SuitabookThat squeak
Carolyn Beck
- Reading
- Read together if the idea of a friend being gone may need care. Pause before judging Carlos, then revisit the ending to discuss what Joe has gained, kept or changed.
- Themes
- Grief, memory and change: Joe’s best friend Jay is gone, while Jay’s bicycle remains outside school and becomes the focus of Joe’s care. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Trust and first impressions: The new child Carlos offers to help Joe, but Joe suspects he may want to steal the bicycle. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Care, ownership and sharing: Joe takes Jay’s bicycle home to polish and repaint it as Jay might have liked, then may share it and a special place with Carlos. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Worth knowing
- Notice how Joe’s feelings about Jay shape his choices, and whether Carlos’s actions change Joe’s view. The unresolved ending means the friendship’s final shape should not be assumed.