Bat 6 Discussion Questions
Ideas for your book club, school library, or just for you and your friends!
- Several of the girls have nicknames they don’t like: “Loose Lips Daisy” and “Beautiful Hair Hallie,” while “Shazam” prefers her nickname to Shirley. What has been your experience with nicknames?
- What do you think Mr. Porter means when he says, “Good sportsmanship, that is life, don’t you forget it, gal” (p.41).
- Vernell doesn’t want to play ball, she wants to be part of the team by working in the dugout (p. 41). Would you prefer working on the sidelines, or playing in the game? Why?
- Darlene talks about not having a bedroom while other girls on the team complain about having to clean their rooms (p.47). Do you think their differences in living situation impact their ability to be friends, or to be a good team?
- How did religion play a part in this story?
- How do the girls experience God differently? (Examples p. 48, 148, 208)
- Aki has a memory from when she was around 5 years old of a cherry tree swing (p. 99). Do you have a childhood memory of a favorite place or item from childhood?
- Ila May and Hallie both hear Shazam use the word “Jap” and tell her she shouldn’t say the word, but they don’t explain why (p. 26, 55). Why is this not a word that should be used?
- Later, Ila May and Hallie both regret not telling someone about Shazam using the “bad word” (p.189). What do you think they should have done?
- How did Shazam learn hatred for Japanese people? (Example p. 111)
- Many of the girls are tired of hearing about the war, but in what ways does the war still affect their lives and the lives of those around them? (Examples p. 90, 169-170)
- In the author’s note, Virginia Euwer Wolfff explains how President Roosevelt ordered “the evacuation and imprisonment for the duration of World War II of all persons of Japanese ancestry living in the western United States.” How would you react if you and your family were ordered into imprisonment?
- Both Alva and Wink don’t think their mothers should have told them about Shazam’s mother getting pregnant before she was married to her father (p. 65, 135). What do you think their mothers should have done? Why?
- Who do you think is to blame for what happened at the Bat 6 game and why?
- Do you think anything could have changed the outcome of the game?
- How did Shazam’s sharing change over the story? (Examples: p. 21, 28, 69, 84, 111, 139, 145, 165)
- Why did Aki forgive Shazam? (p. 194) Would you?
- Why was it important for Aki to tell Shazam that she hurt, even though she was afraid it might be rude? (p.218)
- Why does Shazam tell Aki she is sorry? (p. 224)
- How does the 50th anniversary Bat 6 game change the town for the better?
- How are the Bat 6 games of 1899 and 1949 different? How are they similar?
- How do you think the story would be different if it was told by only one person?
- How would the story have been different if Aki or Shazam had not told their own stories?
- What do you think of the cover of the book and the end-pages? Do you think they fit the story?
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