Reading Group Guide

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About the Book

Leo lives with his large Italian family; their lives are filled with all the drama and chaos six people can generate. One in a crowd of many, Leo and his brothers and sister constantly vie for the attention of their parents by participating in events at school—Pietro plays football, Contento plays soccer, Nunzio sings, and Leo acts in the school play. When Leo’s parents are pulled in countless different directions, Leo feels like a sardine squashed in a can.

Left to his own amusement, Leo finds a box in the attic filled with his father’s old memorabilia and begins to read a journal his papa wrote, discovering information about his dad that he never knew before. Tempers flare when Leo questions his father and his grandmother about events and people from their past. Uncertainties at home become intertwined with school when Leo is cast as the old crone in the school play and his best friend is cast as a donkey. Together they share an appreciation of each other’s dreams and fears about life. Leo, seeking his own place in this world, finally gains a realization of what it is to grow up and make choices that will effect not only his life but the lives of those who love him.

Discussion Questions

1. Leo has been given many nicknames, Sardine, Fog Boy, Dreamer. How do these nicknames affect Leo’s self-esteem? Why does Dreamer have a more positive connotation than Fog Boy? How can being a dreamer be a desirable character trait?

2. When Leo discovers the box in the attic containing his father’s old keepsakes, he tries on the tap shoes and begins to dance. Why is his father so angry at him for delving into the box? What other way could Leo have handled his desire to read his father’s journal?

3. Mr. Beeber asks students in his class to imagine a brother or sister when the sibling was young. Then he asks students to compare the imagined view to an understanding of who that person is today, and then describe any connections they see. What clues does Mr. Beeber give the class about what he was like when he was younger? What connections are there between the young Mr. Beeber and the old? What were you like when you were younger? How have you changed?

4. As Leo reads his father’s autobiography, he realizes that his father used to be happy swimming, fishing, and tap dancing. What is Leo’s reaction to this realization? Why is it so difficult for Leo to think about his father no longer being happy?

5. Leo has a vivid imagination—envisioning that he is a great writer, a talented actor, and a famous tap dancer, just to name a few. Why does he need to pretend to be important? How do his imaginings express his hopes and dreams of the future? How does he use them as a way of escape?

6. Leo asks Ruby, “[I]n the play, if we improvise all over the place, then it won’t be the real play, will it? It’ll be a mess.” Ruby replies, “Sort of like life, you mean?” (p. 42) Why does Ruby feel that life is a mess? Does Leo agree with her? Why or why not?

7. When Leo tries to write about his papa as a young boy, he has a difficult time until he begins to read Papa’s autobiography. Then Leo realizes that his father never shared his feelings about what happened to him, only the facts. Why is this so frustrating for Leo? How does Leo try to find out more about his father’s life? How did the heart attack affect his father’s life?

8. Leo asks, “[I]f you [adults] have all that freedom to do whatever you want, then why isn’t everyone a brilliant scientist or a rock star or a millionaire or a beach bum?” (p. 85) How would you respond to Leo’s question?

9. When Leo’s papa watches him tell Nunzio the story of What We Did Today, his father says, “Leo, you make gold from pebbles” (p.83). In what other ways does Leo make gold from pebbles? How does his ability to do this effect those around him?

10. After Leo reads his father’s goals, he attempts to write some of his own to model his father’s. What does Leo learn from writing his goals? How does this lesson help him understand his father better? Why does Leo think that being a father is such an important goal?

11. The author employs repetition with the big family dinners and the family’s departure for the child’s school performance; each time Leo imagines himself with a different career. What point is the author trying to make? How does this technique effectively make her point?

12. When Leo’s grandmother finally tells him about Rosaria, Leo learns more about who his father was when he was younger. What did Leo learn about Papa and the family he grew up in? How did his new knowledge give him a better understanding of the life his father chose to live?

13. The author tells a story within a story. What parallels exist between the story of Rumpopo and the children and Leo’s life?

14. The tap shoes are used throughout the story as a symbol. What do they symbolize? How are they an important element in Leo’s life?

15. How does the title of the book, , relate to the story?

About the Author

Sharon Creech is the author of the winner and the Newbery Honor winner The Wanderer. Her other works include the novels , , , , , Pleasing the Ghost, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, and and three picture books, A Fine, Fine School, Fishing in the Air, and Who’s That Boy. After spending eighteen years teaching and writing in Europe, Sharon Creech and her husband have returned to the United States to live.

Praise for Sharon Creech:

Heartbeat

“A tenderhearted story told in spare, free-verse poems. . . . This is vintage Creech, and its richness lies in its sheer simplicity.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

The Wanderer

“A beautifully written and imaginatively constructed novel that speaks to the power of survival and the delicacy of grief.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

Replay By Sharon Creech Tr 0-06-054019-2 • $15.99 ($21.99) Lb 0-06-054020-6 • $16.89 ($22.89) CD 0-06-082074-8 • $17.95 ($23.95)

Also by Sharon Creech:

Absolutely Normal Chaos

Bloomability

Chasing Redbird

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

Heartbeat

Love That Dog

Pleasing the Ghost

Ruby Holler

Walk Two Moons NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER

The Wanderer NEWBERY HONOR BOOK

Joanna Cotler Books An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers www.harperchildrens.com www.sharoncreech.com

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Teaching ideas prepared by Susan Geye, library media specialist, Crowley Ninth Grade Campus, Ft. Worth, Texas.

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Guide ISBN: 0-06-083248-7 Printed: September 2005