THE WESTING GAME By: Ellen Raskin "When there's a will, there's a way- and Sam Westing has left quite a will!"

About the Author ▪ born on March 13, 1928 ▪ grew up during the Depression era ▪ entered the University of Wisconsin- Madison with a major in journalism, visited the Chicago Art Institute, and then returned to the university with a major in Fine Arts

Ellen Raskin and Her Writing ▪ began writing in 1966 ▪ In 1978, Ellen was awarded the Boston- Globe Horn Book Best Fiction Award for The Westing Game ▪ In 1979, Raskin won the Newbery Medal for The Westing Game ▪ Favorite book was Figgs and Phantoms

Setting ▪ Wisconsin ▫ considered to be a progressive state: it has been at the forefront of changes ▫ an Indian word that means, “gathering of the waters, wild rice country, and home land.” ▫ nickname is the Badger State because of the miners that worked and lived in holes in the hillsides ▫ divided into five regions: Lake Superior Lowland, Northern Highland, Central Plain, Western Upland, and Eastern Ridges and Lowlands

The Westing Game ▪ Genre: Murder-mystery/Detective fiction (Whodunit?) ▪ Children’s Detective Fiction: ▫ The Hardy Boys ▫ Nancy Drew ▫ Scooby Doo ▫ Inspector Gadget ▫ Veronica Mars

Synopsis ▪ "One fateful day, sixteen people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westing's will. To their surprise the will turns out to be a contest, challenging the heirs to find out who among them is Westing's murderer. Forging ahead, through blizzards, burglaries, and bombings, the game is on. Only two people hold all the clues. One of them is a Westing heir. The other is you!"

The Westing Game ▪ Characters: The Theodorakis Family ▫ Theo Theodorakis ▫ Chris Theodorakis ▫ George Theodorakis ▫ Catherine Theodorakis The Wexler Family ▫ Grace Windsor Wexler ▫ Angela Wexler ▫ Tabitha-Ruth “Turtle” Wexler ▫ Jake Wexler

The Westing Game ▪ Characters (cont.) ▫ Sydelle Pulaski ▫ Sandy McSouthers ▫ Otis Amber ▫ Judge J.J. Ford ▫ Flora Baumbach ▫ Dr. Denton Deere ▫ Berthe Crow

Schedule of Events ▪ Each day, you will take on the role of being a Detective. You will be responsible for listening/reading the assigned chapters, completing the day’s discussion questions as well as vocabulary. (Quizlet) ▪ Each of you will also keep your very own Detective’s Log, this will be where you will record your daily observations/findings as well as hunches.