1. When Mr. Chris shows Marly a bloodroot, she thinks uneasily about his heart condition. What is bloodroot?

Does it really stop peoples' hearts if they eat it? What is its symbolic significance in the novel?

2. The sugar season plays a major role in the novel. Research maple trees and how their sap is harvested. When is the best time to tap the trees? How do people know when the time has come? How do farmers prepare freshly tapped maple sugar sap?

3. Maple Hill is supposed to be in Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. Research this rural region and compare what you find to Sorensen's account.

What kinds of wildlife are found there?

4. Marly's father was in a prisoner-ofwar camp, probably in North Korea.

What were prisoner-of-war camps like for American prisoners during the Korean War? Why would Daddy be so shaken...