ABOUT THIS BOOK
Gib, an orphan since age 6, shows strength and courage as he endures harsh treatment during his five years at the orphanage before he finds a family that he can finally call his own.
Gibson Whitaker was 6 years old when he was taken to live at the Lovell House Home for Orphaned and Abandoned Boys. Now, at the age of 11, he finds himself in a seemingly hopeless situation. He learns that "senior" boys are almost never adopted, only farmed out to nearby ranches to perform hard labor.
Miss Mooney, the one kind soul at the orphanage, has taught Gib about "hope dreams." So Gib goes to bed each night dreaming and wishing for a real family. He sometimes feels envious of boys like Georgie Olson when they leave Lovell House. Then one day, a Mr. Thornton appears at the orphanage and makes a special request for Gib. Could this be the family that Gib wants? Can Rocking M Ranch be the place he can call home?
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Raised in California, in the country--with no television and few movies to watch--three-time Newbery Honor winner Zilpha Keatley Snyder filled her childhood with animals, games, and books. Among her earliest acquaintances were cows, goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, and horses. In fact, her family's animals were her closest friends, and a nearby library was a constant source of magic, adventure, and excitement for her. And when she wasn't reading or playing with animals, Snyder made up games and stories to entertain herself.
While Zilpha Keatley Snyder was growing up, interesting stories filled her household. Both of her parents spent a lot of time relating accounts of past events in their lives, so Snyder came by her storytelling instincts early. But unlike her parents, when Zilpha had something to tell, she had, as she says, "an irresistible urge to make it worth telling. And without the rich and rather lengthy past that my parents had to draw on, I was forced to rely on the one commodity of which I had an adequate supply--imagination." Consequently, at the age of eight, Zilpha Keatley Snyder decided to become a writer.
TEACHING IDEAS
Gib Rides Home is a story of strength and courage, loyalty and friendship, and the desire to belong to a family. The descriptions of the boys' lives at Lovell House will help students grasp the treatment of orphans in the early 1900s. Readers will gain a clear understanding of why adoption laws and child labor laws were developed in the United States.
The powerful themes, convincing characters, and the strong sense of story make the book ideal for a novel study or read aloud. This guide offers activities for using the novel to connect language arts, social studies, science and health, consumer science, drama, and careers.
Pre-Reading Activity
Gib was born in 1900, and in the novel celebrates his 11th birthday. Have students research special events that happened in this 11-year span and construct a time line that documents their findings. Tell the class that the period between 1900 and 1909 was called the "Age of Optimism." Ask students to discuss why this period was considered an "optimistic" time.
Thematic Connections
Strength/Courage
Ask students to discuss the meaning of courage. How does Gib show courage? How do his strength and courage influence the other boys at Lovell House? Gib's special ability to "talk" to horses is demonstrated in his work with Black Silk at Rocking M Ranch. How does his work with Black Silk take courage? How does Gib's courage affect the Thornton's daughter Olivia?
Abandonment
Gib has very faint memories of his life before age 6. He simply knows that he has no family. All of the boys at Lovell House have been abandoned in one way or another. Locate passages in the book that reveal their feelings of abandonment. How is Georgie Olson abandoned a second time? Ask students to discuss how Gib might feel abandoned when Mr. Thornton takes him back to Lovell House.
Belonging
More than anything, Gib wants to belong to a family. How do Mr. Thornton, Mrs. Thornton, and Miss Hooper treat Gib? At what point does Gib begin to feel that he really belongs at the ranch? Why does Mrs. Thornton give Gib her saddle? Have students discuss Gib's position in the Thornton family after Mr. Thornton's death. Will Mrs. Thornton take Gib as her son? How does learning about his mother and his past help him gain a sense of belonging?
