Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy 

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical fiction 
• Originally Published: 2004 
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1000L; grades 6-9 
• Structure/Length: 12 chapters and afterword; approximately 224 pages; approximately 6 hours, 48 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The story is set in 1912 in the coastal town of Phippsburg, Maine. Turner Buckminster, the son of a minister, befriends Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from the nearby island of Malaga, which is inhabited by a mostly African American community. The central conflict explores racism, community, and change as Turner fights against the town’s plans to evict the people of Malaga Island and erase their community. 
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Prejudice, racism, and racial tension; themes of displacement and community destruction; violence, including violent assault; death, including death of a parent and a main character; mild profanity

Gary D. Schmidt, Author 

• Bio: Born in 1957; American children’s writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels; known for engaging historical and realistic fiction that often tackles complex social issues and offers emotional resonance, moral inquiry, and detailed settings
• Other Works: The Wednesday Wars (2007); Okay for Now (2011); Orbiting Jupiter (2015)
• Awards: Newbery Honor Book (2005); Printz Honor Book (2005); YALSA Best Book for young Adults (2005)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide: