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Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

Summary

While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.

Booktalk

Mitty Blake is in big trouble. Months ago, his biology teacher assigned a research paper on an infectious disease—and now the notes are due on Monday, and he hasn't even chosen a topic yet. Mr. Lynch says the notes have to come from books, not Internet research. That weekend, Mitty's family is going to their house in the county—no libraries or bookstores nearby. When Mitty remembers his assignment on Sunday afternoon, he thinks it's too late—or is it? Mitty's mom is an interior designer, and she has a bunch of old books she uses to decorate her client's homes. Mitty digs through the books and finds one on infectious disease.

Read p. 10 from “He sat cross-legged…” to p. 11 “The stuff really was scabs.”

Mitty soon finds out that VM stands for variola major, also known as smallpox, a very infectious disease that is supposedly extinct. But he can't help but wonder…he touched those scabs—could they still be contagious all these years later? Mitty's favorite place to do research is the Internet, so he sends out a message about his predicament. Soon he's heard back from numerous people who want to find out about the scabs. And then Mitty disappears…

200 pages, 6th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Mitty's teacher requires that the students use at least four books in their research. Why do you think he wants students to use books in addition to the Internet? What are the pros/cons of using each for research?
  2. Discuss how Mitty's maturity grows as the novel progresses.
  3. How were Mitty's kidnappers able to find him? How could he have protected his identity more carefully?
  4. Are you more like Mitty, Olivia, or Derek? Why?
  5. What kind of person is Olivia? What does Mitty like about her?
  6. Read the story about a librarian who discovered smallpox scabs in a library book (the idea that inspired Caroline Cooney to write Code Orange) at www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-12-26-smallpox-in-envelope_x.htm. How similar is her story to Mitty's?
  7. At first Mitty's teacher thinks Mitty might have plagiarized his paper. How would you define plagiarism?
  8. How do you think Mitty handled his situation? What did he do right or wrong?
  9. What would you do if you had discovered the smallpox scabs?
  10. Did you believe that Mitty actually had smallpox? Why or why not?

If you liked this book, try

Snacks: Doughnuts, like Mitty eats on the way to school.

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