newchildren” remain in the community. The rest are released. Does this remind you of the scenes we saw from GATTACA in any way?  How?  Why?

4. Discuss the role that age plays in this community. How is a person’s age determined, and what is its significance? How does this compare to the treatment of age in our own society? Why do you think the characters in the novel stop keeping track of their age after they reach the age of twelve?

5. Why do you think Lois Lowry capitalizes the names of the jobs that the community members perform (i.e. Nurturer, Receiver)? What is the significance of a person’s job in this community? Do you think that this stylistic choice is effective in conveying the message that Lowry is trying to convey? Explain why you feel the way that you do.

6. What are “stirrings”? Why do you think the government eliminates these “stirrings” by requiring every adult member of the community to take a pill everyday?

7. How does Jonas’s community define “family”? How is this different from the way in which our society defines “family”? What are some possible benefits of the definition of family in Jonas’s community? What are the sacrifices that Jonas’s community has to make because of the way it defines and creates families?

8. Do you think that anyone in the community, other than Jonas and the Giver, has ever experienced real emotion? Use evidence from the text to support your opinion.

9. Why do you think that the Giver is the only member of the community who has access to books other than the Book of Rules, a dictionary, and a guide to the community’s government?

10. How does Jonas’s community deal with death? Why does it deal with death in this way?

11. Lois Lowry chose to end The Giver in an ambiguous manner. Why do you think she chose to end the novel in this way? Do you think she made the right decision? Do you think the novel would have been better if it had a different type of ending? If so, what kind of ending do you think it should have had, and why do you feel this way? If you liked the ending, why did you like it? 

Food Ideas:

We ate black and white food, such as chocolate chips, marshmallows, popcorn, and chocolate-covered donuts, and one bowl of bright red apples.

Activity:

We created an escape room, since Jonas has to “escape” from his town. You can find examples of these here. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:the%20giver%20escape%20room

I hope you enjoyed this mother/son bookclub idea!

And for more great ideas, don’t forget to check out the mother/son bookclub for The Crossover, The Seventh Most Important Thing, or some of my mother/daughter bookclubs like the one for Inside Out or Anne of Green Gables.

Mother/Son Bookclub: The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

Book Review:

After Arthur throws a brick at a junk man, he is sentenced to 120 hours of community service helping the junk man. The junk man asks Arthur to walk around the city collecting the 7 most important things. At first, Arthur doesn’t understand what he’s doing, but in time, he learns there is much more to the junk man than he originally believed. This is a beautiful book about redemption, faith, and what’s important in life. My boys and I all loved it.

Discussion Questions:

(taken from https://www.readbrightly.com/family-book-club-the-seventh-most-important-thing/)

1. Why does the Junk Man believe getting hit by the brick was an act of God?

2. What is the difference between retribution and rehabilitation? Which do you think is a better punishment?

3. What other characters besides Mr. Hampton make a difference in Arthur’s life? How?

4. Hampton took broken things in Guam after his first vision to create something beautiful from them. How is this a bigger life lesson?

5. What are the Seven Most Important Things? Do you remember when each one appears in Arthur’s life? What is happening in his life that makes those items important?

6. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” is Mr. Hampton’s favorite Bible verse (Proverbs 29:18), and he shares it with everyone. What do you think it means?

7. Why does Mr. Hampton call his cart a chariot and people saints?

8. Arthur thinks Mr. Hampton is the reason he helps Squeak, something the “old” Arthur wouldn’t have done. Do you agree that Arthur changes throughout the story because of Mr. Hampton? How so?

9. Hampton says that hell is easy to create but creating heaven takes a lifetime. What does he mean? Do you agree with the museum people that the throne–and heaven–reflect us?

10. Do you believe in Heaven? If so, what do you think it looks like?

Food Ideas:

We ate caramel popcorn, Good & Plenties, tinfoil wrapped cookies, and orange soda.

Activity:

We created an art project where the boys wrapped yarn around a piece of cardboard in various designs. Then they wrapped the whole thing with tinfoil and colored the various sections made by the yarn with different color sharpies. The final product had a stained glass window look and turned out beautifully!

And for more great ideas, don’t forget to check out the mother/son bookclub for The Crossover by Kwame Alexander or some of my mother/daughter bookclubs, like the one for Inside Out or Anne of Green Gables.

Parent/Child Book Club Planning Sheet

As you may know, I love mother/daughter or mother/son book clubs, and I can’t say enough good about them. You can find many of my old posts about parent/child book clubs here. Parent/child book clubs get kids excited not only about reading, but about reading books they wouldn’t normally read. Plus, there’s the whole “book club” element! There’s something fun about reading the same book as your friends and talking about it. It also provides one more connection you can make with your child, which is always a win.

So I thought it might be helpful to create a planning sheet for those of you who would like to host your own parent/child book club.  

First, pick a date and time that works for everyone. If you don’t want to meet at your house, you could meet at a local park or even the library, where you can often reserve private rooms.

Then pick the book. I often choose Newbery winners, just because they have already been vetted and are usually deep enough to warrant a discussion.

While food is optional, it sure is fun to have themed food – something characters ate in the book or something that goes along with a theme in the book.

Then plan an activity! For me, this is always the fun part. I’ve done art projects, something active, or something the characters in the book do – anything to make the book come alive for your kids.

Lastly, come up with your own discussion questions or find some online. The best questions are the ones without specific answers, those that make the kids think and discuss.

So here’s a planning sheet, and I hope it helps! If you host a parent/child book club, tell me! I’d love to hear all about it!