The Heaven Shop? ● What Is the Name of Binti’S Radio Play? ● What Does the Name “Gogo” Mean? ● Who Are the People in Binti’S Real Family? What Are They Like?

2006 GOLDEN OAK BOOK CLUB™ SELECTIONS

Th e Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis

BOOK SUMMARY:

At her father’s funeral, Binti’s grandmother utters the words that no one in Malawi wants to hear. Binti’s father (and her mother before him) dies of AIDS. Binti, her sister, and brother are separated and sent to the home of relatives who can barely tolerate their presence. Binti, was once a child star of a popular radio program. Now she is scraping to survive.

Binti Phiri is not about to give up. Even as she clings to hope that her former life will be restored, she must face a greater challenge. If she and her brother and sister are to be reunited, Binti will have to look outside herself and ﬁ nd a new way to be special.

Th e Heaven Shop is a contemporary novel that puts a very real face on the African AIDS pandemic, which to-date has or- phaned more than 11 million African children. Inspired by a young radio performer the author met during her research visit to Malawi, Binti Phiri is a compelling character that readers will never forget. FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol11/no1/theheavenshop.html AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:

Deborah Ellis was born in Northern Ontario but grew up farther south in Paris, Ontario. Like many writers through history, she was a creative loner as a child, at odds with formal education in her youth, and an avid reader at all times. As an adult, Deborah has been occupied with many issues of interest to women such as peace, education, and equality in society – at home and abroad. She also travels when- ever she can, listening to people’s stories, especially those of children telling about their lives. Deborah’s books have earned her literary awards – including the Governor General’s Award in 2000 for Looking for X, the 2003 RuthRuth SSchwartzchwartz AAwardward and the 2004 Golden Oak AAwardward fforor Parvana’s Journey – and praise from readers everywhere. Deborah lives in Simcoe, Ontario. She is donating the royalties from Th e Heaven Shop to UNICEF. Th e Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis

SUGGESTIONS FOR TUTORS/INSTRUCTORS MaIawi vs. Canada

Consult “Tips & Tools For Successful Book Discussion” Malawi Canada for more ideas – linked to the Golden Oak home page and Population 12,158,924 32,805,041 included in the hard copy GO kit. Population rowth rate 2.06% 0.9% ● Th ere is an extensive Teacher’s Guide available on the Total area 118,480 sq km 9,984,670 sq km Allen and Unwin website. Climate Sub-tropical Temperate in the south; sub-arctic Allen & Unwin Teaching Resources: and arctic in the Th e Heaven Shop north http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/ Irrigated land 280 sq km 7,200 sq km heavenshop.tns.pdf Average age 16.3 years 38.5 years If you cannot open this URL go to: Life expectancy 36.9 years 80.1 years http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/resources.asp Fertility rate 5.9 children 1.6 children Scroll down to Heaven Shop and click. per woman per woman ● Deborah Ellis published a book of interviews with Number of people 900,000 56,000 African AIDS orphans. Each interview has a photo of with HIV or AIDS the child. You may want to look at the pictures as you Number of HIV or 84,000 1,500 read the Th e Heaven Shop and then read the interviews AIDS related deaths afterwards. It is very powerful hearing the children (in 2003) speak for themselves. ● Why is the average age in Malawi so much lower than in Our Stories, Our Songs: African children talk about AIDS Canada? by Deborah Ellis. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005. ● What impact would that have on the country? (e.g. lack of skilled workers, a lot of resources go into health care instead of other programs) PRE-READING QUESTIONS

● Use an atlas to ﬁ nd Malawi, Africa. ● VOCABULARY WORDS Look up Malawi in an encyclopedia ● Find picture books of Malawi in the children’s and travel sections at your local library. Bambo - father ● Read the following background information. chintje - a type of cloth, sometimes used for a skirt Background on Malawi, Africa Malawi is a country in southern Africa, near Zambia, Gogo - grandmother Tanzania and Mozambique. Th ere are 12 million people living in the Malawi, in an area of 118,000 nsima - an African porridge made out of corn meal square kilometres. Th at is approximately the size of Newfoundland. Th e slim - AIDS

In Malawi, only 40% of the people know how to read and DISCUSSION QUESTIONS write. More than 14% of the adult population is infected with HIV or AIDS. In Malawi, there are an estimated 500,000 (half a million) children who are orphans because Chapter 1 of AIDS. Th e average life expectancy is only 40 years old. ● What is the Heaven Shop? ● What is the name of Binti’s radio play? ● What does the name “Gogo” mean? ● Who are the people in Binti’s real family? What are they like?

