12-5 21-2-10 64-35 17-7-41-47-110-14. 52-47-46-77-72-16 23-1
The Romeo and Juliet Code
By Phoebe Stone
A guide to help readers get their
historical, geographical, and cranial
bearings
By Scott Alexander Rader
Hays Public Library
80-53-20 70-71-15-5-72-31-53-82. 33-64-2-115-110-81-96-29-86
A quick note about this presentation



This presentation is
intended to help
students who have read
The Romeo and Juliet
Code understand the
time and place in which
the novel is set.
There are a few spoilers.
Please read the book
first.
The presentation is
interactive and is
intended to be selfguided by students in
the 4th or 5th grade.
Summary

Felicity Bathburn Budwig loves her
country, England, and her parents, Danny
and Winnie. With the war on in Europe
and nightly bombings of English cities,
Felicity’s parents have sent her to live with
her family in Bottlebay, Maine, USA. But
she discovers something is afoot when her
Uncle Gideon keeps receiving strange
letters from her father. With the help of
her quirky adopted cousin, Felicity sets
out to solve her families secrets.
Where is Maine?
(Click for hints)
It this one!
Up here!
It’s over here!
So where is England?
(This one should be easier, But click if you need help. Can you find Maine? Use the legend to measure
the distance!)
Point of Reference
(Just for fun!)




While Bottlebay, ME seems to be a fictional place,
we can still use sites like Wolfram Alpha (The
Computational Knowledge Engine) to help us
calculate distance.
I live in Kansas. The distance between the
center of Kansas and the center of Maine is 1565
Miles.
The distance from the center of Maine to the
center of the United Kingdom is 2956 miles.
Use Wolfram Alpha to calculate the distance
between where you live and Maine and England
(EX: Hays, KS to England = 4384 Miles).
Why does Felicity have to move to Maine?

The short answer is that her city probably looked something like
this.
From September 7th, 1940 to May 10th, 1941 German planes
bombed cities around Great Britain nightly. London was bombed 76
consecutive nights. This event is commonly referred to as “The
Blitz.”
Places Hit During the Bombing

The St. Michael’s Cathedral, in Coventry, was bombed
November 14th, 1940.
Places Hit During the Bombing

On December 29th, 1940 a bomb hit St. Paul’s Cathedral, but it didn’t explode.
This incident and image became a symbol of resilience. Notice how plucky
Felicity is, even though she’s been left with these weird relatives she barely
knows.
The Proud City
This poster, showing St. Paul’s
Cathedral, was commissioned
by London Transport in 1944.
It shows how symbolic the
structure is to the city.
Places Hit During the Bombing

Trafalgar Square was hit on October 15th, 1940. Many
people used Underground (subway) stations like this one as
bomb shelters.
Take Shelter
Here people sleep on an
escalator at Piccadilly Circus
Underground station.
To keep conditions
comfortable, there were strict
rules at public shelters.
What about the children?
 Now
we’re back to Felicity and why
she was sent to Maine (well, one of
the reasons).
 Many children during the bombings
were sent to the English countryside.
 The bombings targeted cities so
even the government recommended
this tactic to save the children.
What about the children?

As a fan of graphic
design I had to
include some
posters. This is
one released
between 19391945, probably by
the government.
What about the Children?
Notice the bear. It’s like Felicity’s
bear, Wink!
Felicity was part of 3.5 million people who evacuated the cities during
the bombings. Most were children.
Think about it
 How
would you like being left by
your parents in a strange
country?
 How would you feel if you had
no way to contact them?
Remember Felicity has no way to
get a hold of her parents. All
the letters she writes go in a box
under her bed.
Queen Anne (Coming to America)
Phoebe
Stone revealed in her author’s note that the Queen Anne on
which Felicity travels is not a real boat. It is based on the Queen
Elizabeth, which covered up its windows to avoid German U-Boats.
Coming to America
Before Felicity comes to America, and for
much of book, the country has not yet
entered World War II.
 What major event happens at the end of
the book that gets America involved in the
war?

Did you say the Bombing
of Pearl Harbor?
Coming to America
While
we didn’t face
anything like The
Blitz in America, we
did face similar
conditions to Felicity’s
England. So cities
weren’t easy targets
for planes, the
military enforced
blackouts. This
poster is from
California.
19
Coming to America
The
blackouts even came to Kansas. Here is a picture
from a blackout at Fort Riley.
You forgot her parents were spies!!!!!
The
title suggests some sort of code. Codes mean secrets. And
spies are awesome at secrets! Felicity solving the code was fun and
made for a good story, but she and Derek could have put themselves
in real danger by finding out her parents’ secrets.
Explore
more!
(Still
curious about the book, World War II, or The Blitz? The following slides give you
more suggestions for reading . . . and even some fun stuff related to the story!)
Read-A-Likes
(Read-A-Likes and Summaries are taken from NoveList)
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
by Jeanne Birdsall
When the three younger Penderwick
sisters go to Maine with Aunt Claire
and are separated from oldest sister
Rosalind for the first time in their lives,
an uncertain Skye is left in charge as
the OAP--oldest available Penderwick.
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
After twelve-year-old Sumiko and her
Japanese-American family are relocated
from their flower farm in southern California
to an internment camp on a Mojave Indian
reservation in Arizona, she helps her family
and neighbors, becomes friends with a local
Indian boy, and tries to hold on to her
dream of owning a flower shop.
Read-A-Likes
(Read-A-Likes and Summaries are taken from NoveList)

