Dandelion Wine examines a childhood in the summer of 1928. Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding explores living and dying as mutual components of life. The novel examines the stored images from the past with the significance of these memories later and addresses the pain of a friend’s move, the death of a great-grandmother, fear of a child’s summer illness, worry over the haunted section of town, and the intricacies of a woman’s social world.
Students focus on Bradbury’s style, analyze character, compare the novel with personal experiences, and keep a reader’s log. They also conduct peer interviews, perform close reading of the text, make connections between poems and the novel, role-play, film vignettes from the novel, imitate aspects of Bradbury’s writing, and explore how memories shape writing.
Supplementary materials feature suggestions to guide students’ journaling as they read and respond to the novel.
