Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt After her mother's death, Julie goes to live in the country with her Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher. There she experiences the many emotions and changes of growing up, understanding yourself and your family and falling in love.

Discussion

Why do you think Aunt Cordelia never lets anyone see her cry, other than the time when Julie first came to live with her?

Do you agree with Aunt Cordelia's idea that she is the only person who can properly teach and understand the country children that attend her one room school? How might the school have been different if a teacher from the outside took over the teaching position?

Why do you think Aunt Cordelia did not put a stop to Julie's lunchtime seating arrangements that excluded Aggie, but then insisted that Julie invite Aggie to her birthday party?

Uncle Haskell tells Julie to "accept the fact that this is a man's world and learn to how to play the game gracefully". How was this statement true for Julie the 1930s? How is it true or false for girls and women of today?

Do you think Julie's sometimes "bratty' behavior as a child is a result of her mother's death, her relationship with Aunt Cordelia or something else? Or do you think Julie behaved as any child would?

How would you describe Aunt Cordelia's idea of what it means to be a "lady"?

Children's literature of the 1960s often did not tackle topics that were taboo, controversial or unsavory. What elements of this book, published in1966, did you find surprising considering the time period it was written in?

Is Uncle Haskell really as unfeeling and self- centered as he wants others to believe?

Why do you think Julie resented Dr. Eltwing telling her that she looked like her Aunt Cordelia?

Even though Julie knows that Uncle Haskell lies about being a writer, she chooses him to confide in and to have critique her manuscripts. Why did she choose her uncle's advice rather than her aunt's or her stepmother's?

By the end of the book, do you feel that Aunt Cordelia is a happier person than she was in the beginning of the book, or has she just learned how to express her emotions better?

How is the title an expression of the main theme or idea of the book?

If Julie did not go away to college, but instead stayed at home with Aunt Cordelia for another four years, would she really turn into "another Cordelia Bishop"?

Some elements of growing-up are timeless and the same for all teenagers from decade to decade; which experiences of Julie's are often the same for teens today?

Activity

Make a journal: Use this craft idea for a scrapbook to make a writing journal:
http://scrapbooking.about.com/library/weekly/blpa perbagscrapbooks.htm
Instead of pouches for photos, glues lined paper on a piece of card stock and then glue the card stock to each page to make a journal for writing in.

Decorate a Composition Book: Purchase inexpensive composition notebooks from a dollar store. Cover them with scraps of fabric or scrapbook paper. Use paint, buttons, ribbons, photos or whatever you like to decorate the front of your journal.

Make Personalized stationary: Use rubber stamps, dried flowers and other crafty odds and ends to create your own personal stationary or writing paper.

Recipe

Bisquick Shortcakes

Source: The Bisquick Cookbook -- 1964
Makes 6 shortcakes

2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup cream or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, if desired
Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix ingredients with fork. Beat vigorously 20 strokes. Knead 8 to 10 times on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Roll dough 1/2-inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch cutter. Bake on ungreased baking sheet about 10 minutes.

To serve, split shortcakes crosswise while warm. Spread with butter, if desired. Spoon sweetened fruit between layers and over top. Serve with cream, sweetened whipped cream or commercial sour cream.