Parent-Child Book Discussion
Grades 3-5
June 2011
Snack ideas: Pompadums, rice pudding, orange soda, milk (if you dare!)
1. Thumbs up/down and general reactions to book.
2. Have you ever had to move before? What did you like/dislike about moving?
3. Have you ever met anyone who moved here from another country? What was that like for them?
4. What did Lowji think America would be like? (Would have horses, cowboys and wide-open plains). Why did he think that? Think about the perceptions you have of other countries… what do you think it would be like to move to France? To Japan? To Sudan? To Mexico? To India?
5. How is shopping in America different than shopping in India? (everything in one place, the escalators/auto doors work, no haggling, use rupies instead of dollars).
6. What is Mrs Crisp like? Why do you think the author chose to name her this?
Crisp means brisk; sharp; clear; short with words; decided
7. What does the expression, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” mean? (sometimes things are not as they seem). Which characters were different than what you first thought of them? Why? (Ironman not big and tough; Mrs Crisp a softy).
8. What would you do if you saw a pet in someone’s hot car or an animal outside a store that was hot/tired?
9. Lowji says he’s out of practice making friends. Are there some things he might have done differently to meet people sooner?
10. Mrs Crisp is against getting pets? Which animals does Lowji convince her to get and why? (cat—catch mice; dog—burglar alarm; goats—lawnmower). How does this plan work out?
11. Which musician did Lowji never hear about? Have you heard music by them? What other musicians do you think everyone has heard of? (Beatles, Madonna, Kenny Loggins…)
12. Lowji’s best friend Jamshed tells him to look for silver linings in his move. What silver linings does Lowji find? (shorter school year, big store with everything, ironman/blossom, girl with bike and burp boys, pets from Mrs Crisp, etc)
Life in Mumbai:
Slide show from About.com: http://goindia.about.com/od/cities/ss/life-in-mumbai.htm
Book: Global Cities Mumbai by Jen Green.
Book: I Come From India by Valerie Weber is a PERFECT non-fiction tie-in
Puns and Idioms:
Try your hand (hahaha) at Idioms http://www.funbrain.com/idioms/ with this game from FunBrain
Punny Jokes from Buzzle.com http://www.buzzle.com/articles/puns-for-kids.html
The Laugh Stand: Adventures in Humor by Brian Cleary has some fun puns.
There’s a Frog in My Throat by Loreen Leedy has animal idioms
In a Pickle and Other Funny Idioms by Marvin Terban has many examples of idioms
Other ideas for discussion:
Discussion Guide: http://www.candacefleming.com/pdf/CGLowji.pdf
Simon and Shuster: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Lowji-Discovers-America/Candace-Fleming/9781439107843/reading_group_guide
1 comment:
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