Part 15: Peck’s Questions

Part 15: Peck’s Questions

Click for a detailed curriculum guide from Penguin.

The heavily-awarded, late author Richard Peck wrote for children and young adults, including fantasy, realistic and historical fiction, and nonfiction, and in 1978 he postulated ten good questions to ask about any novel. These questions can be used for discussion, or individual reflection. They have been frequently utilized by educators, which was his intention, as he wrote for hypothetical students and has been noted for stating both his didactic purposes as well as that of provoking deeper contemplation from readers.

There is really more to these seemingly simple questions than meets the eye. For example, “What would this story be like if the main character were of the opposite sex?” is not just asking students for surface responses, but to get past gender stereotypes and be more aware of them. It is also a relevant question for examining conflicts in stories of historical fiction, such as the way female protagonists may have been treated and the choices available to them versus male characters in the early twentieth century. Likewise, the questions that refer to film adaptations, such as black and white versus colors, and cutting out characters, help students to get to identify tone, and the author’s purpose.

In reflecting on these questions I cannot help but begin applying them to recently-read novels, as well as comparing novel versus movie adaptations. In fact I have always enjoyed the task of comparing movies to novels, and sharing this with students, but these questions add another layer. Regarding which characters can be effectively or ineffectively eliminated, my first thought goes to the recent film The Hate U Give. The character of DeVante really served a purpose in the narrative and was clearly included by the author with intention, so his total absence from the film, no doubt a time and scope choice for the medium, did not do the story justice. Likewise other characters were sorely underdeveloped in the film; however, regarding Peck’s question of designing a new cover, I personally think that the designers could not have done a better job with the movie poster than emulating the book’s simple cover, with the main actress replacing the original illustration.

The tenth question about the title also amuses me to a degree because I have always been sensitive to deceptive titles, or as I think of them, titles that are trying too hard. I recently came across a meme (pictured) and shared it with my teenage kids and avid readers, and we all had a good laugh. This further makes me think of an observation by Carter and Abrahamson that nonfiction titles should also not be deceptive, the literary equivalent of click-bait in my opinion. Even as a young adult reader myself, I would always look for titles that drew me in, but would lose a bit of appreciation if I got to the last page and felt the title had been too much of a reach. Overall these questions are timeless for reading responses, literature circles, book clubs and curriculum connections.