The Wednesday Wars



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schmidt, Gary D.  The Wednesday Wars. New York: Hyperion Books, 2007.  ISBN
978-1-4231-0687-6

PLOT SUMMARY

The Wednesday Wars is about a seventh grader names Holling Hoodhood. Holling attends Camillo Junior High during the Vietnam war and Martin Luther king’s assassination. He believes that is teacher Mrs. Bakers hates his guts. Holling is battling between two worlds. The worlds of his baseball buddies, Shakespeare and the girl who is always there for him. Hollings also has to deal with his father who is focused more on his architecture business then holing and his sister who has run away to California. Holling learns a lot about himself and finds friendship in unlikely characters during seventh grade.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Holling is a teenage boy who is dealing with friends, family, teachers and girl issues, much like teens of today. Although the time period is 1967, readers can still relate because of the similarity in issues. Schmidt shows readers how Holling is feeling and how he deals with these issues through various
interactions with his peers, teachers, and family. Schmidt is able to embed the story Mrs. Bakers husbands at war, the treatment of refugees, atomic bomb drills, and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, all while not taking away from Hollings story. Holling’s sister, Heather, is described as a “flower child” in the story and represents the free-spirited people during this era. She is rebellious and runs away to try to start a new life in California. Schmidt did not include an author’s note but his quality of writing will keep young readers engaged want to learn more about the Vietnam war and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. This book is appropriate for middle school and upper elementary.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

  • 2008 Newbery Honor Book
  • 2008 YALSA Best Books for Young Adult
“Schmidt has a way of getting to the emotional heart of every scene without overstatement, allowing the reader and Holling to understand the great truths swirling around them on their own terms…another virtuoso turn…” –KIRKUS REVIEWS

CONNECTIONS

Okay for Now. (2013). Turtleback Books (978-0544022805)

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. (2013). Turtleback Books.  (978-0544022799)

·         Have students write about if they have you ever felt like their teacher didn’t like them? How did they know if a teacher liked them or not? How did you feel?  How do you think Holling felt having to stay with Mrs. Baker every Wednesday and work?

·         Students can research about the Vietnam War.




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