Robert Cormier

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Student Question

What alternative title would you propose for Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance To and why?

Quick answer:

I think that an alternative title for Tunes for Bears to Dance To by Robert Cormier would be "A Village for Henry to Call Home." This title connects with Henry and his struggle with finding himself. He finds a place where he feels comfortable and safe with Mr.

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One example of an alternative title for Tunes for Bears to Dance To by Robert Cormier is It Takes a Village, as Mr. Levine builds the village of his former town destroyed in the Holocaust. George Graham explains to Henry that Mr. Levine is building the village to cure himself of his troubling memories. George says, "This is his real cure. Better medicine than the hospital." (39) In addition, the village is important because by deciding not to destroy the village, even when Mr. Hairston orders him to do so, Henry develops a conscience and chooses what is good over what is evil and self-serving (as Mr. Hairston had promised to reward Henry for destroying the village). Finally, the well-known expression "it takes a village" refers to the need for everyone in a community to help children develop as moral and ethical beings, and many people in the novel help Henry develop into a moral person.

The other examples are up to you. They can revolve around the idea of Henry's developing a moral sense and grieving for his brother, Eddie, who has died. Throughout the book, Henry wants to place a stone on Eddie's grave and winds up putting a baseball and bat on the grave. Is there a title you can develop that involves the idea of baseball and of winning a battle (or scoring a home run)? This type of title would use Eddie's interest in baseball to imply that Henry finally triumphs in his battle to defeat the evil Mr. Hairston. Or you could develop a title using the idea that Henry tells Doris, Mr. Hairston's daughter, to stand up to her father. Mr. Hairston constantly says that Doris falls down, though it's apparent that Mr. Hairston might shove her. Is there a title you can develop that uses the idea of standing up, literally and figuratively, to negative forces in one's life and doing what's right? 

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