The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

Supply list:
Pennies
Bag of Balloons- prepare the balloons before book club by placing a penny inside each balloon an blow it up.
Rolled up clean socks (enough for each boy to have 2-3)
Baked Potatoes with toppings
OPENING ENERGY ACTIVITY:
Juggling Practice:
While waiting for all the boys to arrive have a bunch of rolled up socks ready for boys to practice “juggling”. Ask them what they would do to earn money if they lived during the time of Jemmy and Prince Brat.

Rat Catching
When all the boys have arrived- explain that they have 30 seconds to “catch” as many “rats” as they can. (Really, they get a balloon & pop it and keep the penny. ) Let the boys run and chase & hopefully get the wiggles out!


Captain Nips Potato Bar
Baked potatoes ( enough for each member of book club)
Provide toppings:
Shredded cheese
Steamed broccoli
Butter
Salt & Pepper
Sour Cream
Chili
Let the boys top their own baked potatoes to their fancy!

Book & Movie group- Buy or rent The Whipping Boy.
BEFORE you assign the book, invite the boys over to introduce the book and “wet their interest”… show the first ---- minutes of the movie. This preview- will help the boys envision the time period, the customs & costumes, the manner of speaking and basic plot of the book.
Also introduce some vocabulary words that they will encounter.
Then- on your official book club night, let the boys watch the full movie and compare and contrast the book with the video. Boys are eager to point out , “Hey that’s not how it happened!“ or “ Why did they skip that part from the book?” After the movie ask: Did you like the book better or the movie? Were they exactly the same? Why do you think they change parts?

Vocabulary Match game.
CONVERSATION STARTERS:
What was your favorite part of the book?
What did you think of Prince Brat’s life? Would you want to be a Prince?
Why didn’t the bag guys think the Prince was the REAL prince?
Who was your favorite character?

Did you enjoy the book?
If not- what would have made it better?