FeedTuesday Tales: The Pricker Boy by Reade Scott Whinnem (Book Giveaway Contest)
November 3, 2009 in Creative Writing activities, Halloween Books, High School Teachers, Making Predictions, Reading Skills, Tuesday Tales, Whinnem Reade Scott, Writing Skills, Young Adult Novels Tags: Reade Scott Whinnem, scary stories, The Pricker Boy, thriller, young adult novel
photo by Irargerich www.flickr.com
For an SCBWI writing workshop in Chicago in less than two weeks, I was assigned to read The Pricker Boy by Reade Scott Whinnem. Now I am reviewing it, providing some discussion/activity ideas, AND offering a BOOK GIVEAWAY CONTEST. Please leave a comment below about this book or your favorite ghost story/legend or something that frightened you as a child–you’ll see why when you read this post. One winner will be randomly selected to win The Pricker Boy (Random House) from the comments posted by Friday, November 6 at 4:00 p.m. CST.
***For extra entries, use the SHARE THIS link at the bottom of this post. For each place you share this contest and post about The Pricker Boy, you will get an extra entry into the contest. Please leave a SEPARATE comment letting me know each place you shared this link! Thanks. . .Now onto the story.
*Young adult, contemporary thriller
*Fourteen-year-old boy as the main character
*Rating: The Pricker Boy is a good, scary story–but that’s not all. It’s also about friendship and summer and peer pressure. Great read!
Short, short summary: Stucks Cumberland has some typical fourteen-year-old guy problems. He is starting to like the girl that has always been his buddy. His best friend, Pete, and he are growing apart–Pete wants to smoke and go to keggers, and Stucks wants to hang out with the kids they always do. Stucks wants to build fires in the woods, tell ghost stories, and just have a fun summer. But what happens when the favorite scary story about The Pricker Boy seems like it might be coming true? The Pricker Boy was taunted by his peers, abused by his father, and left in the woods in a fur trap. He still haunts the woods where the kids like to hang out, but they know not to go past the Widow’s Stone if they want to stay safe. They especially know not to go alone. But then Stucks and his friends find a package in the woods–it’s full of many items they had left in the woods throughout their childhood that were offerings to the Pricker Boy, so he would leave them alone. Now it’s as if he is rejecting their offerings, and so they decide to go into the forbidden woods to figure out what is really going on once and for all.
So, what do I do with this book?
1. About half way through the book, readers can decide for themselves what they think is going on in the woods and what they think Stucks and his friends should do about it. In reading response journals (this is especially helpful if students are reading this as part of reading workshop or independent reading), ask students to write their predictions and hypothesis about the Pricker Boy. They should also base their predictions on information in the novel. Ask them to provide quotes or reference the pages they are using as a basis for their predictions.
2. This book is also about the dynamics of a teen peer group and what happens when one of the members (Pete) becomes an outsider. You can do a few different activities with this theme. You can ask students or your child which character they feel they are most like and why. For example, are they like Vivek–always making a joke or Robin–always taking care of everyone and doing the “right” thing? You can also ask students to discuss or write about why they think Pete acts the way he does. They can write about the way Ronnie is treated and how that makes them feel. This is one of those books where students can discuss the characters and themselves at the same time. It can open up discussions between parents and teens, too.
3. Everyone loves a scary story–especially told around the campfire. You can ask students to write their own scary stories or ones they’ve heard before. You can also ask students to compare and contrast The Pricker Boy with other scary books they’ve read or movies they’ve seen. What makes a story spooky or scary?
Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of The Pricker Boy. Share this post with others by using the link below and leave comments for each time you do. 
November 4th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Believe it or not, I was pretty wide-eyed scared with all the Nancy Drew books I read. They were deliciously scary but not bloody. Don’t think I could’ve done bloody back then. Still don’t!
