Reading Group Guide

Rolling On

By Jamie Sumner

About the Book

Ellie Cowan is almost done with eighth grade, but instead of triumphantly cruising to the end of middle school, her life is changing in ways she never expected. First, there’s that weird fluttery feeling she’s suddenly getting when her best friend, Bert, is around, and Ellie isn’t sure she likes it. He’s different since he got back from his Young Environmentalists Consortium. And if that isn’t bad enough, Bert is applying to boarding school hundreds of miles away. Ellie wants to encourage Bert’s dreams, but her mixed-up emotions are making that really hard. Worst of all, Ellie’s beloved grandfather’s health is going downhill. Even baking isn’t helping as much as it used to! It’s all so confusing, and Ellie wishes time would just stand still for a while. Life’s changes are never easy, but can Ellie find a way to roll on through?

Discussion Questions

1. If you’ve read the earlier books in the series, Roll with It and Time to Roll, how has Ellie changed since the previous books? How is she the same?

2. Describe Ellie, Bert, and Coralee’s friendship. Why do you think they’re such good friends? How do they look out for one another? How are they similar, and how are they different? What conflicts do they have?

3. How has Bert changed after his time in Kentucky? How do the other kids at school treat him differently? How does Ellie feel about these changes and her own new feelings toward Bert?

4. Bert and Ellie have always told each other the truth, but that becomes difficult in this book. Why? Has your relationship with someone you were close to ever changed? How did you deal with that change?

5. Ellie says that Bert is “never shy with his opinions, and he would never lie to me about my cooking, or anything else. It’s one of the reasons I trust him.” (Chapter two) Do you think Ellie earns Bert’s trust in this book? Who do you trust most in your life? What makes them so trustworthy?

6. Why does Ellie struggle with helping Bert with his boarding school application? Do you think she should help him? Have you ever found it hard to help a friend or loved one chase their dream? Or maybe a friend has found it hard to help you? What was that like?

7. In this book, Grandpa’s Alzheimer’s has progressed a lot. What are his symptoms? How has his life changed and how have the lives of his family’ members changed because of his illness?

8. Why is Ellie so desperate to bring her grandfather home after his outburst? Why does Ellie think this would solve the problem?

9. Ellie says, “Mema can fix anything.” (Chapter four) Does this turn out to be true? What can Mema fix, and what can’t she fix?

10. When Ellie asks Mema for advice after her fight with Bert, Mema says that “‘mending only happens once you turn everything inside out so you can see all the holes.’” (Chapter four) What does Mema mean by this? Do you agree with her? What do you believe are the benefits to holding all our feelings up to the light? In what ways might it be beneficial to keep some of those feelings hidden?

11. Ellie points out that “Mema says what happens to one of us affects the bunch, because that’s how families work.” (Chapter five) In what ways do you think Mema is right? How does what happens to her grandparents affect Ellie? In what ways have things that have happened with your family affected you?

12. How does the thought of Bert leaving for a new school make Ellie feel? Have you ever had a friend leave for a new school or move to a new town? How did it make you feel? Did you stay friends after they moved?

13. Ellie asks, “Is it so bad to wish everything would just stay the same?” (Chapter two) Why does Ellie want things to stay the same? What’s difficult about change? In what ways can change be a good thing?

14. How does Ellie use baking to express her feelings? How do you like to express your feelings aside from words?

15. Why do you think Ellie writes letters to cookbook and cooking blog writers? Have you ever written a letter or email to someone famous? Who would you write to, and what would you say?

16. Ellie says, “Confidence comes when you find the thing you love and follow it.” (Chapter three) What things make Ellie, Bert, and Coralee feel confident? What do you love to do? What makes you feel confident?

17. Mema says that “any food can be comfort food if it’s given by the right person at the right time.” (Chapter five) What’s a comfort food for Ellie? What are some of your comfort foods? Who makes them or gives them to you?

18. Ellie says that her teacher “is a feeler. She always wants you to show your emotion in writing and in real life. But I’m a doer. When something makes me feel a way I don’t like, I change it. Why talk about it? Fix it or get over it.” (Chapter six) Are you more like Mrs. MacKenzie or Ellie? Is it always possible to change things that make us feel ways we don’t like?

19. “Being a kid is just one whiplash moment to another.” (Chapter six) What does Ellie mean by this? How do you feel about this statement?

20. In earlier books in the series, Ellie’s struggles as a wheelchair user are much more prominent than they are in this book. Why do you think this is the case?

21. Ellie says, “This is what I do when I’m anxious—I joke.” (Chapter five) How do you feel about joking as a way to cope with anxiety? Do you feel like it’s a good coping method? How do you cope with anxiety or worry?

22. If you have read the first two books in the Roll with It series, which was your favorite? Why?

23. How do you feel about this latest installment in Ellie’s story? What do you think will happen next with Ellie, Bert, and Coralee?

24. Why do you think this book is called Rolling On?

Extension Activities

1. Imagine you are Bert and write a diary entry or a letter to your friend about what life is like for you at your new school. What are your new classmates like? Have you made any new friends? How does it feel to be so far away from Ellie and Coralee?

2. Ellie’s story in Rolling On is an epistolary novel, told partly in letters to cooking bloggers she admires. Try your hand at writing an epistolary short story. It can be a brand-new story, or you could try telling the next chapter in Ellie and Bert’s story through letters between them while Bert is away at boarding school. You can use letters, blog posts, text messages, and more. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

3. Ellie’s grandpa suffers from a disease called Alzheimer’s, which makes people gradually forget their loved ones. Make a poster or create a slideshow explaining what Alzheimer’s disease is. Explain the symptoms, different ways it can be treated, and how friends and family can support a loved one who has this illness.

4. Ellie loves baking, and often uses it to express her feelings toward her friends and family. Create or find a recipe that means something important to you or someone you love. Include the ingredients and their measurements, as well as instructions about how to incorporate each ingredient and cook or bake your creation. Turn your recipe into a cooking blog post, and write a short essay about why this recipe is important to you, what it reminds you of, and if there are any special occasions or times of the year when you like to make it.

5. Create a “book commercial” encouraging other kids to read Rolling On (or the whole Roll with It series, if you’d like). You can do this either as a poster or a video (with your guardian’s permission). Be sure to give potential readers a good sense of what the book is about and why you enjoyed reading it.

6. Ellie and Bert have both changed a lot over the course of the series. Create before and after portraits of each of them. You can use markers, paint, colored pencils—or even make a collage!

Chris Clark is a writer and reading teacher who lives with her family in coastal Maine.

This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.