Chapter 8 Chapter 2 ● How do the children plan to look after themselves? ● In what city does the story take place? What do you think of their plan? Why don’t their ● How would you describe Binti’s father? What does he relatives agree? look like? What do you learn about his personality? ● Why do some of the aunts and uncles refuse to take ● What are two things you learn in this chapter about Binti and her brother and sister? Binti’s sister, Junie? ● Junie receives a note from her boyfriend Noel. What does it say? Chapter 3 ● Why is Junie upset with her father? Chapter 9 ● What is your impression of the school that the Binti and ● Who do Junie and Binti live with after their father dies? Junie attend? What kind of school is it? ● Uncle Wysom says that Binti and Junie can prepare food ● Binti and her brother and sister go to private schools. for customers, but not for the family. Why? Do you think the family is rich? ● “You keep away from them,” Uncle Wysom told his ● What is the name of the club that puts on a play at children. “Th eir parents died of AIDS. For all we know school? What is the play about? these two have it, too. So keep your distance” (p. 85). ● At this point in the story how would you describe Binti’s Do you think Binti’s uncle has a point? What would personality? you do if you had to look after a child that might have AIDS? Would you do anything diff erently? Chapter 4 ● Can you guess what is wrong with Binti’s father? Chapter 10 ● Do you think Binti knows why her father is sick? ● What does Uncle Wysom do when “Gogo’s Family” ● What does Kwasi always put on the bottom of every comes on the radio? coffi n? Why? ● How does Binti’s aunt scold her when she gets in trouble with her cousin Mary? Chapter 5 ● Binti and Junie are both treated badly by their relatives, ● Why does Binti’s father have to leave the party? but they react very diff erently. Compare how they cope with their situation? What is the same? What is Chapter 6 diff erent? ● What happens when Binti and her father arrive at the hospital? Chapter 11 ● What test to they give Binti’s father? ● Where does Junie get the money she’s saving up? ● “He died on the fl oor, but he was surrounded by music ● What does Junie’s note to Binti say? and by people who loved him....Many are the kings ● How does Binti get to Mulanje? whose death was not as good” (p. 62). What do you ● Who does she meet there fi rst? think this statement means? Did Binti’s father die a ● What is Binti expecting her grandmother’s house to be good death? like?

Chapter 7 Chapter 12 ● Who builds a coﬃ n for Binti’s father? ● How do the other children react to Binti when she ● Who does Binti see at her father’s funeral? arrives at Gogo’s? ● “In the old days, when there were still lions around, if a ● How well doMelody and Binti get along? lion came into our village and carried away our young, ● What discovery does Binti make about the “cousins”? we did not keep silent! If we were silent, it would keep ● Why do you think Gogo gets upset with Binti for asking eating our children. We had to hang pots and yell, if Memory is a real cousin? ‘Th ere is a lion in the village!’ Th en we could get rid of the lion and save our children. Th ere is a lion in our Chapter 13 village now. It is called AIDS” (p. 70). What do think ● How does Binti’s new school compare to her old school? Gogo is trying to say? Why do you think people keep What are the diﬀ erences? quiet about AIDS? ● Binti and Memory meet other children who are part of “Th e Orphan Club.” How many children are in the group? ● What is the punishment for not going to school?

Chapter 14 Chapter 20 ● What secret had Memory been keeping from Binti? ● In what ways has Binti changed since the beginning of ● What is the name of Memory daughter? the story? ● How old is Memory? ● Do you think this story has a happy ending? Why or ● How did Memory get her name? why not?

Chapter 15 ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES ● What does Jeremiah agree to do in order to help Binti? ● Where is Kwasi when Jeremiah fi nds him? ● Why do you think AIDS has become such a big problem in Africa? “Babies who are HIV-positive don’t usually live long ● Are you aware of AIDS problems in Canada? in Malawi, although they do in countries that have ● What do you know about AIDS? the right drugs. But miracles happen. People, even ● Do you worry about AIDS? If so, what can you do in Malawi, can live for a long time with HIV if they about these worries? have a good diet and people who love them.” “What should I do?” Find out more information about AIDS in Africa by “You won’t catch it from living with them.” visiting the library or using the Internet. Check out the “No, I mean, what should I do…for them?” following sites: Jeremiah smiled. “Be their family, and let them be yours.” (p. 140). Deborah Ellis Biography http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/profi les/ellis.html ● Why does Jeremiah tell Binti to “be their family.”? What is the best way Binti can help Memory and Allen & Unwin Teaching Resources: Th e Heaven Shop Beauty? http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/ heavenshop.tns.pdf Chapter 16 if you cannot open this URL go to: ● Why is Kwasi in jail? http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/resources.asp ● What does Binti promise her brother before she leaves? Scroll down to Heaven Shop Do you think she will be able to keep her promise? Deborah Ellis Weblog Chapter 17 http://writerscafe.ca/weblogs/writers/Deborah_Ellis.php ● Do you think Binti is feeling diff erently about living at Gogo’s? Why or why not? Th e Stephen Lewis Foundation ● Who is Jeremiah in love with? How does Binti react? http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org ● At the end of the chapter a toddler dies. Why does he die? What do Binti and the children do? Th e World Fact Book http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ Chapter 18 ● How do the children decide what to buy with the money Aids and Africa they earn from building a coffi n? http://www.aidsandafrica.com/ ● What is the name of the coffi n business started by Binti and the others? Avert: HIV and AIDS in Africa ● What is the motto of the business? http://www.avert.org/aidsinafrica.htm ● When Gogo dies what does Binti fear? How has her grandmother protected her and the others? Project Profi le: Children’s Town http://www.globalfundforchildren.org/project_profi les/ Chapter 19 childrens_town.htm ● What roles do Binti, Kwasi and Memory have in the coffi n business? How do the smaller children help? ● Where is Junie living when Jeremiah fi nds her? ● Why is Junie ashamed to see her brother and sister? ● Binti says, “Junie got lost” (p.169). What does she mean?