Grades 4–7
A Guide to Teaching
Katherine Paterson’s
PREACHER’S BOY
READING SKILLS
AND STRATEGIES
• Recognize Point of View
• Sequence Events
• Identify Cause and Effect
• Identify Problems and Solutions
• Compare and Contrast
THEMES
• Family Relationships
• Personal Journey
• Turning Points
• Values and Decisions
It’s 1899, and everyone in Leonardstown, Vermont, is
worried that a new century may mean the world is coming
to an end. Robbie Hewitt, the preacher’s son, decides he’d
better have as much fun as he can in the time that’s left. He
doesn’t care that the townspeople are appalled by his
behavior, or that his antics endanger his father’s reputation
in the community. But when Robbie gets entangled in a
dangerous scheme that puts a man’s future—and his very
life—in jeopardy, he must decide whether to finally take
responsibility for his actions.
Through the eyes of the preacher’s boy, awardwinning author Katherine Paterson tells a dramatic tale of
acceptance and redemption in turn-of-the-century Vermont,
where everything, it seems, is on the brink of change.
SETTING THE SCENE
READING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES
reacher’s Boy is set in a small town in
Vermont in 1899. Have students locate
Vermont on a map of the United States,
and describe some of its geographic features. For
example, Vermont is part of New England, in the
northeastern United States. The Green Mountains
run through its center, and the name Vermont
actually means “green mountain” in French. The
state is bordered on the west by Lake Champlain
and on the east by the Connecticut River.
Vermont is rich in farmland and forests, and its
natural resources are marble and granite.
Recognize Point of View: The story is told in
first person, in the voice of Robbie, the
preacher’s boy. Ask: Are there any places where
Robbie’s point of view leads him to false
conclusions? How might the story be different if
it were told by Robbie’s father, or by Violet?
Have students choose a chapter and tell the same
story from another character’s perspective.
P
Ask students what they know about life in the
United States in 1899. They may recall that
William McKinley was serving his first term as
president, and that the previous year the United
States had been victorious in the SpanishAmerican War. As students will read, Robbie is
aware of world events, both through the fate of
the veterans from his town, and through what he
reads in the papers. He also sees the changing
world through new inventions, such as the
motorcar. If possible, have students read local
newspapers from 1899 to get a sense of what life
was like in their own community at the time.
Have them look at advertisements as well as
articles, and talk about what they reveal about
people’s concerns.
Point out that the story takes place at the turn
of the century—that is, the nineteenth to the
twentieth century. Students may recall the turn
of another century, one hundred years later. As
they read, have students note how the
approaching date affects the characters’ thoughts,
questions, and behaviors. How is this like and
unlike what they remember of the turn of the
twentieth to the twenty-first century?
Sequence Events/Identify Cause and
Effect: Robbie says the trouble started with
Mabel Cramm’s bloomers and grew from there.
Ask: How does one event lead to the next in this
story? Have students make a time line of Robbie’s
troubles. Their time line should show how one
action leads to the next, and how that action then
becomes the cause of a new action.
Identify Problems and Solutions: Invite
students to keep a four-column chart as they
read, identifying (1) problems Robbie faces, (2)
possible solutions he might pursue, (3) the
solution students would recommend under the
circumstances, and (4) the one Robbie chooses.
Compare and Contrast: Have students discuss
the different preaching styles of Reverend Pelham
and Robbie’s father. Then ask them to compare
and contrast a small town in 1899, and a small
town in 1999. Ask them to describe what the
same town might be like in 2099.
SHARING THE BOOK
Questions for Group Discussion
1 “...to a preacher his family always comes last.
First come the needy, then the parishioners,
and then the family. And amongst the family I
always felt that I got the short end” (page
30). Why does Robbie feel this way? Do you
think this is an accurate description of his
father’s priorities and of Robbie’s place in the
family? Why or why not?
2 Why does Robbie decide to become “a
convert to disbelief ” (page 22)? Do you
think he really stops believing in God? Cite
evidence to support your position.
3 “We have a lot to get away from, Willie and
me” (page 6). Describe the friendship
between Robbie and Willie. What does each
have to get away from? How do they get away?
4 What kind of a person is Robbie’s father?
How are some of his positions (for instance,
toward the Italian stonecutters or the theory
of evolution) different from the opinions of
others in the community? How do the
townspeople perceive him? How does
Robbie perceive him? Why do you think
Robbie is so upset when his father cries?
5 How does Robbie feel about his brother,
Elliot? Does this change over the course of
the novel? Does Elliot do anything that
surprises you?
6 What do you think of the Weston boys, Ned
and Tom? What role do they play in moving
the story forward? Why do you think the
taunt “Monkey sons! Monkey brothers!
