Themes: All Themes
Themes: Environmentalism
The thread tying all of the characters in this novel together is the plight of the burrowing owls and whether they will be destroyed to make way for the Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House that is supposed to be built on top of their homes. The champion of environmentalism in the story comes in the unlikely form of the runaway boy Mullet Fingers, who pulls harmless pranks and shows remarkable tenacity is his campaign to prevent the owls...
(Read more)Themes: Corporate Greed
The antagonist in the story is the corporate official who plots to get his pancake house built even if it means destroying protected wildlife. Humorously named Chuck Muckle, this company man ignores the mandates set forth to protect nature and innocent life; instead, he bullies the foreman to continue the construction project. He represents the pancake company’s greed and villainy, which is emphasized at the end of the story as Muckle throws a...
(Read more)Themes: Courage
Courage is displayed by numerous characters throughout the book. Roy Eberhardt is hearteningly brave when it comes to standing up to the intimidating bully, Dana Matherson. He manages to break Dana’s nose when he punches him, then he has the courage to go to Dana’s house and apologize. Later, in an elaborate plot, Roy manages to frame Dana for the pancake house pranks. His creativity and willingness to stand up to Dana show great courage. Mullet...
(Read more)Themes: Friends
At the beginning of the novel, Roy is a loner without many friends. However, as the story progresses, he seeks out and nurtures friendships in unusual people. Despite appearances, friends can be found if you truly work at it, and Roy manages to befriend some rather tough characters. The friendships provide strength as they support each other through difficult family situations and accomplish great feats. Roy gives Beatrice support in her rough...
(Read more)Themes: Family
Roy is the only character who has a good home life with supporting and loving parents. Roy loves his parents, and they have a good relationship with each other. The other main characters in the novel have parents who are abusive, rough, uncaring, or downright negligent. Even though the bad parents are painted in a humorous light, there is a serious undercurrent, especially as Beatrice has to battle against her stepmother’s tantrums. Beatrice...
(Read more)Themes: Principles
The main battle in the novel occurs between people who stand up for principles and what is right and those who are unprincipled or refuse to stand up for the right. It is a unique novel in that the ones standing up for what is right are children; they provide positive examples and inspiration to the adults around them. The novel shows that a person can make a difference no matter how young they are or how insignificant they may think they are. It...
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