By: Jane Yolen “Suzy and Leah”

1. HOW DO SUZY AND LEAH LOOK THE SAME?

About the same age Hair in pigtails/braids Carrying their possessions

HOW DO THESE GIRLS LOOK DIFFERENT?

SUZY Smiling Neatly dressed New clothes LEAH Worried Old clothes Clutching her possessions with concern

2. WHAT DID SUZY OFFER TO THE CHILDREN THROUGH THE FENCE?

‘Sweets’ [Candy] Oranges

3. WHAT PURPOSE MIGHT THE AUTHOR HAVE HAD FOR INCLUDING THE DETAILS ABOUT SUZY LAUGHING AT THE REFUGEES AND WONDERING IF THEY HAVE ‘BUGS’?

Show how insensitive some Americans could be to the refugees Show how the refugees were treated as objects

4. WHAT MIGHT THE AUTHOR’S PURPOSE BE FOR HAVING LEAH ADDRESS HER DIARY ENTRIES TO HER MOTHER?

Remind the reader that Leah is an orphan Sympathize with Leah’s feelings of fear and loneliness

5. WHAT PURPOSE MIGHT THE AUTHOR HAVE FOR INCLUDING DETAILS ABOUT LEAH’S LIFE BEFORE THE WAR?

Wanted the reader to see Leah as a ‘real’ person Wanted the reader to realize how much Leah’s life had changed

6. EXPLAIN WHAT LEAH MEANS BY “THERE IS BARBED WIRE STILL BETWEEN US AND THE WORLD”?

She feels isolated and disconnected from the world because she lost her mother, her home, and her former life.

7. WHAT DOES ‘BARBED WIRE’ SYMBOLIZE IN THIS STORY AND WHY DOES LEAH SAY THIS?

Symbolizes the barrier Leah feels between herself and the world around her

8. DOES THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE ON PAGE 116 OF YOUR BOOK LOOK LIKE ONE OF THE CHILDREN SUZY DESCRIBES? EXPLAIN.

Yes. She looks worried and a bit lost. Her clothes could be the hand-me-downs from the Americans that Suzy describes

9. WHAT HAPPENED TO LEAH’S MOTHER?

She was killed in a German Concentration Camp

10. HOW DID LEAH’S FORMER HOME ON THE FARM CHANGE DURING THE WAR?

The sky above Leah’s farm changed from blue [like her mother’s eyes] to dark and smokey Many homes were ramsacked and burned during the Holocaust

11. HOW DID THIS CHANGE IN SETTING REFLECT WHAT HAPPENED TO LEAH DURING THE WAR?

Leah’s home changed from being a safe place [like her mother’s eyes] to a dark and dangerous place

12. LIST SOME OF THE DETAILS THAT SUZY FOCUSES ON ABOUT LEAH.

One without a name tag One in her pinafore “prickly as a porcupine” “Miss Porcupine”

13. SUM UP SUZY’S FEELINGS TOWARD LEAH AT THIS POINT.

Suzy dislikes Leah. She thinks Leah is overly sensitive and rude.

14. WHAT PURPOSE MIGHT THE AUTHOR HAVE FOR DESCRIBING LEAH FROM SUZY’S POINT OF VIEW?

See Leah from the ‘outside’, or to see the refugee children the way American children saw them Know how deeply the refugees were misunderstood

15. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT A REFUGEE CAMP?

Eat meals in a group Food not high quality Refugees might not be very clean or well-dressed Refugees do not have many possessions

16. WHAT DO SUZY AND LEAH THINK OF EACH OTHER?

Girls dislike each other. Suzy thinks Leah is too serious and sensitive Leah thinks Suzy is too silly and carefree

17. WHAT TRUTH DOES THE AUTHOR REVEAL ABOUT LEAH AND AVI?

Leah is hiding food for Avi because he is growing and hungry.

18. WHAT HISTORICAL INFORMATION DOES THE AUTHOR SUGGEST AT THE SAME TIME?

Leah knows the food is not ‘kosher’ but hides this fact to make sure Avi eats Jewish children went hungry and broke their religious laws because of their hunger

19. WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY FOR SUZY TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH OF LEAH’S AND AVI’S EXPERIENCE?

The Jewish children could tell her about their experiences.

20. HOW DOES BEING IN SUZY’S HOME AFFECT LEAH?

Meeting Suzy’s mother reminds Leah of the last time she saw her own mother and brother at the concentration camp. What is supposed to be pleasant for Leah is painful.

21. WHAT DOES LEAH DO WITH HER FOOD AT LUNCHTIME?

She puts the food in a napkin to take to Avi.

22. HOW DOES LEAH REACT TO THE SETTING?

She decides to ‘steel her heart’ against Suzy’s mom because she is afraid that if she loves her, she will forget her own mother.

IS HER REACTION LOGICAL OR UNDERSTANDABLE?

Makes sense considering the pain and suffering that Leah has gone through

23. SUMMARIZE THE PASSAGE ABOVE IN ONE SENTENCE.

In the diary entry dated October 11, 1944, Suzy describes how she feels when Leah has to go to the hospital.

24. INFER WHY LEAH MIGHT NOT HAVE TOLD ANYONE ABOUT HER PAIN IMMEDIATELY.

24. INFER WHY LEAH MIGHT NOT HAVE TOLD ANYONE ABOUT HER PAIN IMMEDIATELY.

Leah does not trust people in her new surroundings She may be terrified of being taken away from the group because when people were separated by the Nazis, they disappeared.

25. WHAT FACTS ABOUT WWII DOES THE AUTHOR TEACH?

During WWII the Nazis imprisoned and killed men, women, and children in concentration camps. During this time, Jewish people had to wear yellow stars on their clothes.

26. WHY DO YOU THINK THE AUTHOR CHOSE TO STATE THESE FACTS SO PLAINLY?

To be sure that the readers understand the horror of what happened to millions of Jews

27. WHAT PURPOSE DOES THE AUTHOR ACHIEVE BY TELLING A STORY THROUGH YOUNG CHARACTERS?

Help the author show how the war destroyed people’s innocence Allows the author to end he story on a hopeful note, as Leah faces a new—and possibly— happy life

Note: Social & Political events during the time of the story drive the main characters’ actions and explain their different perspectives.

Leah’s Diary Entry Sept. 14 Destruction of Leah’s home and death of her mom = Leah is sad and fearful Suffering shapes Leah’s character

Suzy’s Diary Entry Sept. 14 Ignorance of other’s suffering = Suzy’s silly and carefree Innocence shapes Suzy’s character

The End.