Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever moved from another city of another country?

2. Did you feel lonely? Did you miss your friends?

3. What did Lowji do to feel better about his move?

4. Lowji came from Bombay, India, which he describes as "big and loud," to Hamlet, Illinois, which he described as 'small and quiet." How would you describe your town?

5. Do you have any pets? How did Lowji get Landlady Crisp to bring all the animals to their apartment building?

6. What are some of the things Lowji and Landlady Crisp discovered they had in common?

7. What are some of the American expressions Lowji learned to use? Do you use these expressions?

8. Lowji tells us that everyday he eats peanut butter and jelly "like an American kid," buit "spreads it out rtoli, like an Indian kid." What are your favorite foods? Are they American foods, part of your family's cultural heritage, or both?

9. How does Lowji solve the mystery in the woods?

10. What do you think you would find different if you went to India?

Written by Maureen Statland, youth development director, University of Illinois Extension -- Cook County/North Suburban, District 3