Fair Weather

Compare and contrast Adelaide Beckett, the children’s mother, and her sister, Euterpe. What forces does the novel suggest have shaped them into the women they have become?

What does the Women’s Pavilion mean to Rosie and to Aunt Euterpe? Why do they experience it differently?

Richard Peck has described the character of Granddad as a tribute to his favorite author, Mark Twain. Compare Twain and Granddad drawing on examples. What does this literary allusion add to the novel?

How does Mama’s opinion of Everett mirror the way Chicago society treats Euterpe?

How does Peck use singing as a way to measure the changing relationship between Rosie and Lottie?

Fair Weather grew out of a short story Peck wrote about an Illinois farm girl who visits the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904. Why might he have changed the setting to the 1893 World’s Fair in his novel?

Granddad’s dog, Tip, is almost a character in his own right. What does Tip’s presence contribute to the novel?

Both Lottie and Granddad make dramatic revelations in the novel. Write an essay explaining what motivates each character to keep their secrets.