Reading Group Guide

Tear This Down

By Barbara Dee

About the Book

When opinionated seventh grader Freya is assigned to research a local historical figure, she chooses Benjamin Wellstone, whose name is all over her town. Freya has always admired him for his antislavery beliefs. But when she begins her research on the town’s hero, she unearths some disturbing facts about his feelings on women and their right to vote. Freya and her friends set out to convince the town that Wellstone is a figure they should not be honoring anymore, but they quickly learn that not everyone agrees. In fact, when criticism starts hitting her from all sides, Freya realizes that it may be harder than she thought to get people to take her ideas seriously. Can Freya find a way to make her voice heard and help the town of Wellstone see its history in a different light?

Discussion Questions

1. Freya is known in her family for asking “o-questions.” What is an o-question in this book? Do you ever ask o-questions?

2. Why is Freya upset to learn that Benjamin Wellstone did not believe that women should vote? Have you ever learned something unexpected about someone you admired? What was it, and how did it make you feel?

3. Why do Liliana and Hazel discourage Freya from running for class president and from protesting Benjamin Wellstone? Do you think they are being good friends to her? If so, in what way? If not, why?

4. Compare Freya to Callie. Why do you think they become friends? In what ways are you similar to and different from your friends?

5. How do the various people in Freya’s life—including her friends, her family, and other adults—react to her quest to take down the Benjamin Wellstone statue? Have you ever gotten conflicting advice from different people in your own life? How do you decide who to listen to?

6. Mayor Briscoe argues that Benjamin Wellstone’s beliefs on women voting “doesn’t change the fact that he made many important contributions to history. We shouldn’t expect him to act according to modern standards, or to be a saint. And even if he wasn’t perfect, we can still be proud that he lived here.” (p. 174) What do you think about this statement? How much should we hold people, especially public figures, accountable for past mistakes? Does someone having one “bad” belief outweigh their good in the world?

7. Have you ever protested anything? If so, what was it, and what did the protest look like? If not, is there any injustice you see in your community or the world that you would like to protest? Why? How would you protest it?

8. Freya’s protest against Benjamin Wellstone begins when her social studies teacher assigns a research project about a local historical figure, using primary source materials. What is a primary source? Why do historians think it’s important to study primary sources? What do you think we can learn from first-person accounts of historical events that we might not learn from history books?

9. One commenter reacts to Freya and Callie’s post about the Benjamin Wellstone statue by complaining about them taking “cancel culture” too far. What do they mean by the term “cancel culture”? Do you think that reconsidering a historical figure’s actions and beliefs is “cancelling” that person? What is suggested by calling this reconsideration a “culture”?

10. Freya’s social studies teacher Mr. Clayton says that “history is not something in our past. It’s a living, breathing thing, constantly changing, just like us.” (p. 153) What does he mean by this? How can something that has already happened in the past be constantly changing?

11. When Mayor Briscoe asks Freya to run future Welcome Wellstone posts past her before posting, how does it make Freya feel? Do you think it’s fair for the mayor to ask this? Why or why not? Have you ever experienced pressure from someone in power to think or do things in a certain way? What was the situation, and how did it make you feel?

12. Welcome Wellstone says that Callie and Freya’s poster-hanging on the Benjamin Wellstone statue was “an act of disrespect.” (p. 204) Do you think that’s a fair way to describe their actions? Are there certain kinds of protest that you think are disrespectful or that should be off-limits? If so, which ones, and why?

13. After the failed poster protest, Freya wonders if she’s too young to be an activist. Do you think someone can be too young to be an activist? Is there any advantage to being a young activist? Can you think of any young people who have made a difference in your local community or the world?

14. Octavia Padgett writes in a letter that “despite all my sacrifice, I do not regret for one minute joining the fight for women’s suffrage.” (p. 216) What does Padgett sacrifice for her activism? Do you believe her sacrifice was worth it? Why or why not? How much would you be willing to sacrifice for a cause you believe in?

15. Both Mr. Clayton and Mai suggest that instead of focusing on tearing down Benjamin Wellstone, Freya should consider focusing instead on Octavia Padgett. What do you think about this advice? How does Freya change her approach after these conversations?

16. Have you ever stood up to someone in charge, the way Freya does with the mayor? Why did you feel that you needed to stand up to them? What happened?

17. Mai suggests, “What if the best response to a work of art—a statue or anything else—is other art? . . . Whatever it is, whatever form it takes, it doesn’t need to be just anti—it could be positive and beautiful all on its own.” (p. 237) What does Mai mean by this? Why might this be a better response than Freya’s protests? How does Freya react to Mai’s suggestion?

