Note: Reviewers place Eddie’s War in varying age ranges, from 8–10 to young adult and teen. However, the sensitive (though wholesome) content and World War II themes will more likely hold the interest of older readers, including adults. Teachers and librarians are the best judges of the book’s appropriateness for their students. Estimated Lexile measure: 660L. Word count 25,813. Suggested Common Core correlates appear at the end of each question or writing prompt.
Discussion Questions: The Story
1. When do we first meet Grandpa Rob in the story? How much can you learn about him in this very short chapter? RL.6.1, RL.6.5
2. Do you find it believable that Curtis Ray and Eddie would laugh and chase each other with the comic book on the day of Curtis Ray’s mother’s funeral? Why or why not? RL.6.1
3. Read “Spoon River” and “The Date” and compare the two times Eddie walks the Spoon. What has changed for Eddie the second time? RL.6.1, RL.6.3, RL.6.5
4. In “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” why does Eddie’s dad say that it’s best not to get involved when the girl loses her money? How do you think Eddie feels? RL.6.1
5. In “The Question,” Eddie’s dad says that he moved off his own father’s farm because they have their “differences.” What do you think Wyn is talking about? RL.6.1, RL.6.4
6. In “Chanute Field,” Eddie helps Thomas feel better about being assigned to a bomber. How do the brothers help each other in other parts of the story? How many years older than Eddie is Thomas? How do you think this affects their relationship? RL.6.3, RL.6.5
7. The story never explains why Jozef left his wife and baby son in Poland. Did you imagine a reason? Think of some possible explanations of how Jozef came to Ellisville. RL.6.1
8. In “Sparrows,” why does Eddie sit waiting at the end? What symbolism is at work in this chapter? RL.6.1
9. Read “The Tin” and “Aunt Callista” and think about the two times Eddie finds the tin of money in Grama’s pantry and how he acts each time. What does the difference in his actions show? Think of ways in which a writer can show how a character changes over time. RL.6.3, RL.6.5, RL.6.6
10. In “The Fire,” Grandpa Rob shows leadership and bravery. What do you think his neighbors think of him? Do you think he’s a bad person? RL.6.1
11. Read “The Tree Fort” and think about Gabe, Curtis Ray, and Thomas. Compare what happens in this chapter with what happens later to each boy in the war. Discuss how writers use foreshadowing in a book. RL.6.3, RL.6.5
12. Why do you think Grama saved all the money but never spent it? RL.6.1
Discussion Questions: The History
1. The Hindenburg was a huge aircraft that could carry 72 passengers (plus crew) across the ocean. Although it looked something like a blimp, it featured a dining room, lounge, and smoking room(!) in addition to sleeping cabins. One reason the Hindenburg burned so quickly and disastrously was that its gas bags were filled with flammable hydrogen gas. Find out why the builders of the airship used hydrogen instead of nonflammable helium. W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, WHST.6-8.2
2. In “Mom’s Story,” May says that when she was a girl, many families had lost babies “this way, somehow it just not wanting to stay in this world.” What do you think she meant? What were some common reasons a baby might die in 1922? What about today? Find out whether the infant mortality rate in the United States is higher or lower now. RI.6.1, W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.8
3. Eddie reads about the invasion of Warsaw on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper and gets other news from the radio. If you wanted to look at copies of the newspapers Eddie reads in the book, how would you do that? Talk about the preservation of information and how it is changing. Which format is most likely to last the longest: actual copies of newspapers, photocopies of newspapers, or digital scans of newspapers? What are the advantages of each format? RI.6.8, W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.1
4. In September 1939, Adolf Hitler’s Germany invaded Warsaw, Poland. What was Hitler trying to do? How did other countries (Britain and France) react to the invasion? W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.8
5. Although the Roma (also known as Romani; called Gypsies by the characters in the novel) are known for wandering with all their possessions and never settling down, some Polish mountain Roma lived in villages and did not travel. What did Hitler and the Nazis have against the Roma and the Jews? Discuss the hatred of other races and religions. Give examples from history and from today. RI.6.8, W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.8
6. Eddie’s house does not have electricity. How then can he listen to the radio? Read about the history of the radio. W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.3, WHST.6-8.2
7. Several times in the book we hear about “rationing” (sugar, tires, shoes). What was the point of rationing during World War II, and how did the system work? Did everyone receive the same amount of a rationed item? Were some groups of people given special treatment? Was this fair? Why? RI.6.1, W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.8
8. In “The Gophers,” the men put glass in the ground to block the gopher tunnels. Do you think this is likely to work? Some other popular remedies for gophers are to feed them chewing gum, chocolate laxatives, or human hair, none of which is said to actually work. How did crazy theories spread in the days before the Internet? What are some ways to find out whether a remedy is likely to work before you try it? RI.6.1, RI.6.8, W.6.1, W.6.2, W.6.7, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.7
Links for Further Study
The Hindenburg crash (The Airship Heritage Trust website)
History of radio (Federal Communications Commission)
Leading causes of infant death, 2005 (Centers for Disease Control)
BBC News, “On This Day,” September 1, 1939
Persecution of Roma (called Gypsies in the novel) in Prewar Germany, 1933–1939 (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum)
WWII rationing (Ames Historical Society, rationed items, photos of ration books, more links)
WWII timeline (Ohio State University eHistory)
Getting rid of gophers (This Old House)
“Books about War and Refugee Children,” by Nancy Bo Flood, PhD, and J. L. Powers, MA, MFA
