To the Discussion Leader
Mary Pope Osborne brings her
award-winning writing talent to the new Dear America series aimed
at seven to nine-year-old readers - My America. In My Brother's Keeper:
Virginia's Diary, readers witness the Civil War battle at Gettysburg
through the diary entries of nine-year-old Virginia.
Words like Yankee and Reb take on vivid meaning as Virginia describes
the three day fight that became "the largest artillery battle ever
fought on this continent." Juxtaposed against her stories filled
with the smells and sounds of war are Virginia's life and death
worries for her missing father and brother.
Virginia is forced to mature quickly as she lives through this
pivotal period of the Civil War recollected in her diary. As the
smoke hovering over Cemetery Hill drifts away and the National Soldiers'
Cemetery is dedicated at Gettysburg, Virginia, her brother and father
are reunited in time for the young girl to be present when Abraham
Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
Summary
"Be my eyes and ears in Gettysburg,"
Jed Dickens tells his younger sister Virginia as he leaves home
with their father. They are headed to their uncle's farm to help
him hide the horses from the Confederate soldiers who are all around
the Gettysburg area. Alone, her mother dead, Virginia begins to
keep a diary as she stays with the Reverend McCully's family. It's
June 20, 1863, less than two weeks away from one of the most important
battles of the Civil War. Confederate soldiers are camped near the
town, and Union soldiers are gathering also. For three days fierce
fighting goes on until the Union army is victorious and Robert E.
Lee's troops retreat to the South. The town of Gettysburg is full
of dead and dying soldiers. Virginia is sick at the sight and smell
of the dead, and she worries about her father and brother. Finally,
her father returns, and Jed is found, badly wounded. As Jed recovers
and the town of Gettysburg gets back to normal, Virginia and her
family look forward to November and the arrival of President Abraham
Lincoln's visit to dedicate the new National Soldiers' Cemetery.
Thinking About the Book
1. Why do you think that
the author of Virginia's diary, Mary Pope Osborne, titled the book
My Brother's Keeper ?
2. In a sentence or two identify the following:
Mason-Dixon Line
Rebs
General Robert E. Lee
peppermint oil
Yankee
National Soldiers' Cemetery
3. Before Virginia meets the Confederate officer Captain
Heath, she is fearful of the Rebel soldiers. Later she writes, "I
know that not all Confederates are bad people." What changes her
mind?
4. In the diary entry for August 15th, Virginia writes
that she was "in heaven" and "could hardly breathe" when Jed told
her she was a very good writer. Why is Virginia a good writer? Cite
two or three examples from her diary to indicate that she writes
well.
5. What did you learn about the Civil War that you didn't
know before you read Virginia's diary?
6. By the end of My Brother's Keeper, how has Virginia
changed?
7. In her last diary entry Virginia writes, "I also think
that children like me, who believe that all people are created equal,
will keep this nation from perishing from the earth. I might be
bold to think that. But that is truly what I think." Explain what
she means. Do you believe it, too?
Student Activities
1. For a true personal
account of the Battle of Gettysburg go to http://www.gettysburgguide.com/ge05001.html.
This is part of a journal by Elizabeth Thorne, wife of the caretaker
of Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg. Read the first seven paragraphs.
How is Mrs. Thorne like Mrs. McCully in Virginia's diary?
2. What treasures did Virginia save from her house? Why
did she choose these items? If you had to leave your house in a
hurry, what three special things would you take and why? Compare
and share your answers with other members of your discussion group.
3. Jed's favorite King Arthur story is the one where the
King pulls the sword from the stone. Ask your teacher or discussion
leader to read this story to you. Why do you think Jed liked it
so much?
4. Bread is an important food in Virginia's diary. She
says, "Mrs. McCully seems to think that baking bread is the best
way to hold the Union together." Try making bread. You might want
to use a recipe such as the one at the web site below. http://breadrecipe.com/AZ/simplewhitebread.asp
5. In the Historical Note at the end of My Brother's Keeper
it says, "The most memorable speech ever made by an American president
was Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address." Read this speech included
at the end of the book. In your own words write three or four sentences
that summarize what President Lincoln said to the crowd that day
in 1863. Let each member of the discussion group share their summaries.
Discuss the relevance of Lincoln’s words today.
Discussion Guide written by Richard F. Abrahamson,
Ph.D., Professor of Literature for Children and Young Adults, University
of Houston and Eleanore S. Tyson, Ed.D., Clinical Assistant Professor,
University of Houston, Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Houston, Texas.
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