40 Fun Facts About The Lottery Rose

In The Lottery Rose, where does Georgie Burgess win the small rosebush he comes to treasure?

A grocery store runs the lottery, and Georgie feels sure he will win before the drawing even happens. He lavishes on the little bush the care nobody has ever shown him.

Which Gulf Coast city in Florida is Georgie Burgess's home at the start of The Lottery Rose?

Tampa is where Georgie lives with his mother, keeping the abuse he suffers at home a secret. He is always in trouble at school there and has never learned to read.

In The Lottery Rose, which Wonderland character does Georgie play when another boy drops out of the skit?

The Mad Hatter is the part Georgie takes, in the tea party scene with Mrs. Harper as Alice. Acting opposite her in character lets him face her at last.

In The Lottery Rose, which relative of little Robin helps Georgie Burgess finally learn to read?

His grandfather, Mr. Collier, brings books to Georgie's sickbed and reads them aloud. Georgie admits he never learned because nobody had offered him a book he found interesting.

At the end of The Lottery Rose, where does Georgie Burgess finally choose to plant his rosebush for good?

On Robin's grave is where Georgie decides the bush belongs, rather than in the garden he fought so hard to reach. The choice at last brings him and Mrs. Harper together.

In The Lottery Rose, what does a furious Mrs. Harper threaten to do if Georgie replants his rosebush?

Burn it is her threat, shouted after she finds her late husband's plantings trampled. The words stay with Georgie so long that he refuses to see her even after she relents.

In The Lottery Rose, what tragedy took Mrs. Harper's husband and elder son shortly before Georgie arrives?

A car accident killed them both, which is why she keeps her distance from the schoolboys. Being near boys her lost son's age is too painful for her.

Which Newbery Medal-winning author wrote The Lottery Rose, the story of an abused boy and his rosebush?

Irene Hunt published the novel in 1976. It was a change of pace for a writer known best for historical fiction.

In The Lottery Rose, which birds does Georgie help Robin, Mrs. Harper's younger son, to feed?

Ducks are what Georgie takes Robin down to feed. Georgie becomes like a big brother to Robin, who has severe cognitive impairments.

In The Lottery Rose, how does little Robin die after slipping away from the woman minding him?

He drowns in a pond after wandering down to the water alone, on a day Georgie is not there to take him. The loss draws Georgie and Mrs. Harper together in shared grief.

In The Lottery Rose, what had Mrs. Harper's late husband planted for her that Georgie crushes by mistake?

Lilies were meant as her husband's surprise for her, so the damage cuts deep. Georgie only notices the crushed bulbs when he returns to replant his bush.

In The Lottery Rose, what does Mrs. Harper glimpse on Georgie that softens her anger over the garden?

Wounds on his back, left by the beatings and now infected, show through his torn shirt. Moments later he collapses, and she begins visiting his sickbed.

In The Lottery Rose, which principal tries to talk Georgie out of planting his rosebush in a neighbor's garden?

Sister Mary Angela runs the boys' school with a kind hand. She offers Georgie a special spot at the front of the school instead, which he has no intention of using.

In The Lottery Rose, which schoolmate, nicknamed the principal's public relations boy, befriends Georgie?

Timothy is the one who explains why the school's neighbor is so sad. He also brings Georgie the gossip from the play rehearsals.

In The Lottery Rose, which worker at Mrs. Harper's home takes Georgie on as an apprentice?

The gardener, Old Eddie, is cool toward Georgie at first. He warms up once the boy proves how much he loves the work, and Georgie starts copying his mannerisms.

In The Lottery Rose, what rare musical gift does Georgie Burgess turn out to have at his new school?

Perfect pitch turns up when the principal auditions boys for the choir, and Georgie is proud to find he sings well. Mrs. Harper later brings Robin to the chapel to listen.

Which author wrote Alice in Wonderland, the story Georgie's school stages a scene from in The Lottery Rose?

Lewis Carroll published the tale in 1865. In the novel its tea party scene is Mrs. Harper's favorite, and she plays Alice herself.

In The Lottery Rose, which woman who handed Georgie his lottery ticket takes him in after the beating?

Mrs. Sims and her husband take Georgie in as a foster son until a lasting place is found for him and his unplanted rosebush.

In The Lottery Rose, what makes Georgie collapse unconscious during his garden showdown with Mrs. Harper?

A fever leaves Georgie delirious. Mrs. Harper visits often while he is ill, yet once he recovers he refuses to see her.

