Johnny Junkpile Talking Points for Parents
Jack David Dean
Here are some important tips and
discussion starters for parents who wish to talk about some of the issues
brought up in the book Johnny Junkpile. The topics and questions are formatted
in a way that you can start a healthy discussion with your children. You can also download these talking points in a PDF format if you would like to print them out.
Chapter One: Karl
the Bully
Johnny doesn’t get angry until the
bully Karl makes fun of his sister.
What do you think of Johnny losing
his temper when Karl teases his sister?
Johnny gets physical with Karl but
doesn’t really hurt him. Is this something you would do or would you be rougher with Karl?
Chapter Two: Working in the Garage
Johnny and Belle liked working in
the garage with their Dad.
Do you like to do things with your
mom and dad?
What kinds of things do you like
to do with your parents?
Johnny loves airplanes what sort
of things do you love?
Chapter 3: Time for Bed
Belle always comes down to
Johnny’s bedroom at night because she is scared.
Do you get scared at night? Why?
Chapter 4: Karl
Never Gives Up
Karl bothers Johnny at school.
What do you think of how Johnny
handles Karl when he bothers him at school (just laughing it off)?
What do you do when someone
bothers you at school?
Chapter 5: Time
to Get Up
Johnny’s Dad has a beat up old
truck and the kids like that old truck.
Why do you think they like that
truck even though it's old and beat up?
Do you have/like anything that’s
really old and may not be valuable to most people?
Chapter 6: Old
Bully Old Tricks
Karl’s Dad tried to hurt Johnny’s
Dad when they shook hands. Johnny’s Dad didn’t fight back but told him to stop
being a bully.
Do you think Johnny’s Dad acted
right or should he have hit Mr. Groober?
Johnny’s Dad seemed to completely
forget about what Mr. Groober did to him.
Do you think you could do that?
Chapter 7: Time
to Fly
Karl tried to hurt Johnny too by
squeezing his hand and Johnny did the same back to him.
Do you think Johnny was right?
Chapter 8: Emergency!
Johnny’s Dad passes out during
their flight.
How did Johnny handle the
situation?
Have you ever had to do something
that scared you?
Chapter 10: Belle
the Hero
Belle ends up being the one to fix
the plane.
What do you think of what Belle
did?
Sometimes the youngest and
smallest kids are looked down on.
What difference did Belle’s size
make in this situation?
Chapter 11: Gull Island Here We Come
Belle and Johnny finally get to go
to Gull Island and go camping.
What do you like to do that you
can hardly wait for?
I hope this helps. Remember to read a good book today and have some fun. Send me an email and let me know what you think.