The Journey of Little Charlie
By: Christopher Paul Curtis
Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died and Cap'n Buck -- the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina -- has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap'n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap'n and his boss. It's not too bad of a bargain for Charlie... until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move -- and soon. It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Buck catches on.
1. Charlie has to help out Cap'n Buck to repay a debt for his father, who has died. He doesn't know that he'll be going to Canada to capture an escaped slave. Find out about the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Why didn't this law matter to Cap'n Buck? Why did he think he could go into Canada and capture Syl? Do you think it was right that the group in Catham attacked Cap'n Buck and Little Charlie? Would you participate in something like this? Draw a picture of what you think the whole event looked like and then write a caption telling us what your thoughts are.
2. Sometimes it is hard to read the book because of the way Little Charlie talks. He was born just outside of Possum Moan, South Carolina during the 1840's. How was life different then and there? Even though Little Charlie wasn't African-American, Cap'n Buck treated him similar to a slave. He even commented to Charlie that it wasn't fair Syl had a proper education and Charlie didn't. Do you think the Bobo's thought much of education? How much schooling do you think Charlie had, or did he have any? Draw a Venn Diagram that has Charlie on one side and you on the other. Think of three ways you are different from him, three ways he is different from you, then three ways you are the same in the overlapping circle. Do you think you would have wanted to live the life Charlie lived?
3. Chester and Eloise Demarest were willing to die to keep their boy, Sylvanus (Syl), free and in Canada. They felt they were lucky to have the nine and a half free years, along with the birth of their twin girls. With Charlie on their side, Sylvanus and the Demarest family don't have to return to South Carolina. Think beyond the book. What do you think happens to Syl and his family, or what do you think happens to Little Charlie? Choose one or the other and write a new chapter to end the book.
By: Christopher Paul Curtis
Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His sharecropper father just died and Cap'n Buck -- the most fearsome man in Possum Moan, South Carolina -- has come to collect a debt. Fearing for his life, Charlie strikes a deal with Cap'n Buck and agrees to track down some folks accused of stealing from the cap'n and his boss. It's not too bad of a bargain for Charlie... until he comes face-to-face with the fugitives and discovers their true identities. Torn between his guilty conscience and his survival instinct, Charlie needs to figure out his next move -- and soon. It's only a matter of time before Cap'n Buck catches on.
1. Charlie has to help out Cap'n Buck to repay a debt for his father, who has died. He doesn't know that he'll be going to Canada to capture an escaped slave. Find out about the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Why didn't this law matter to Cap'n Buck? Why did he think he could go into Canada and capture Syl? Do you think it was right that the group in Catham attacked Cap'n Buck and Little Charlie? Would you participate in something like this? Draw a picture of what you think the whole event looked like and then write a caption telling us what your thoughts are.
2. Sometimes it is hard to read the book because of the way Little Charlie talks. He was born just outside of Possum Moan, South Carolina during the 1840's. How was life different then and there? Even though Little Charlie wasn't African-American, Cap'n Buck treated him similar to a slave. He even commented to Charlie that it wasn't fair Syl had a proper education and Charlie didn't. Do you think the Bobo's thought much of education? How much schooling do you think Charlie had, or did he have any? Draw a Venn Diagram that has Charlie on one side and you on the other. Think of three ways you are different from him, three ways he is different from you, then three ways you are the same in the overlapping circle. Do you think you would have wanted to live the life Charlie lived?
3. Chester and Eloise Demarest were willing to die to keep their boy, Sylvanus (Syl), free and in Canada. They felt they were lucky to have the nine and a half free years, along with the birth of their twin girls. With Charlie on their side, Sylvanus and the Demarest family don't have to return to South Carolina. Think beyond the book. What do you think happens to Syl and his family, or what do you think happens to Little Charlie? Choose one or the other and write a new chapter to end the book.