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Journey by Patrcia MacLachlan

Summary

Journey is eleven the summer his mother leaves him and his sister, Cat, with their grandparents. He is sad and angry, and spends the summer looking for the clues that will explain why she left. Journey searches photographs for answers. He looks for family resemblances in Grandma's albums. Looking for happier times, he tries to put together the torn pieces of the pictures his mother shredded before her departure. And he also searches the photographs his grandfather takes as the older man attempts to provide Journey with a past. In the process, the boy learns to look and finds that, for him, the camera is a means of finding things his naked eye has missed--things like the inevitability of his mother's departure and the love that still binds his family.

83 pages, 4th grade and up

Discussion questions

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

  1. What are some of the ways that Journey shows his anger how his mother leaving?
  2. How did Journey get his name? Does it fit him?
  3. How does Cat handle her mother's leaving?
  4. Why do you think their mother left?
  5. Grandfather says, "Maybe that is why people takes pictures. To see what is there" (pg. 19). Why do you think people take pictures?
  6. Why do you think Bloom comes into their lives? What part does the cat play in this story?
  7. Read out loud the dream on page 77. What do you think this means?
  8. Read the opening quotes of the book out loud. Why do you think the author used these?
  9. How is Journey able to heal by the end of the book?
  10. Compare the hardcover and paperback copies of this book. Which do you prefer and why?

Activities

Bring in a favorite family photo and share what you think it says about your family. Put together a photo essay of your family, using a camera you own, one you borrow, or buy a disposable.

Created in part with funds granted by the Oregon State Library under the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library. Send feedback to Katie O'Dell, Reading Promotions Coordinator