18. When Freya asks her mom to allow Jax to join her mother-daughter crafting club, her mom hesitates, saying, “Girls need safe spaces, and sometimes that means it’s okay, and even necessary, to exclude boys. Not to be mean to boys, but to be fair to girls.” (p. 125) What does Freya’s mom mean by this? What is a “safe space,” and why might girls need one? Do you agree that safe spaces for girls or other groups are important?

19. Freya, Jax, and Callie all face unwritten rules about what boys and girls can or should do. Have you ever been discouraged from or not allowed to do something because of your gender? What was it, and how did it make you feel? Do you think there are activities that should be only for girls or only for boys?

20. What are some examples of leadership you see in this book? What do you think good leadership looks and sounds like? Do you think good leadership always looks the same, or are there different ways of being a good leader?

21. Freya says that “I was sick of us being ignored and treated like babies.” (p. 190) Do you ever feel like adults treat you and your friends like babies or children younger than you are? Why do you think adults treat kids like this? How do you react when this happens? How do you wish adults would treat you and your ideas?

22. What does Freya learn about her own connection to her town’s history and the suffragists? How does this connection make her feel? Does anyone in your family have ties to an historical event? Have you had a connection to any events that you think people in the future will look back on as historically significant?

23. Why is it important to revisit and rethink our history the way Freya does in the book? What can we gain from looking back at and reconsidering history and historical figures?

24. When Andre helps Freya, he says, “In my opinion, we shouldn’t take down [Wellstone’s] statue—but that’s not your opinion, right? And as long as you’re not hurting anyone, no one should stop you from saying what you think.” (p. 229) What do you think about Andre’s statement?

25. What is the free speech clause of the Constitution? Why is it such an important part of the law in the United States? How is the First Amendment important to Freya’s story?

26. In what ways do Freya’s friends and family support her in this book? Were you surprised by how they supported her? In what ways do your friends and family support you? How do you support them?

Extension Activities

1. Make your own protest quilt. Start by researching famous protest quilts, such as the AIDS quilt mentioned in the story, to see what they looked like and how they were created. Then make your own quilt in support of a cause you care about. You can make it with fabric, like Freya and her friends do, or you can make it out of paper. If you’d prefer, choose a different kind of protest art or music to research and create instead.

2. Freya’s desire to tear down the statue of a famous figure in her town echoes some real-life stories of people who have fought to remove statues of historical figures. Choose one of these stories and have a formal debate with your class or reading group. One side should present the argument for tearing the statue down while the other argues for keeping it. You can use these guidelines for structuring your debate: https://ablconnect.harvard.edu/files/ablconnect/files/want_to_facilitate_a_debate_in_your_class.pdf

3. Create a primary source about a historical event by interviewing a family member or older member of your community about their involvement in a protest or other activism or a major historical event. Before the interview, consider researching the events leading up to the protest or event, and then create a list of questions to ask them about their experience. If you’d like, record your interview with them on video or audio and incorporate parts of it into a slideshow with pictures of the protests or event, news stories, etc.

4. Create a poster presentation about an important historical figure in your own community. Include pictures, news articles, and primary sources written by the figure themself, if you can find them. What were this person’s contributions to history? Was there anything they said or did that you don’t agree with? Are they widely known, or are they more of an “invisible woman” like Octavia Padgett?

5. Imagine you are a reporter in the town of Wellstone. Write a newspaper article about Freya and her friend’s quest to take down the Benjamin Wellstone statue and their protest quilt.

6. Choose a young activist and create a booklet, slideshow, or video to tell the story of their life and activism. What cause is this person advocating for? What challenges have they faced along the way? Some examples of young activists are Greta Thunburg, Autumn Peltier, and Malala Yousafzai, but you can choose someone else, too. Perhaps there’s even a young activist in your own community.

7. Freya’s Nan marched for the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). Create a poster or slideshow explaining what the ERA is, why people were marching for it, and what ended up happening. Consider including primary sources related to the ERA, such as photographs or letters. Your local library can help you find these things.

Note: Page numbers refer to the hardcover edition of this novel.

Chris Clark is a writer and reading teacher who lives with her family in coastal Maine.

This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.

• Publisher: Aladdin (February 25, 2025)
• Length: 304 pages
• ISBN13: 9781665917674
• Ages: 9 - 13