The Fiddler's Secret (31 page)

• How did Libby's quick thinking become a matter of life-or-death? (ch. 1)
  

• Why is Libby still trying to be a matchmaker?
  

• In what way did the fiddler's face seem to hold a secret? (ch. 2)
  

• As older boys, what did Caleb and Jordan do to help Peter with the bullies? (ch. 3)
  

• Why could Peter and Jordan understand how a mistreated orphan dog might feel?
  

• What did Libby's mother understand about a captain's duty if there was ever a disaster on the
  Christina
  ? (ch. 5)
  

• What choice did Libby's mother make?
  

• How did Peter help the
  Christina
  family talk to him? How did they help Peter know what they were saying?
  

Let's Talk About … What's important to us

• In school Pa asked, “What is most important to you? What do you want?” (ch. 5) Let's do his lesson: Think first about the speculators, the immigrants, and the people who want to build a new state. What do each of these groups want? Give just a few words for each group.
  

• What do Pa's students want?
  

  Peter:
  

  Jordan:
  

  Libby (ch. 6):
  

  Caleb:
  

• What is most important to you? Make a list, then summarize your thoughts in one sentence. Date your answer and put it in a safe place so you can check back and decide how you're doing.
  

• When Captain Norstad says it's important that we know what we want in life—what we believe in—he asks if we're tested about what we want, are we going to stick to what we believe? Yes or no? What would you say?
  

• Captain Norstad gives a clue: If that time of testing comes, what should we do?
  

Let's Talk About … Freedom … What is it?

• James Thompson is an historic character who lived in St. Paul during this time. (ch. 8) Mr. Thompson told Jordan that living in Minnesota Territory was like living anywhere. “If you let yourself be free, you will be.” Was Mr. Thompson saying that Jordan could do anything he wanted, whether it was right or wrong? Why or why not?
  

• What does it mean to Jordan to be free to live, to earn his own way, to learn to read and write?
  

• In 1857 a handshake was a man's pledge of honor. Business agreements were made and kept by the pledge of that handshake. In some places a handshake is still a way to say, “I give you my word. You can trust me.” When Jordan finds it hard to believe that he will ever vote, why does Mr. Thompson offer another handshake?
  

• What does Jordan decide about what Mr. Thompson said? What does Jordan say about his taste of freedom?
  

• How did the thought of being truly free give Jordan even more reason for wanting to do his best?
  

• What does Jordan plan to tell his parents when he gets to Galena? (ch. 13)
  

• What did Jordan do when the bully threatened him?
  

• What kind of person do you believe Jordan will be in his new life of freedom?
  

Let's Talk About … Discoveries

• In the Bible there are heroes of the faith who made the right choices. Who are some of those heroes? Why?
  

• In
  Chapter 6
  Peter talked about a secret sign that could help them know that one of them had been somewhere. Long ago, another group of people used this sign. Who were they? What did that sign mean to them and what does it still mean to us?
  

• In St. Paul an artist asked Libby and Caleb if they'd like to be part of his painting of the
  Christina
  . (ch. 12) Years later in
  Disaster at Windy Hill
  , some Northwoods characters saw that painting at Nevers Dam. Who were those characters and why were they curious about Libby and Caleb?
  

• In what way did the artist catch the best view of Caleb? What look did Caleb have?
  

• When the artist painted Libby, what did she see about herself? Have you seen that change in Libby also?
  

Let's Talk About … A never-give-up family

• Why did Annika feel certain that God wanted her to stay in St. Paul that winter?
  

• When Pa had to start downriver, Annika and Libby had to say goodbye. What comfort does Annika offer Libby?
  

• What does a never-give-up family mean to Pa? If he adopts Peter will he love Libby just as much? If Pa marries Annika what will happen to his love for Libby? What does Pa tell Libby? (ch. 13) What is Libby's answer to Pa?
  

• How did Pa tell Peter that he and Libby want to adopt him? (ch. 15)
  

• Because Aunt Vi told Annika that she would always be second best, what did Pa plan to tell Annika? (ch. 14)
  

• How do you think Peter felt when he asked Pa, “I'm really your boy?” When he told Libby, “You're really my sister!” (ch. 17)
  

• When Caleb talks with Libby about how she listened in to Pa and Annika, what honesty does Caleb offer Libby? What comfort?
  

• How can that same comfort help each of us when we're facing something difficult?
  