Monkey papa! Monkey boys!” makes Robbie
so angry (page 101)? Do you think Robbie
really would have killed Ned Weston?
7 Describe the relationship between Zeb and
Violet. Why do you think Robbie is drawn
back to the cabin?
8 Robbie has to decide whether or not to
testify for Zeb. He reasons, “Hadn’t I nearly
died? Let the rascal hang, or rather, let him
rot in jail. He deserved it, the old drunk.
Vile would be better off if she never laid eyes
on him again” (page 154). Do you agree with
Robbie’s reasoning here? Why or why not?
What makes him decide, finally, to go to
Tyler to testify? Do you think he does the
right thing? Why or why not?
9 What makes Robbie stop “all pretense of
being an apeist” and sign on “as a true
believer for all eternity”? What is the
“personal miracle” Robbie believes God
works for him (page 172)? Do you think this
is why he believes again, or is there another
reason? Explain your response.
10 Robbie is furious with Violet. “She could
have had a swell life here in Leonardstown
with us, but she threw it away” (page 182).
Describe what Violet’s life is like with her
father after she leaves. Why do you think
she and her father choose this life? Is it
really a choice?
11 How do Robbie and his father celebrate the
new year? What are his father’s ideas and
wishes for the new century? Knowing what
you know about history, which have come
true and which didn’t?
ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
Social Studies
■ The year is 1899. Veterans in Robbie’s
community have fought in the Civil War and
the Spanish-American War (which Robbie
refers to without a name, as the sending of
troops to avenge the Maine). Assign groups to
research each war and explain to the class why
it was fought and how it was resolved.
■ Robbie was only nine during the SpanishAmerican War. He supposes there will never
be a war he can fight in. (Robbie is ten in 1899
and will be twenty-five in 1914, when World
War I begins.) Have students do research in the
library and on the Internet to make a list of the
wars in the twentieth century that the United
States fought in. Have them use the list to
create a time line.
■ “On Tuesday, June the twenty-seventh, 1899,
at three P.M. I saw a motorcar” (page 30).
Seeing his first automobile is a huge event in
Robbie’s life. Soon cars would change the
American landscape. Ask students to prepare a
report on early automobiles. Some students
can focus on the early technology, others on
early advertisements. Others can answer
questions such as, In what ways did the
automobile change society? What were some
positive and negative effects of the spread of
automobiles?
Science
■ “I believe that God created us, Robbie, but I’m
not wise enough to know just how he chose to
do it. I think Mr. Darwin’s theory merits study”
(page 29). Have students do research in the
library and on the Internet to learn more about
Charles Darwin’s theory. Have them use what
they learn to write a report explaining why the
preacher’s position is controversial in his
community.
Health
■ Violet excuses her father’s violence. “It’s the
booze, you know. He’s a good sort, really.
Don’t mean no harm” (page 135). Have
students prepare a report on alcoholism today.
Why do people become addicted to alcohol?
What are some effects of alcohol addiction?
What might family members be able to do if
someone they love has an addiction?
Language Arts
■ Robbie reads a lot, and books he has read play
important roles in his thinking. These books
include Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer by Mark
Twain, and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Students who love to read, as Robbie does, may
want to read these books and report on them to
the class. How might these books have influenced
the way Robbie views his own life?
■ “I pride myself on having the largest vocabulary
in Leonardstown school, on account of all the
reading I do” (page 41). Robbie does have a big
vocabulary, but sometimes he uses words
incorrectly. Ask students to find examples.
(Answers include “apeist” for “atheist” on page
41; “alteration” for “altercation” on page 41.)
Art
■ Students might look at paintings by Winslow
Homer (1836–1910) for scenes of rural life
in the late nineteenth century. Ask if they
see anything that reminds them of
Leonardstown as it’s described in the book.
Students can also paint or draw their own
ver sions of life in Leonardstown or of
favorite scenes from Preacher’s Boy.
About the Author: An Interview with Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson’s books include Preacher’s Boy, Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins,
and Jacob Have I Loved. The daughter of missionaries, she spent her early childhood in China.
Her life as a writer began in 1964, when she wrote some religious education materials for
children. Since that time her books for young readers have won numerous honors, including
two Newbery Awards and two National Book Awards. She lives in Barre, Vermont.
Q: How did the ideas for Preacher’s Boy evolve?
A: The reason I started was that the millennium was approaching.
