Connecting the Story to History, Science, Geography & Art
For homeschool families and classroom teachers. Designed for students ages 8–14.
History
The 2013 Boulder, Colorado Floods
Redeeming Rhubarb is set against a real historical disaster. Use the book as a springboard for historical research.
Research topics:
- What caused the September 2013 Boulder floods? (Atmospheric rivers, the role of the Rocky Mountains in trapping moisture, why this event was called a “1,000-year flood”)
- How many people were displaced? Which communities were hardest hit?
- How did neighbors, strangers, and emergency responders help one another during the crisis? Can you find real stories of people helping others they had never met?
- How long did it take Boulder County to rebuild? What changed permanently?
- The book references another flood that occurred on Memorial Day 1894. What facts can you find about this flood? How did it compare to the flood of 2013? What were the similarities and differences?
Discussion: The book suggests that crisis strips away the luxury of prejudice — that when survival is at stake, hatred becomes too expensive. Did real accounts of the flood bear this out? Find a news story or personal account from 2013 that supports or challenges this idea.
Writing project: Write a newspaper article reporting on the flood from the perspective of an animal living in Boulder in September 2013.
The History of Prejudice in America
The book uses mice and rats as an allegory for prejudice between human groups.
Research topics:
- What does “allegory” mean? Find two other famous animal allegories in literature (Animal Farm, Watership Down, The Jungle Book) and discuss what human situation each one represents.
- Research one historical example of a group of people being treated the way rats are treated in this book — blamed, feared, excluded, and scapegoated. What were the consequences?
- Read about the Civil Rights Movement. Find one real person whose response to hatred resembles Barnabas’s response in the book.
Discussion: Rhubarb’s hatred of rats began when one rat hurt someone he loved. Is this a realistic way that prejudice starts? Can you find historical examples of this pattern?
Science
Animal Behavior & Instinct
The book imagines animals with human thoughts and feelings, but the animals chosen are real species with real behaviors.
Research topics:
- Mice and rats: Are mice and rats natural enemies in the wild? How do they actually interact? What senses do they rely on most?
- Dogs (Rottweilers): Research the Rottweiler breed. How were they historically used by humans? What does the research say about whether dog breeds have fixed personalities, or whether environment and treatment shape them more?
- Cats: Miley is a stray cat struggling to feed her kittens. Research feral cat colonies — how do they survive, how do mothers protect their young, and what challenges do stray cats face in urban environments?
- Bats: The bat in Chapter 3 trades a favor for a brass button. Research how bats navigate and find food. What role do bats play in ecosystems?
Writing project: Choose one animal from the book and write a one-page naturalist’s field report describing the real animal’s habitat, diet, behavior, and survival strategies.
Flood Science & Hydrology
Research topics:
- What is a flash flood? How is it different from a river flood?
- What is a watershed? Draw a diagram of how water flows from the Rocky Mountains into Boulder Creek.
- What conditions in September 2013 combined to make the Boulder flood so severe? (Research: atmospheric river, saturated soil, steep terrain)
- What does storm drain infrastructure do, and why did it matter in this story?
Experiment: Fill a baking dish with soil and rocks to simulate a mountain valley. Pour water slowly, then quickly. Observe how the water behaves differently. Discuss how this connects to what happened in Boulder in 2013.
Psychology of Prejudice
For older students (ages 12 and up), this book connects to real psychological research.
Research topics:
- What is implicit bias? How do researchers test for it?
- What is in-group/out-group thinking? How does this connect to Rhubarb’s behavior?
- Research the contact hypothesis — the idea that prejudice decreases when people from different groups spend time together under equal conditions. Does this match what happens in the book?
- What does research say about how children develop prejudice? At what age do children begin to notice group differences?
Discussion: Betty tells her children that prejudice “masks the hurt.” Is this consistent with what psychologists have found? What does research say about the emotional roots of prejudice?
Geography
Colorado & the Front Range
Map work:
- Find Boulder, Colorado on a map. Locate the Rocky Mountains, the Front Range, and Boulder Creek.
- Identify the neighborhoods most affected by the 2013 flood. Use Google Maps satellite view to trace where floodwaters traveled.
- The book mentions Mesa Drive. Find Table Mesa Drive in Boulder and identify what geographical features surround it.
Research: What is the Continental Divide, and how does it affect weather patterns in Colorado? Why does Boulder receive weather differently from Denver?
Art
Illustration Study
Redeeming Rhubarb features original pencil illustrations by Januga Janayake.
Art appreciation:
- Look closely at the illustrations. What drawing techniques do you notice? (Crosshatching, shading, line weight)
- How does the illustrator convey emotion without color? Look at the characters’ postures and facial expressions.
- Compare Rhubarb’s body language in early illustrations versus late illustrations. What changes? What does the illustrator do to show this?
Art project — Choose one:
- Character portrait: Draw your own version of Barnabas, Strawberry, or Bailey using pencil and crosshatching technique.
- Scene illustration: Choose a scene from the book that has no illustration and draw what you imagine it would look like.
- Before and after: Draw Rhubarb at the beginning of the story and at the end. Use body language, expression, and setting to show how he has changed — without using any words.
- Map making: Draw a illustrated map of the animal community in the abandoned factory, based on descriptions in the book. Include the mice’s homes, the rats’ entrance, the storm drain, and the surrounding neighborhood.
Bible & Character Study Integration
Virtue study: Assign one character per week as a virtue study.
- Barnabas: Patience, forgiveness, dignity under persecution
- Strawberry: Courage, loyalty, truth-telling
- Bailey: Trust, healing, openness to grace
- Rhubarb: The cost of pride, the possibility of repentance
- Sherry: Quiet courage, faithful love, perseverance
Scripture connection for each virtue: Pair each character study with the relevant KJV scriptures from the Redeeming Rhubarb Discussion Guide.
Journal prompt for each chapter: “Which character made the hardest choice in this chapter? What would you have done?”