Loyalty/Friendship
Encourage students to discuss the meaning of loyalty and friendship and describe Gib's relationship with the other boys at Lovell House. How does he try to protect them? How is Miss Mooney a friend to Gib? What does Miss Hooper do to help Gib's relationship with the Thorntons' daughter Olivia? At what point does Olivia accept him as her friend? How is Hy Carter loyal to the Thorntons while showing friendship to Gib? Have students write a letter that Gib might have written to Miss Mooney and the boys at Lovell House after he returns to Rocking M Ranch.
Interdisciplinary Connections
Language Arts
Neither Gib nor Hy uses correct grammar when speaking. Divide the class into small groups and ask them to identify several passages of dialogue that illustrate the speech patterns of Gib and Hy. Ask students to read the dialogue aloud, correcting the grammar as they read. How does changing the language of these two characters affect the flavor of the novel?
Social Studies
The Rev. Charles Loring Brace was the founder of the Children's Aid Society, an organization that started the orphan trains. Have students research the orphan trains and read one or more of the books in Joan Lowery Nixon's The Orphan Train Adventures. What was the purpose of the trains? How many years did they run? How were the orphans treated?
Bethesda Home for Boys in Georgia, the oldest orphanage in the United States, opened in 1740. Today, most orphaned children are either adopted or placed with foster families. Ask students to find out when the concept of foster families began. Invite a foster mother or father to speak with the class about the rewards and difficulties of being a foster parent.
Science/Health
Georgie Olson suffers from frostbite when Mr. Bean forces him to work in the cold without his mittens. Ask students to find out the treatment for frostbite. What could happen if frostbite isn't properly treated? What other diseases might Georgie have contracted from his exposure to extreme cold? Have the class make an illustrated brochure called "Health Hazards of Cold Weather."
Consumer Science
Mr. Thornton drives Gib back to Lovell House in his new Model T car. Ask students to find out information about the original Model T. (Its price in 1908 was $850.) Have them prepare a sales pitch for the car, pointing out its special features as well as contrasting the Model T with horse-drawn buggies.
Drama
L. Frank Baum published The Wizard of Oz in 1900. Although we don't know if Gib reads the novel, we do know he likes to read. Gib has an ability to analyze the people around him, so it is quite possible that he would connect with the characters from Oz. Suppose Lovell House performed a play based on The Wizard of Oz . Who would Gib cast in the following roles: Aunt Em, the Tin Man, the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Wicked Witch of the West? What would be Gib's Emerald City?
Careers
Gib has a special way with horses. Have the class brainstorm the various jobs or career opportunities related to working with horses today. Ask each student to select one of the jobs or careers from the class list. What type of training does the job require? Where might one go to get the necessary training? Approximately how much would the training cost? What kind of salary might one expect?
Prepared by Pat Scales, library media specialist, Greenville Middle School, Greenville, South Carolina.
VOCABULARY
Hyram Carter, the foreman at Rocking M Ranch, says to Gib, "I knowed all along that you had a good ear for horse lingo" (p. 154). Have students find words in the novel like currycomb (p. 134) and stanchion bar (p. 117) that specifically refer to horses. Ask them to identify other unfamiliar words and define them using the context of the story.
REVIEWS
"A sobering and poignant novel....A good look at the period, with moments that are searing, and a heartfelt author's note that readers are sure to find particularly compelling."
-- Kirkus Reviews
x"The novel delivers an engaging glimpse of history as well as a compelling story."
--Starred, School Library Journal
"A touching, satisfying tribute to Snyder's father and to all children who face difficult lives with courage."
-- Booklist
"An exceptionally atmospheric and suspenseful tale."
-- Publishers Weekly
FURTHER READING
Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White[0-440-41372-9]
Jim Ugly by Sid Fleischman[0-440-40803-2]
Jingo Django by Sid Fleischman[0-440-41039-8]
Journey by Patricia MacLachlan[0-440-40809-1]
Lucy's Wish by Joan Lowery Nixon[0-385-32293-3]
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant[0-440-40865-2]
Will's Choice by Joan Lowery Nixon[0-385-32294-1]