We had a very interesting discussion about The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood. Aljulanda, Cameron C., Eva, and Harry were present. Please find some of the comments about the book below. The narrator says that Penelope Lumley is "perfectly match[ed]" to "what any reasonable person might expect a young governess to look like". What adjectives would you use to describe Penelope?
Cameron: Worrisome, compassionate
Eva: Very intelligent, really young-looking, boring
Harry: Plain, normal/not-normal
When Penelope first tells the story of the ponies, she says that Silky's rough behavior is not his fault because he has "known no kindness or tender care in his life". Do you agree or disagree? Are people and animals responsible for acting badly if they've never been taught to act in a better way?
Cameron: I'd say that that would be correct. The dog with the collar (later in the book) was an example of this.
Eva: I'd say that this is true. It's not anyone's fault if they don't know any better.
Harry: I think it depends on which person. If they're a good person on theinside, it would be true. Sometimes the opposite can be true.
Describe Lady Constance. By the end of the story, do you feel any pity or compassion for her? Why or why not?
Cameron: Not so much. She always so strict and mean about everything. She doesn't seem to understand that the children were raised by wolves.
Eva: I didn't feel any pity for Lady Constance because she expected a lot from children who were raised by wolves. She was so strict. She was the ruin of the party.
Harry: I only felt a little sorry for her. She was feeling stressed.
How does the author incorporate humor into the story? Which scene or line from the book do you think is the funniest?
Cameron: I thought that the part of the face outside had someone thinking it was the face of Christmas past. Or when the kids staged the poem.
Eva: I thought that their poems were funny. They included wolves. They incorporated a poem into a poem by a wolf.
Harry: The dance was probably the funniest segment.
Side note about their names: Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia are such hard names (at least the last two) to pronounce.
Side note about their names: Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia are such hard names (at least the last two) to pronounce.
Penelope explains irony to the Incorrigibles as "when you say one thing but mean something else .... or when you expect things to happen one way and then they turn out quite differently". Based on this definition, can you find examples of irony in the novel? How does the author use irony as a form of humor?
Cameron: The Mayhem for Boys book.
Eva: The interview was ironic. Penelope thought that it was going to go one way and then it was exactly the opposite. They never talked about the children.
Harry: Everyone's concern that the children wanted to eat the squirrel and then they really just wanted to have it as a pet.
The narrator defines hyperbole as the "practice of overstating the case". Find an example of hyperbole in the book, and explain why you think the subject of your example is being exaggerated. Is it for humor, emphasis, dramatic effect, or something else?
Cameron: Lady Constance.
Eva: When Penelope talks to Lady Constance and says how Cassiopiea is such a mathmatecal genius, etc. that is a case of hyperbole. It's used for dramatic effect. Hyperbole is used in instances that could never actually happen ("I'm so full I could burst")
Harry: Practically everything about Lady Constance is hyperbole. She is a living hyperbole.
Penelope buys books as presents, and she carefully tries to pick out the perfect book for each person on her list. Make a list of five of your family members or friends. If you could give each of them the perfect book, what would you choose? Explain your selections.
Cameron: I would buy my friend Josh the new Lego book. I would get Beauty and the Beast for my sister.
Eva: I have an idea of what kind of book I would get friends. I would get a book about ancient Egyptian cats. I would get my sister a 70's/80's book.
Harry: I'd get Robert a sticker book that is Star Wars, Despicable Me, Cut the Rope or similarly related.
What other stories about orphans have you read? Consider Anne of Green Gables, the Boxcar Children books, The Graveyard Book, the Harry Potter series, Oliver Twist, The Secret Garden , and A Series of Unfortunate Events. How are other orphan stories similar to and different from The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place? Why do you think stories about orphans are appealing to young readers?
Cameron: I think that Peter Nimble is a good example. He was an orphan.
Eva: I think orphan books are popular because they have had tough lives. They're not like normal kids with regular house, friends, etc. They are usually living with other people, in an orphanage or foster home. They often develop powers.
Harry: Practically anything that I've ever read that is good has an orphan in it. Orphans are popular are kids who are raised by someone sometimes tough. They have to fight for themselves. They have learned to survive for themselves.
What is a mystery? What mysteries are introduced in the book? Which of these mysteries are solved during the course of the narrative and which remain unsolved? Do you have any suspicions about how some of the unresolved mysteries might play out in later books in the series?
Cameron: What makes Lady Constance such a strict, mean lady? I expect that she was a spoiled child. I suspect Timothy is a fraud. He might be the one who sent the letter to the theater group.
Eva: The mystery of who the childrens' parents are. Maybe it's someone from Lord Ashton's club. I think that Penelope might be related to the kids.
Harry: How did Penelope get where she is? What's her origin story? Why is Penelope's hair the same as the Incorrigibles? What's going on with Lord Ashton? Why does he keep disappearing? Who (and why) are the children getting wound up in order to fail?
Al: How did the kids get in the barn?
Al: How did the kids get in the barn?
The Grades 5-6 Book Club selection for March is The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood. This sequel to this month's book is described as such: "Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a governess trained at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, takes the three Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place to London, England, and learns they are under a curse."--summary. Copies of the book will be available behind the Circulation Desk within the next week. Please remember to register for Book Club so that we know how many people will be attending.
