Sarah's books are suitable for use in the classroom and in book groups.
Guides can be found below.
"Confessions of a Closet Catholic" Reading Guide
TEACHERS GUIDE FOR "CONFESSIONS OF A CLOSET CATHOLIC" by SARAH DARER LITTMAN
To download a PDF of this Teachers Guide, click HERE
About the book:
Justine Silver’s best friend, Mary Catherine McAllister, has given up chocolate for Lent, but Jussy doesn’t think God wants her to make that kind of sacrifice. So she’s decided to give up being Jewish instead.
Jussy’s bedroom closet becomes her confessional as she pours out her sins to her teddy bear, “Father Ted.” But when her beloved Bubbe suffers a stroke, Jussy worries that her religious exploration is responsible. Worse, Jussy must suddenly contemplate life without Bubbe, the one person who seems to understand her.
Young readers of every faith will see themselves in Jussy as she struggles to find balance between her search for religious identity and the dramas of her everyday existence, including boys, life as a tormented middle child, and, of course, the temptations of chocolate.
About the author:
Writer, mother and chauffeur, thinks of herself as a “late bloomer.” After spending much of her adult life doing things she didn’t really plant to, including such diverse occumpations as financial analyst and farmer’s wife, she finally found her true calling as a writer. Confessions of a Closet Catholic is Sarah’s first book. “I was inspired to write Jussy’s story when Paula Danziger asked, “What does your character have hidden in the closet?” during a workshop on characterization. At Jussy’s age, my closet was a jungle of clothes and contraband- just ask my mom. Sometimes all it takes is the right question to get you started on the journey.”
PURGE Discussion Guide
Discussion Guide for PURGE by Sarah Darer Littman
Scholastic Press ISBN 0-545-05235-1
To download a PDF of this discussion guide, click here
Summary
Janie Ryman hates throwing up. So why does she binge eat and then stick her fingers down her throat several times a day? That’s what the doctors at Golden Slopes hope to help her discover. But first Janie must survive everyday conflicts between the Barfers and the Starvers, attempts by the head psychiatrist to fish painful memories out of her emotional waters, and shifts in friendships and alliances among the kids in the ward.
In order to get better, Janie must talk about things she’s admitted to no one – not even herself. Laced with danger, insight, and humor, PURGE is one girl’s remarkable and daring journey to make herself well again.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.“Sometimes I feel like a journal is the one place I can be honest and real, where I don’t have to weigh my word and worry about what I’m supposed to say and who I’m supposed to be.” p.3