If you had been on the
porch with Noah & Ella and the twins at the beginning of the story, whose
side would you have taken in Noah’s Big Question? Should the twins have
out-voted their parents, or were John and Letty "fair" to legislate the
twins' future?
While the concept of a
place like Sunny Acres may be foreign to a generation not alive in earlier
decades, it is very real and believable to young Cory. Discuss the impact
of this "place on a nameless hill" on Cory's life.
As a young boy, Cory is
in search of a father/hero. Compare the similarities and contrast the
continuing roles Dexter Walton and Barry Malone play in Cory's life.
Do you blame R'Lou for
not speaking out earlier about Fayleen's deeds? What, in the twins'
relationship, makes R’Lou’s silence on what she perceives to be wrong either
understandable or acceptable? Do you think she should have told John and
Letty about Fayleen’s deceit?
Why do you think John
continues to be so adamant about Dexter Walton, right up until the phone
call from Mendocino? How do you balance this side of his personality with
his obvious love for Cory?
What stresses that affect
parent/child relationships are evident in these three relationships: Noah
and Ella, John and Letty, and Bib's parents—Ed and Lorene Johnson?
Even though we never meet
Joshua and Trudy (Cory's birth parents), speculate how different Cory's life
could have been had they been able to raise him?
What benefits do you see
for a child to have a person like Birdie (the Whipple's hired help) in his
or her life?
Knowing what John did
when Letty told him to "do the right thing," but also knowing what he left
undone, how do you feel about John as a father? As a husband? As a role
model for young Cory?
Do you think Fayleen’s
actions regarding Dexter had a direct bearing on Cory's decision at the end
of the book? Do you think Cory's decision would have been different if Noah
and Ella had raised him?