November 4th, 2009 at 11:36 am
The RL Stine series were among my favorites growing up:) Thanks!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I read tons of mysteries as a kid and teenager. I remember going through a couple of stages of leaping into bed, just in case anything or anyone was under my bed, which I knew wasn’t so, but just in case…I also remember being frightened a couple of times when I heard a weird noise while babysitting late at night.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Okay, it may sound odd now, but when I was little I watched “The Last Unicorn”. I was enraptured with unicorns, they were my favorite! This story and the ending with the monstrous red demon creature….yeah too much. Also, the bat mountain creature from Fantasia. **shivers** (Ever notice how much “scary” stuff is actually in kid’s lit and films?)
November 4th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
+1 – tweeted! (http://twitter.com/GRgenius/status/5427169273)
Thanks!
November 4th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
You’ve got great ideas for teachers to use the book as a jumping off point for other activities. I think finding teacher and home school websites would be an excellent place to promote the book.
Blessings,
Aday Kennedy
November 4th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Good news–the publisher is throwing in a couple of ARCs, so there will be more than one winner!
Babysitting could be spooky sometimes. One time,I kept hearing this squeaky noise and I thought for sure someone was breaking in. I even thought about going and getting a knife to protect us. When I went into the kitchen–it was the gerbil in its wheel in the cage!!! Egads!
Margo
November 4th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
posted info at TeacherLibrarianNing http://teacherlibrarian.ning.com/profile/JAdayKennedy
my post read “BOOK GIVEAWAY CONTEST 4 The Pricker Boy by Reade Scott Whinnem Young adult, contemporary thriller http://margodill.com/blog/2009/11/03/“
November 4th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
When I was about 10 the altar boys at my church stole the offetory and hid in the church basement(eventually found by the men of the parish). After that I was sure there were “boogie men” in the church basement everytime I went down there! I think my daughter would like this book since she’s 14 years old and her best friend is a boy–a boy friend not a boyfriend like all her friends assume!
November 4th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Jessica–thanks for the sharing the link. Jodi–love it, boogie men in the church basement. Oh, basements–another scary thing!!!
Margo
November 4th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
First, I’m incredibly jealous of the workshop you’re attending. Perhaps winning a copy of this book will make me feel better
When we moved into a new house (with a story and a half), my parents gave me, the only girl, the upstairs (a bedroom, a bath, and the attic were up there). Sounds wonderful, but there was a door at the bottom of the stairs, and my parents would close it every night. So I was SCARED TO DEATH that I’d wake up one morning and come downstairs to find my family’s body parts strewn across the den, the kitchen, the bedrooms…all while I slept blissfully unaware upstairs.
For about three years, I made my little brother come upstairs and sleep in my room. Just in case.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
The book sounds interesting, Margo. I bet kids will love it!
November 4th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
My friend and I were exploring her attic (a rather creepy one, as I recall), when we heard a knocking sound that came from behind a closed closet door. We shrieked in unison and bolted downstairs.
The adults pooh-poohed our experience, blaming overactive imaginations.
But all I can say is to this very day, attics can still make me shiver!
November 4th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I was a Brothers GRIMM fanatic in 5th and 6th. (Talk about blood and gore!) I loved the surprise and horror of it all. I still like spooky stories and the sound of owls on moonlit nights. L. Brown
November 4th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
This book sounds like so much fun! I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to go into the woods investigating the pricker boy. Very sad that he died in a trap… that could open several interesting discussions.
When I was little our dog and cat(s) would stare into the dark, empty living room. The cats would hiss and the dog would give one of those real low growls. Nothing like being alone in the house and having the dog ready to attack an empty room.
By the way, love the gerbil story…Ha, Ha!
November 5th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
A story is only scary if it’s believable. Throw in something so out of the ordinary that there’s no way it could ever happen and I’ll just roll my eyes and laugh!
November 5th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Attics and basements and strange noises – especially when I was home alone!
And even at my age, an unusual or unexpected noise, especially when I’m about to
go to sleep, sets my heart to thumping. I wish I could write a scary story…like
The Pricker Boy.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:39 am
The winner is comment #4 (GMR). I have contacted her over email. I am waiting to see how many ARCs the publisher sends to pick more winners, so. . .stay tuned!!!
And as always, thanks for your comments. I also really enjoyed reading everyone’s spooky stories or things that scare them. I am glad to see I am not alone.
Margo