• Is it the good times or the hard times that make us a family? Give reasons for your answer.
  

• How have the people on the
  Christina
  become a never-give-up family?
  

• As you read about Pa and Libby, Caleb, Jordan, and Peter, what does being in a never-give-up family mean to you?
  

Let's Talk About … Belonging

• If you're with a group of kids and they leave you out of something, is it always bad? Why or why not?
  

• If you see a shy person who needs to be part of a good group what can you do about it?
  

• Why is it important for friends to talk about things that are important to them?
  

• How is being part of a never-give-up family like belonging to God?
  

Let's Talk About … Hearing God

• As Libby watched to see when it would be safe for Jordan to leave the
  Christina
  , a man on the boiler deck spoke to her. (ch. 14) How did he describe himself? What did he regret about his life?
  

• What did he say he should have done? What did he tell Libby about Jordan?
  

• When Libby wondered if she could trust the man with Jordan's life, she asked the Lord to give the man a good plan. What happened?
  

Let's Talk About … Knowing God

• What special gift did Pa give to Libby? (ch. 15) Why was it so meaningful to her?
  

• When Libby reads her mother's Bible she discovers that Romans 8:28 was not only important to Pa, but also to her mother. What special prayer had Libby's mother written in the margin of her Bible?
  

• When Libby admits that she's not very strong, what does Caleb tell her?
  

• Before Pa left St. Paul, Annika told him she would know if something happened to him. But now Pa senses that something is wrong with Annika. (ch. 15) How did God help Captain Norstad know that he needed to pray for her?
  

• The Bible tells us about the greatest Freedom Seeker of all time. Though Jesus never sinned, He loved us so much that He came to earth to die on the cross for each one of us. Because of His life, death, and resurrection, we can ask Him to forgive our sin and to be our Savior and Lord. That's His promise of John 3:16.
  

• What did Peter believe would happen to him if he died? (ch. 16)
  

• Libby asked God to help her give Peter hope: “In that still small voice that Libby was learning to recognize, she heard the answer:
  Get Wellington
  .” How would you describe a still, small voice?
  

• On Thanksgiving Day, what was Caleb most thankful for?
  

Let's Talk About … Digging deeper

The Minnesota History Center in St. Paul offers a wealth of information and photos. Go to
www.minnesotahistorycenter.org
. In the search button enter
oxcarts, red river trails
, or other topics that interest you. See also
www.mnhs.org
for a timeline of Minnesota history and additional topics such as the teacher
Harriet Bishop, Joe Rolette
, and
Minnesota Territory
.

• In an encyclopedia look up the
  Emancipation Proclamation
  issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. What effect did this proclamation have on the rights of slaves and the outcome of the Civil War?
  

• Look up the
  Constitution of the United States
  , Amendment 13. What rights does this amendment give?
  

• See also Amendment 15. What does the word
  suffrage
  mean? How did this amendment change the right to vote?
  

Let's Talk About … Being a Freedom Seeker

• How have these four characters changed during the series? What were they like when you first met them? What are they like now?
  

• If you could be a character in this series, which one would you want to be? Why?
  

• As you think about the Freedom Seekers and what they did in this series, what meant the most to you?
  

• Find a part of the series that you especially like. Copy your favorite paragraph here.
  

On Thanksgiving Day, the never-give-up family gathered in the
Christina
to celebrate. As the fiddler talked about the freedom he wanted for his family, he told Caleb, “As long as there are people who rob us of freedom, there need to be others like you and Libby, Jordan, and Peter.” Franz looked around the room. “People like all of you who work to keep freedom for others. You are Freedom Seekers.”

As the fiddler's music soared around them, Libby understood:
Live freedom? To be strong enough to let myself be free? That's what it is! To believe, truly believe, that no matter what happens to me, God can work in everything to bring something good
.

• In what ways do
  you
  want to be a Freedom Seeker?
  

Thanks for being my friend through books
.

Dear Parents and Educators
,

T
he six novels in The Freedom Seekers series offer an excellent way to gain a national view of the political climate in 1857. In that critical period in American history, steamboats carried immigrants to newly opened land. Rivers were the highways of the time and the mighty Mississippi a well-traveled route. In spite of danger, injustice, and the possible loss of all they had, people of many faiths, rich and poor, slave or free, worked together for what they believed about the rights and freedoms of individuals. In life-or-death situations, children, teens, and adults built the Underground Railroad.