On The Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck

A boy in Illinois remembers the homefront years of
World War II, especially his two heroes--his brother in
the Air Force and his father, who fought in the
previous war.
Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
Tomikazu Nakaji's biggest concerns are baseball,
homework, and a local bully, until life with his Japanese
family in Hawaii changes drastically after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock
Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the
disappearance of her missing mother.
Get more into the world of the book

The Romeo and Juliet Code includes references to books, games,
and more that you may also be interested in

Romeo and Juliet


The Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett



Click the link above to play the game that the Bathburns often play.
Hearts


Sara Crewe, a pupil at Miss Minchin's London School, is left in poverty when
her father dies, but is later rescued by a mysterious benefactor.
Also check out the movie directed by Alfonso Curon. It’s one of my
favorites. The movie starring Shirley Temple is one of my wife’s favorites!
So check that out, too.
Parcheesi


You’ll get to this in high school, but if you are interested you can read Aunt
Miami’s favorite scene here.
This is another game that Felicity often plays with her family.
Spies

It’s pretty cool that Felicity’s parents are spies. The International Spy
Museum, located in Washington, DC, hosts this blog which covers all things
spy related. They even have firsthand accounts from real spies.
Want to find out more?
(Here are some resources for primary sources that you can use)
Want
more on The Blitz? Try these.
BBC-British Broadcasting Company

Quite a few historic pictures from the time period.
Exploring

This site has photos, posters, and letters from the time period.
Library

The

20th Century London
of Congress Prints and Photographs
Did you like all those cool posters? They have a huge
collection of WPA (Works Progress Administration) posters.
They also have quite a lot of photos and political cartoons
from the time.
Times (UK) Online
There is an extensive archive of news articles and pictures. It
does require a subscription, but you can get samples and view
a few photo galleries for free.
Want to find out more?
(Here are some resources for primary sources that you can use)
Interested
in a different time? Here are some general
sites for primary sources.
Footnote.com

Easy navigation makes this a great resource.
National


They are billed as the “Nation’s Record Keeper.” Go here,
especially if you are looking for American history.
The following database is available for free to Kansas
residents with a Kansas Library Card. Don’t live in
Kansas? Check with your local library for similar
databases.
Junior

Archives
Reference Collection
This database covers all your core curriculum. If you need
help, chances are this is a good place to start. They have
plenty of primary sources also.
References
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Alpha Press. (1940). Second World War shelterers sleeping on escalators at Piccadilly Circus.
[Photograph]. Retrieved June 19, 2011 from
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conObject.1665&pp=10&search_word=&c
atId.
BBC. (2010). The blitz which began 70 years ago, in pictures. [Photo Slideshow]. Retrieved June
19, 2011 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11175676.
Bock, A. (1941). Deutsches U-boot versenkt englischen frachtdampfer. [Photomechanical Print].
Retrieved June 19, 2011 from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008678875/.
Delano, J. (1942). Fort Riley, Kansas. Guiding a truck into bivouac area during a blackout.
[Photograph]. Retrieved June 19, 2011 from
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001006639/PP/.
Fosh & Cross, ltd. (1939?-1945?). Children are safer in the country ... leave them
there. [Photograph]. Found June 19, 2011 from
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/pos/item/2008676208/#copies. Retrieved June 19, 2011
from http://www.iwmprints.org.uk/lowres/117/main/1/377702.jpg.
Grigware, E.T. (1941?-1943?). The world has ears - keep mum. [Photograph]. Retrieved June
19, 2011 from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98517820/.
Museum of London. (1939). Public Air Raid Shelter. [Public Notice]. Retrieved June 19, 2011
from
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conObject.4841&pp=10&search_word=&c
atId.
Spradbery, W.E. (1944). The Proud City - St. Paul’s Cathedral. [Art Print]. London Transport:
London, UK. Retrieved June 19, 2011 from
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conObject.3157&pp=10&search_word=&c
atId
Transport for London. (1940). Second World War bomb damage to Trafalgar Square.
[Photograph]. Retrieved June 19, 2011 from
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conObject.1852&pp=10&search_word=&c