Ruby Holler

Tiller and Sairy’s approach to disciplining Dallas and Florida differs from what they have experienced from both the Trepids and various foster parents. How is the Moreys’ method different, and is it effective in correcting the twins’ “trouble” tendencies? Why or why not?

How are Dallas and Sairy alike and how are Florida and Tiller alike? How do the Moreys and their relationship parallel that of the twins?

In what way is travel important to the novel? What does travel symbolize for Sairy and Tiller?

The man known simply as Z suspects he might be the biological father of Dallas and Florida. Why does Sharon Creech leave this unresolved? How would knowing whether Z is definitively their father change the novel or its resolution?

The death of Joey, a fellow orphan living at Boxton Creek Home for Children, has a profound effect on Dallas. How does Joey’s death echo throughout the novel, and what is its significance?

What role do intuition, gut feelings, and dreams play throughout the novel? What do they suggest about the bonds between close family members?

How do flashbacks function in the novel? Why are some details of the twins’ lives before meeting the Moreys revealed and why are others—such as who their mother is and how they came to be left at the Boxton Creek Home for Children—left unexplained?

Compare and contrast Creech’s use of the orphan trope with that of two or three other well-known pieces of children’s literature, such as Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking (1945); Johanna Spyri’s Heidi (1881); Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children (1924); or Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach (1961). How does Creech depart from or adhere to the orphan trope compared with other texts?