Everyone was all nervous. They thought technology would bring the
world to an end. I started to wonder what it was like a hundred years
ago when the zeros turned. I went to the library in my hometown in
Vermont and started reading newspapers on microfiche. So many
things have not changed. Then, the half-fear and half-marvel of
technology was really at its height. The automobile had arrived, and
people were asking, what’s going to happen with this new creature
that will put horses out to pasture? Telephones and electricity, so
many things were new and in some ways frightening. I wanted to write
about a child in the thick of it.
Q: How did the character of Robbie develop?
A: I remembered a book I had read soon after I came to Vermont 14 years
ago and went back and reread it. It was the memoir of a boy in a
small Vermont town. But this boy was sensitive and caring and
wouldn’t make as nearly as nice a character as someone whose heroes
are Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn! The book did help though. I
didn’t have to research things like how the little green bugs on
raspberries tasted!
Q: Did you draw from your own childhood experience at all (as a
child of a minister)?
A: I joke that my father was a minister, my husband’s father was a
minister, my husband’s been a minister for 40 years, and we have four
children who are all children of ministers; and no, that has nothing to
do with the book. But it’s not entirely true. The scene where Robbie is
cutting up in a pew and realizes there’s dead silence—that happened
to me. I never dropped a spider down anyone’s shirt, but I was cutting
up, and suddenly my father was standing at the end of the pew. He
waited until I quieted down, then walked back up and finished the
sermon. He never mentioned it to me again. And I never cut up when
he was preaching again. That’s the only thing I drew from real life,
except maybe the attitudes, the unrealistic expectations of preacher’s
children. Although I don’t think our children ever felt that burden.
Q: The father is a wonderful character.
A: That was another reason I wrote the book. I was the chair of the
National Book Award for children’s literature in 1998. And I began
to yearn for a really good fictional father. There were so many books
with lousy, or really awful fathers. I thought, I had a good father; I’m
married to a man who’s a good father; my son’s a good father; I know
good fathers. I can write a book with a good father.
Q: What kind of responses to Preacher’s Boy have you had from
young readers?
A: To my delight, boys like it. I had a touching comment from a little
girl. She said, “I have a brother who’s autistic, so I understand how
Robbie feels.” She was talking about his ambivalent feelings toward
Elliot. I found this very moving. One thing surprised me. The word
“bloomers” is not in the current vocabulary, so it took students a while
to figure out what exactly was up the flagpole!
Q: Is there anything in particular you hope readers will take from
the story?
A: I always feel that’s the reader’s choice. I want to write as good a story
as I know how to write, and then the reader gets to choose what to
take from it. We all take different things because we all bring different
things. We’re ready for different things. That’s why I get nervous when
teachers tell students what the moral of the story is. That might be it
for them, but not for the 22 people they’re talking to.
Q: How do you advise students who want to write?
A: I say read. Reading as widely as possible is what teaches you how to
use language and what makes a story work. Also write. You see how
hard it is to put on paper what’s in your head. I’ve been taking a
pastel class—finding out how hard it is to put on paper what’s in my
head. I’ve been practicing writing longer, so it’s easier than drawing.
But it’s never all that easy because each time you have to create a
world, new characters, a new plot. I never learned how to write this
book. With each book I’m learning to write all over again. I love it.
But there are days when I wonder how on earth I got involved in this
madness. And there are those days when I have finished a book and
can’t for the life of me believe I’ll ever have the wit or will to write
another. Eventually a character or characters will walk into my
imagination and begin to take over my life. The joy of writing far
outweighs the struggle, and I know beyond any doubt that I am the
most fortunate person in the world to have been given such work to do.
More HarperCollins books by Katherine Paterson
Bridge to Terabithia
Tr 0-690-01359-0
Lb 0-690-04635-9
Pb 0-00-440184-7
Audio 0-694-52452-2
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Tr 0-690-03837-2
Lb 0-690-03838-0
Pb 0-06-440201-0
Jacob Have I Loved
Tr 0-690-04078-4
Lb 0-690-04079-2
Pb 0-06-447059-8
Walk Two Moons
By Sharon Creech
Pb 0-06-440517-6
Wringer
By Jerry Spinelli
Pb 0-06-440578-8
Sarah, Plain and Tall
By Patricia MacLachlan
Pb 0-06-440205-3
Dragon’s Gate
By Laurence Yep
Pb 0-06-440489-7
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
By Karen Cushman
Pb 0-06-440684-9
Red Scarf Girl
By Ji-li Jiang
Pb 0-06-446208-0
Visit Katherine Paterson at her website: w w w. t e ra b i t h i a . c o m
www.harperchildrens.com
To order the books listed, please call 1-800-C-HARPER, fax your order to 1-800-822-4090,
or contact your local bookseller or wholesaler.
Teacher’s Guide ISBN 0-06-029666-6
More HarperCollins Children’s Books About Personal Journeys