Description:

Ida B by Katherine Hannigan is a heartfelt novel about Ida B. Applewood, a bright, imaginative girl who loves her family’s farm, homeschooling, and the freedom of exploring the natural world. When changes force Ida B. to return to public school and her family faces a difficult decision, she struggles with anger and disappointment while learning about forgiveness, resilience, and adapting to change. The story explores themes of family, friendship, environmental appreciation, emotional growth, and finding a way forward when life does not go as planned. 

Discussion Questions:

• On two occasions Ida B says to her daddy, “I think the earth takes care of us” (pages 32, 244). What does Ida B mean by this statement?
• Ida B’s teacher, Ms. Washington wisely doesn’t push Ida B to make friends or join in the games at recess. How does she finally break through to Ida B? 
• What do you think Ida B means when she says, “Apologizing is like spring-cleaning” (page 222)?
• Ida B finally understands that the “land and the mountain and the trees and the stars . . . weren’t mine at all, and never would be. But in some ways they’d always belong to me, and I couldn’t imagine not belonging to them” (page 245). How would you explain what Ida B means by that? 

(Questions from Harper Collins Publishing)