The Great Treehouse War

Discuss the role of the sticky note commentary in the novel. How are they used to communicate literary devices such as foreshadowing? In what ways does this device support the novel’s exploration of The Importance of Friendship and Other Bonds of Support?

Consider the novel’s framing as a collaborative memoir. How does this structure affect the point of view in the novel and the reader’s understanding of who the narrator is? What conventions of third-person limited and third-person omniscient are present in the text and what impact do they have on the narrative as a whole?

The novel contains many humorous and absurd situations. What is the role of humor in the novel? How does it facilitate examination of deeper emotional themes? Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.

Analyze Graff’s methods of characterization in the novel. How do the illustrations and sticky note commentary from the Treehouse Ten contribute to the crafting of her characters?

Consider Artist Vision as a motif and its relationship to the theme of Self-Advocacy and Standing Up for One’s Needs. How does it reinforce characterization via inference skills? How does it function as a mode of expression for Winnie?

Connect Winnie’s arc in the novel to the realistic struggles of children living with divorce. How does Graff use realistic physiological and psychological coping mechanisms to suggest Winnie’s internal conflicts? How does the resolution of Winnie’s character arc suggest a resolution to navigating parental divorce?

Consider the role of the treehouse in the novel. How does its symbolism change over the course of the narrative? What is the significance of Winnie re-opening it as a museum at the end of the novel?

How does Winnie’s situation with Lyle and Squizzy and the division of the Treehouse Ten in Chapter 11 mirror Winnie’s situation with her parents? What clues in the text signal the parallel? How does resolving this situation facilitate Winnie’s character arc?