logo

97 pages 3 hours read

Alan Bradley

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Alan BradleyFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2009

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Before Reading

Reading Context

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do literary critics mean when they talk about narrative voice? How are terms like “reliable” or “unreliable” narrator, “style,” “tone,” “perspective,” and “point of view” related to the idea of narrative voice? How does understanding narrative voice help the reader make meaning from a text?

Teaching Suggestion: Flavia’s distinctive voice is a significant factor in the popularity of the Flavia de Luce series. A thorough appreciation of this narrative voice will increase students’ enjoyment of the novel and support their understanding of the novel’s themes of The Precocious Child Detective and Social Class and Interpersonal Relationships. This prompt intends to measure what students already know about narrative voice and pinpoint gaps in their understanding before reading the novel. After students make a first attempt at responding to this prompt, you might offer the resources listed below, as needed, to help them strengthen their understanding. Afterward, you might ask students to go back and revise their initial responses to the prompt as a way to check their understanding and increase their retention of any new information.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 97 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools