Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

For Book Club this year, we read Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.  It’s the story of Kevin (Freak), a physically small incredibly smart and imaginative boy who befriends Max (the Mighty), a very tall and large slow learner.  It is a perfect middle school book because it appeals to all students regardless of gender or grade and it fits perfectly with our character education program.

I announced the club in January (and after a few snow days) the club was formed, students received their books at the beginning of February, (and after a few more snow days and testing), we met to discuss the book last week.    

Here are some of the questions the students were asked and a few of their responses.

Would you recommend the book to a friend?

definitely, absolutely, everyone should read this book

Describe the book in one word.

Twisty.  It kept me guessing.  Emotional.  Entertaining.  Sad.  Creative.  Unexpected.  Inspiring.  Hopeful.

Which core character trait do you think was most evident in the story?

Empathy.  Sometimes it takes a lot of empathy to accept someone for who they are, especially of other people don’t.

Courage.  Freak wasn't scared to be himself and Max wasn't scared to be friends with Freak.

Loyalty.  Freak stood by Max no matter what.

Would these characters fit in at our school?  

Yes, they would fit in because we have tall people and small people and smart people and not so smart people.  

Who was your favorite character?

Freak.  He’s smart and he has a big imagination.  I love his dictionary.

Max.  He’s inspirational.  Just because he is tall and muscular doesn't mean people should make fun of him.  He learned how to believe in himself.

Frax.  I can’t choose.  I like them both.

The students were able to make a lot of connections and had very thoughtful opinions about this book.  I was very impressed by our discussion.  As Freak would say, “that’s the truth, the whole truth, the unvanquished truth.”