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First French Kiss by Adam Bagdasarian

Summary

These short stories about one boy's wild ride through childhood and adolescence make up a collection of funny, sad, heart warming, laugh out loud and poignant tales of a fictional childhood. The author might admit to the stories being somewhat based in fact, but mostly they are a combination of his memories and his great talent as a writer.

Booktalk

When you've struggled over writing the great american novel, or the book that will change the way people view the world -- and it turns out really poorly -- the next best thing to do is sit down and write about your funny childhood. This may not be the best reasoning for most people but for Adam Bagdasarian it was great advice. And it came from his mother and brother. With chapter headings like: New House, Little League, Going Steady, The Fight, The Bird Hunter, and First French Kiss, I can almost guarantee there is something in this book for everyone. Some of what he writes about may give you a few hints for the next few years, and other things he writes you'll remember long into your adulthood. Here is a small taste of his writing. (read pg. 51 "So now I was going steady"... to pg. 52 "...a little queasy." 134 pages, 7th grade and up

Discussion questions

  1. Did you enjoy the book as a whole or just in parts?
  2. Do you think these are true stories from the author's childhood? Why?
  3. Which story do you most relate to? Why?
  4. Are these stories realistic? Why or why not?
  5. If you were going to write a story about something that happened when you were young, what would the title be?
  6. Find a part that you thought was funny and read it aloud to the group.

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Snacks: breath mints

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