In the school year of 1967-1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, Holling Hoodhood is a baseball-loving seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High who has good friends, a girl he likes, and a teacher who hates his guts. Life is pretty tough all around, and yet not so bad at all. As the war in Vietnam heats up and the anti-war and Civil Rights movements in America rage on, life at Camillo Junior High is as normal as anything in the 1960s ever was. What starts as an experiment becomes something powerful as Holling and his teacher read and discuss the works of William Shakespeare together.

To help you enter into the story: we have a book review posted here, a podcast interview with Gary D. Schmidt here, and we have hosted a podcast book club here. 

This guide has over 30 pages of everything you will need to host a memorable book club, from invitations and reading journals to enrichment suggestions and no-fail book club conversation starters and questions in one digital download. Our good friends at Biblioguides have generously agreed to host the purchase portal for this guide, click here to purchase. Find more guides by clicking here.