1. What in your opinion is the most interesting period in Sid Fleischman's life?

2. Fleischman never mentions the Holocaust in this book although he must have had relatives in Europe affected by it. Why is this?

3. Fleischman stopped being a professional magician and became a writer. Does he bring a sort of magic to his novels? How?

4. What did Fleischman learn by listening to the speech patterns of the Midwest?

Is an ear for speech patterns absolutely necessary for a novelist?

5. In the 1950s we were told that only American colleges and universities attempted to teach their students their own language. Would Fleischman have found freshman English more profitable today than he did in the late 1930s?

6. Fleischman, despite the fact that he missed his wife and his family, seems to have enjoyed his life in the U.S.

Navy. Was he at all typical...