Sawdust in His Shoes cover

Sawdust in His Shoes

by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. Sawdust in his shoes, 1950. From the Bulletin of the Centre for Children's Books: "Fifteen-year-old Joe Lang had known nothing but circus life until the night his father was killed by a lion and the law stepped in to find a suitable guardian for him. Running away from the industrial school where he was placed pending the court's decision, Joe landed at Pop Dawson's farm with a badly cut leg and a distrust for all "gillies". The contrast between circus life and farm life is brought out quite strongly in Joe's adjustment to the farm and the community's acceptance of Joe. "

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?