Reading Group Guide

The Littlest Bigfoot #3:

The Bigfoot Queen

By Jennifer Weiner

About the Book

The Littlest Bigfoot series about friendship, fitting in, and self-acceptance concludes with this third and final book, The Bigfoot Queen. Alice Mayfair, Millie Maximus, Jessica Jarvis, and Jeremy Bigelow face one of their biggest challenges as the sacred, secret world of the Bigfoot is about to be exposed by the most determined foe yet: someone with a very personal reason to want revenge against the creatures who call themselves the Yare. The fate of the tribe—and its members’ right to live out in the open, in peace—is at stake. Impossible decisions are made, friendships are threatened, secrets are revealed, and tremendous courage is required. Alice and her frenemies will have to work together and be stronger, smarter, and more forgiving than they have ever been.

Discussion Questions

1. What are some important themes in this book? What are some of the plot elements and character actions that the author has created to support these themes?

2. In this book, readers are reintroduced to Millie’s Bigfoot tribe. Discuss the tribe’s lifestyle and share some facts about them that you learned from the book. Where do they live? What do they look like? What language do they speak?

3. Jeremy is gratified to have proof that the Bigfoot exist, and when Christopher Jarvis asks Dr. Gold if she believes in them, she says “‘I don’t not believe it.’” (Chapter eleven) She is keeping an open mind. Why are some people more open to believing in strange or magical things while others aren’t?

4. After Jessica witnesses some strange men trying to kidnap Alice and Millie, she thinks about calling her parents but wonders, “Would they tell her the truth? Probably not . . . Parents tried to protect kids, long past the point that kids actually required protection.” (Chapter three) Do you agree with her? Talk about some of the parents in the book who made choices they thought were in their kids’ best interests. In your opinion, were these choices right or wrong? Which of the parents, or grandparents, seemed to be on the kids’ side?

5. Plenty of characters in the book are presented as unique individuals, like Jeremy, “a twelve-year-old kid who was regarded as a weirdo and a loser by almost all of his classmates.” (Chapter two) Talk about which of Jeremy’s choices might show him as a “bad guy” and which ones indicate that he’s a “good guy.” Why is Christopher Jarvis, who is also described as “weird and odd and awkward,” portrayed as evil? Do you think our choices help decide how society looks at us?

6. The author makes a case that grief is what made Christopher become evil. Have you experienced grief, or known someone who has? Do you understand how enormous grief might change your personality or your motivations? In several moments, Christopher is described as a monster, including when Alice meets him in person: “He was every monster from every nightmare Alice had ever had.” (Chapter twenty-two) Do you agree that he is a monster? Would his wife, Ellie, have thought so? Is it possible that we can love people who might be monsters?

7. Jessica’s nana thinks Christopher is “‘trying to cheat death . . . I think he wants to live forever.’” (Chapter nine) Immortality is a common theme in stories of all types. Can you name some other books, TV shows, or movies in which someone wants to live forever and will stop at nothing to find a way to do that? Would you like to live forever? What would be good about it? What would be bad?

8. When Charlotte Hughes is asked by Jarvis Industries to report “‘folks that look different,’” she is uneasy about it but accepts the money anyway. (Chapter one) Did you understand her motivation for doing that? Would you have done the same? When she meets the girls and turns them in, she tells herself that “they were strangers. She owed them nothing.” (Chapter nineteen) What changes her mind, in the end?

9. What are some of the other characters’ motivations? Why does Jeremy want so badly to prove that the Bigfoot are real? Why does Jessica decide to help Alice and Millie? What motivates Alice’s actions? If one of Alice’s motivations is to find out the truth about herself, what actions and feelings does her discovery prompt?

10. The Bigfoot tribe is a secret from the human world, but that’s not the only secret in the book. Talk about some of the other secrets characters are keeping and why. How are these secrets harmful to the secret-keeper, as well as the person/people they are hiding things from?

11. Charlotte’s grandma has some sayings, like “‘Easier doesn’t always mean better,’” and “‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’” (Chapter one) Talk about the meanings of these as reflected in the story. Can you share some sayings that you have heard adults say, and what they mean? Do you find it helpful when an adult shares some wisdom like this?

12. Grandma describes the profits from Jarvis Industries as “dirty money.” Have you heard this expression before? Do you understand what she means? What is your opinion about this? How do you feel about companies that seem to put profit before everything else? What are some ways companies can use their profits for good?

13. Jeremy watches as Tulip collects some of her possessions in preparation for the Yare tribe’s move. If you were forced to leave your home and only had an hour to pack, what would you take with you? Is there anything or anyone that you might be happy to leave behind? Why?

14. Talk about the scene in Vermont where Alice explodes in rage at her mother for all the years of being sent away. In what ways did her outburst surprise you, given her behavior throughout the series? She asks her mom, “‘When do I get a say? . . . When does any of this get to be my choice?’” (Chapter sixteen) Do you ever feel angry at the adults in your life for not letting you make choices on your own?

15. What do you think about Alice’s relationship with each of her parents? Why do you think she finds it so easy to accept and get along with her biological dad, while still caring about the dad she grew up with? Why is she able to forgive her mom despite the choices she made?

16. Authors sometimes use an epilogue to give readers a conclusion to the events of the story or, in this case, the series. What did you think of this epilogue? Were you happy and satisfied with how the characters ended up? If not, can you suggest alternate possibilities?

Extension Activities

1. Imagine that Alice, as Bigfoot Queen, is invited to make a speech to the Yare tribe, and compose the speech she will give.

2. Design and draw a map of the new aboveground Yare village next to Lake Standish, blending traditional things about their old village and imagining new areas they will need.

3. Charlotte Hughes is a complex character. The author says: “Charlotte knew what it was to not fit in, and to want a life different from what you’d been given.” (Chapter twenty-one) Write a personal essay talking about how you relate to it.

4. Define what a conspiracy theory is, and then choose one to research and write a report on.

5. Jeremy describes his choice to either go along with, or stand against, the government agency when operatives tell him: “‘We can help or we can hurt. So which do you want? The handshake or the slap?’” (Chapter fifteen) Write an essay from Jeremy’s point of view defending his choice of the handshake.

6. Christopher Jarvis and his wife, Ellie, disagree about the idea of immortality. He wants them to live forever, but she says “‘to me, the idea that there’s an end . . . it makes everything sweeter.’” (Chapter twelve) Who do you agree with? Choose a side and write an essay about why it would be great to live forever, or not.

Guide written by Bobbie Combs, a consultant at We Love Children’s Books.
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