TEACHER'S GUIDE FOR:

Galaxy Games

By Greg Fishbone
Illustrations by

1. Tyler changes a lot from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. How would you describe Tyler at the beginning of the story? How does being the team captain for Earth’s Galaxy Games team change him? How do you predict Tyler will change in the next book?

2. Describe Amanda. What is she like? What’s important to her? How does she feel about Tyler? Would you like to have her as an older sister? Why or why not?

3. El Gatito works hard to appear mysterious. How does he do it? Is he successful? Why or why not?

4. What did you notice about all of the players selected for the Galaxy Games? What are some traits they all have in common? (Possible answers: they’re all top athletes, they’re hard workers, or they’re all a little weird: Felix with the butterfly wings in goal, El Gatitio as himself, Tomoko and her energy/obstinacy, Weez who thinks his little brother was abducted by aliens.)

5. Greg Fishbone uses humor to create and define the characters. Can you find an example of how he uses humor to show us more about a character? (Examples: Daiki wincing every time someone calls Tomoko his “girlfriend” tells us that he’s shy about their friendship, Amanda loving the rock star who constantly lampoons Tyler in her lyrics shows how frustrated she is with Tyler getting all the attention, El Gatito referring to himself in the third person to create an air of mystery.)

6. Think about Tomoko. What are her strengths as a character? What are her faults? How do her strengths help her in the story? How do her faults hold her back?

7. In the book, not everyone on Earth is excited about the aliens. Who opposes the aliens? Why are they against them? Is there anything in our society that reminds you of these characters/groups? (Example: Yolanda might remind a child of a talk show host.)

8. What is a language implant? What does it do? If you could get one, would you want one? Why or why not?

9. Why is Eric angry with Tyler? Do you agree with Eric’s reaction? If you were Eric, and the same thing had happened to your best friend, how would you feel? How would you react?

10. M’Frozza has a unique relationship with her Father-Parent. How does she treat him? How does he treat her? How does their relationship impact the story?