Which theme runs through The Lottery Rose, as Georgie long refuses even to see Mrs. Harper after her threat?

Forgiveness is the heart of the story. Betrayed by his own mother, Georgie comes to see all mothers as alike, and must learn to trust one who is truly sorry.

In The Lottery Rose, how does Georgie first get his rosebush into Mrs. Harper's garden?

He sneaks out at night and plants it in secret, after everyone has told him the garden is off limits. By morning she has ripped the bush out and marched to the school to complain.

In The Lottery Rose, what does Georgie try to teach Robin, who has severe cognitive impairments?

To speak is the goal Georgie sets for his young friend. One chapter is told from Robin's own point of view, recalling how his late brother also pushed him to try.

In The Lottery Rose, what is Amanda, the woman meant to be minding Robin, doing when he wanders off?

Sleeping on a bench, Amanda never sees him slip out of the garden alone. Georgie, who usually goes with him, is not there that day.

In The Lottery Rose, what fills the library book Georgie keeps borrowing though he cannot read a word?

Pictures of flowers make the book his refuge. The school librarian lets him check it out again, though pupils may keep a book for only two weeks at a time.

After the beating in The Lottery Rose, where must the janitor rescue Georgie's rosebush from?

The garbage is where the bush has ended up. Reunited with it, Georgie presses his face into it without even noticing the thorns.

In The Lottery Rose, who is caring for Georgie when he comes round after the worst beating?

A nurse is dressing his leg and a deep cut in his scalp. A young police officer waits nearby, but Georgie is too frightened to name his attacker.

In The Lottery Rose, who decides that a school for boys will help Georgie adjust after he leaves home?

A judge makes the call, working with Georgie's social worker. Georgie himself worries more about finding a home for his rosebush than about one for himself.

In The Lottery Rose, what does Georgie do with his ticket's numbers because he feels certain of winning?

Memorizes them, every one, so sure is he that a prize is coming. His only fear is that whatever he wins will be taken away or destroyed at home.

In The Lottery Rose, whose savage beating leads police to remove Georgie Burgess from his home?

His mother's boyfriend beats him so badly that someone in the building finally calls the police. His mother, who drinks heavily, does little to stop it.

For which coming-of-age novel did the author of The Lottery Rose win the Newbery Medal?

Up a Road Slowly took the 1967 medal. It follows a girl named Julie from seven to seventeen as she grows up with her aunt in the country.

In The Lottery Rose, what was the name of Mrs. Harper's elder son, the brother Robin still misses?

Paul was the bright, special son, and Robin misses him badly. Georgie reminds Robin of him, and even grows jealous of the dead boy's bond with their mother.

Which Civil War novel, a Newbery runner-up, was the first book by the author of The Lottery Rose?

Across Five Aprils grew out of family stories about a boyhood in wartime. It follows young Jethro Creighton and his family on their farm through the war years.

No Promises in the Wind, by the author of The Lottery Rose, follows two brothers through which hard era?

The Great Depression sends fifteen-year-old Josh and his brother Joey out of Chicago in 1932, hoping their music can earn them a living.

Before she turned to writing novels, what was the long-time profession of the author of The Lottery Rose?

A schoolteacher for most of her working life, she retired in 1961 to write. Her first novel appeared three years later.

The Lottery Rose is set in Florida, but its author was born in which Midwestern state?

Illinois is where she was born, in the town of Pontiac. Her first novel is set on a farm in the same state.

The Lottery Rose is billed as drawing on its author's professional background in which field?

Psychology was her subject at the University of South Dakota, a grounding that shows in the novel's portrait of a hurt child gradually learning to trust.

For which international children's-book prize was the author of The Lottery Rose the U.S. nominee in 1974?

The Hans Christian Andersen Award honours a living author's lasting contribution to children's literature and is presented every two years.

Which New York publisher, long home to Hemingway and Fitzgerald, first issued The Lottery Rose?

Scribner's brought the novel out in 1976 and went on to publish her later books. Her four earlier titles had all come from another house, Follett.

The Lottery Rose is narrated from which point of view, staying mostly inside Georgie's thoughts and feelings?

Third person narration lets the story step briefly into other minds too, such as the young police officer shocked by what has been done to Georgie.

At his first school in The Lottery Rose, how does Georgie Burgess seem to his classmates and teachers?

As a bully is how he seems, defying teachers and getting into fights. The roughness hides a boy who is being beaten at home and is too afraid to tell anyone.