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• Rico hit a low, where he wants to escape his family, school, and street life in Harlem. He asks Jimmy to show him how to use heroin. How does this become a turning point in their lives?
• Exploring the bonds that bind a family is a major theme in this story. What are some of the main challenges Rico and his family face living in Harlem? What torments Rico as he leaves New York? How does he relate to his family while he is in Wisconsin? How does the “family” in the farmhouse affect Rico and Jimmy?
• Arriving in Wisconsin feels like a dream to Rico and Jimmy. Describe some of their adjustments and differences. How does Rico’s feelings of being an “outsider” continue?
• How do Jimmy and Rico feel when they complete the Dark Dude comic book and submit it to DC Comics? What does this show us about Rico? Discuss the outcome of the submittal and the letter from DC Comics. Were you surprised?
• What makes people who they are? Is it how they look? Their language? Their ethnic heritage? Where they grow up? Discuss the elements of the book that support your answers.

Extension Activities

• Rico and Jimmy create a comic book series with their superhero, the Dark Dude. Try creating a comic book. Create a superhero that reflects characteristics you would like to embody. Write or illustrate it yourself, or get a partner.
• Regional language is a distillation that reflects ethnicity, culture, and class. The language of Harlem included “jive,” “lame,” and “dark dude.” In the book, Wisconsin’s language includes “outhouse,” “hankering,” and “neat.” Make a list of New York City words and Wisconsin words from the book. What do these words reflect about the cultures and ethnicities they come from? Make your own list comparing your region and an area you’ve visited or read about.
• Search for pictures of Harlem and Wisconsin farmland in the late 1960s. Try creating a photo collage that reflects the two very different environments. Then make a list of similarities and differences. How strange would it be to move from one to the other for you? How might it change you?

• Ani is stripped of her rightful crown by her mother, and forced into poverty and virtual slave labor by those who are hired to protect and care for her. While traumatic and dramatic, in the end these life changes prove to be good for Ani. How so? What does she learn about herself? What does she learn from those who befriend her along her journey? How would things have been different between Geric and Ani had she not gone through these trials?
• Discuss Ani’s relationship with her mother. Do you think the queen truly loves her daughter if she is able to deny her daughter’s birthright? Do you believe her mother’s actions are a betrayal? A political move? A move to protect her daughter? A selfish act? What makes you believe this? How would you feel if your mother denied you something you felt entitled to?
• What do you think Ani’s mother, brother, and sisters would say if they learned how she saved their kingdom from annihilation? Do you think they would regret how they treated her? What would Ani’s aunt say? Whose approval do you think would be most important to Ani? Why?
• On cold evenings Ani joins the other animal workers and roasts nuts by the fire and learns to play games. For the first time in her life, Ani must learn to build friendships with people who are not paid to be her companions. What skills does she develop? How does she turn these strangers, especially Enna, into such dear friends that they are willing to endanger their lives for her?
• Although Ani has the gift of animal-speaking, she is forced to hide it from others. How would her life have been different had this been a valued gift in her own kingdom? Have you ever known someone who has hidden his or her talents? Would you feel comfortable exhibiting yours at all times?
• Fairy tales often share common characteristics-the use of the number three, magical elements, transformations, misleading appearances, and the conquest of good over evil. Additionally, the hero or heroine is often infallible. Which elements did Shannon Hale decide to incorporate into The Goose Girl? Which ones did she omit? Why do you think so?
• Discuss this quote from the author: “Tales are fascinating things. They seem to me to be the poetry of history-all the superfluous bits are worn down, tossed away, leaving only the sharpest images, the strongest words, the barest stories. But those stories survive. To do so, I believe they must hold some real human truth. They speak to each reader in a different way, and yet appeal universally to readers and storytellers over decades and centuries.” Do you agree with the author? What do you think she means by the phrase “real human truth”? How is this shown throughout the novel?

• During the course of the novel, Henry travels two “odysseys”- one is his physical escape and the other is a journey of personal discovery. How are the two odysseys linked? What does he discover about mankind and himself along the way? How does he change?
• Henry’s father, Clayton, is a harsh, never-ending voice in Henry’s mind. How does this help Henry and how does it hurt him? Why do you think Clayton is the way he is? In the end, Henry realizes that his father had done the “wrong things for the right reasons.” What does he mean by that?
• Sometimes characters personify a theme or idea. What could Pierre symbolize? What could Billy or Madame Gaulloise represent?
• To help a flier escape, the Resistance often needed many people to play-act a variety of roles in a sequence of carefully planned events. These exchanges had to happen quickly and fluidly. In chapter eight, Henry is rescued by a series of strangers. Who are they and what roles do they perform? How do you think Henry felt when he realizes, “He’d been handled, just like a hot potato. He was a package no one wanted to be caught holding.”
• To survive, American fliers had to put their lives into the hands of complete strangers, many of whom spoke no English. Recall a time when you had to count on strangers to help you or your family.
• Why do you think the old German soldier releases Henry?
• Henry has to leave behind those who have helped him, not knowing their fate. What do you think happens to Madame Gaulloise? To Pierre? To Claudette? Outline your own sequel.

Extension Activities

• Henry travels hundreds of miles on foot to escape capture by Nazi troops. Using a map of France, trace his route from the scene of his bailing out to his final rescue.
• Imagine that you have been asked to write a description with some commentary for the back cover. Create one paragraph that tells the reader what the story is about and gives him/her a reason to read it. Share your writing with friends, and talk about the book with them.