The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines

By Mo Netz

Informational Resources:

Author Information:
Mo Netz’s website
https://monetzbooks.com/ 

Read or listen to a sample of the book
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-lumbering-giants-of-windy-pines-mo-netz?variant=41085938270242 

Activities & Resources:

Disability advocacy

Physical disability awareness (3:19)
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=CL8GMxRW_5Y 

Disability awareness curriculum
https://changingperspectivesnow.org/elementary-disability-awareness-curriculum/ 

Kids learn wheelchair skills
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/02/g-s1-20071/wheelies-arent-just-fun-for-kids-in-wheelchairs-they-take-practice 

How to teach children about disability at any age
https://www.today.com/parents/how-teach-children-about-disability-every-age-t187942 

Dragons

Dragon facts
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/dragon/353064 

History of dragons
https://bedtimehistorystories.com/history-for-dragons-for-kids/ 

The Best Dragon (According to Science) (4:10)
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=3n1DC_Q-2Ng 

Make a dragon pencil holder
https://www.bakerross.co.uk/craft-ideas/kids/dragon-pencil-pot/ 

Logging
Logging/ deforestation facts
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/deforestation/443116 

Tree and tree products
https://oklahoma.agclassroom.org/resources_facts/agfacts_forestry/ 

MakerSpace Activities:

Build a dragon using pipe cleaners or other materials
https://frugalfun4boys.com/pipe-cleaner-dragons/

Make a dragon puppet
https://www.adventure-in-a-box.com/product/articulated-dragon-puppet-free-printable-design/ 

Design a carrier Jerry could use to transport Paul. Use details from the book for dimensions and details to make it comfortable for Paul. 

Use details from the book to create your own map of Windy Pines. 

Create a model of Gevi, the mountain guardian.

Discussion Questions:

What predictions do you have based on the cover illustration? 

Why do you think Jerry imagined or created Paul? 

What does Jerry mean when she says, “Kids my age are overrated” (page 11)? 

Jerry and her mom talk about a golem. Do you think this is foreshadowing? What are your predictions? 

How would you react if you heard a voice in the radio static like Jerry did on page 28? 

What do you think Jerry’s mom is doing in the woods? What makes you think that? 

How would you feel after hearing the chant about Millie Dobbs on page 43? Would you want to stay at the Slumbering Giant? 

On page 65, Paul says, “It’s okay to not be alone. You gotta take a chance on letting other people in.” Do you agree or disagree? Why? 

Do you believe in urban legends? Do you notice any similarities between demons in the forest? 

Jerry says that the cigarette burns on her dad’s jacket “symbolized how much he cared about me” (page 73). What does she mean by that? 

How did Jerry use her disability to her advantage in the forest? 

Other than its use as a weapon, how does Jerry’s dad’s sword help her? 

On page 108, Chapel says, “You’re jealous of me having a phone, but you have a sword?” Which would you rather have in the forest in their situation? 

What was your reaction when Chapel was able to see and hear Paul? 

Do you think Jerry will make a good Witch of the Woods? Why or why not? 

What is symbiosis? Why does Chapel mention it on page 171? 

How did Jerry change from the beginning of the book to the end? 

Why did Jerry decide to go to school? What changed her mind? 

Why do you think the author chose to title the book The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines if the sign says “Slumbering Giant?” 

Read the author’s biography. How did the author’s life influence the book? 

Book Talk Teasers:

Read the reader’s theater for The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines by Mo Netz. 

Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.

Read Alikes: 

Salerni, Dianne K. The Carrefour curse. When twelve-year-old Garnet finally gets to meet her magical extended family she discovers they're all trapped in the ruins of their crumbling manor and Garnet must break a curse that has decimated three generations of Carrefours. (NoveList Plus)

Averling, Mary. The curse of Eelgrass Bog. Dark secrets and unnatural magic abound when a twelve-year-old girl ventures into a bog full of monsters to break a mysterious curse. (NoveList Plus)

Harrier, Ash. The deadly daylight. When twelve-year-old Alice, who receives messages from the dead, discovers a man with a deadly sunlight allergy was murdered, she and the victim's niece work together to uncover the truth. (NoveList Plus)

Senf, Lora. The Clackity. To rescue her aunt from the ghost of a serial killer, twelve-year-old Evie Von Rathe embarks on a journey into a strange world filled with hungry witches, ghosts, and a story thief, all while trying to fulfill her deal with the Clackity. (NoveList Plus)

Howard, Amalie. Bumps in the night. Sent to her grandmother's estate in Trinidad, Rika meets a group of kids with elemental powers called Minders, who reveal that her long-lost mom is in danger, sending Rika on a magical adventure where she must learn to believe in herself to destroy evil. (NoveList Plus)

Reviews:

Booklist (March 1, 2024 (Vol. 120, No. 13))

Grades 3-6. Debut author Netz presents charismatic characters in a captivating, magical setting. Jerusha Eliana Blum, a white girl known as Jerry, has a genetic degenerative disease, which means she needs to use a wheelchair. After her father’s death and losing their home, she and her mother arrive in Windy Pines, Georgia, where her mother has gotten a job helping to maintain a motel. An imaginary friend—a Yiddish-speaking dragon with pigeon wings named Paul—helps homeschooled Jerry cope with loneliness. Soon, the perceptive 11-year-old suspects her mother is working on something secret in the forest, and the town's history of missing people begins to worry Jerry. When she meets Chapel Bell, a Black sixth-grader living in the motel due to a house fire, they bond over being treated differently based on others' preconceived notions and become friends. When Jerry's mom disappears, Jerry and Chapel enter the forest to find her. With a satisfying emotional arc, Jerry's story sensitively tackles such topics as ableism and bullying, and her sharp intellect, paired with Paul's wit, adds humor and levity.