Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Though much of Hey, Kiddo focuses on familial ties, he also states that good friends can become family.

• Why is Pat’s role important in the memoir? (topic sentence)
• Describe how Pat and Krosoczka became friends, why Pat is an important friend to Krosoczka, and how Pat became like family to Krosoczka.
• In your concluding sentences explain why Krosoczka’s portrayal of Pat is different from his portrayal of his own family.

2. Jarrett, as an artist, often writes his adult thoughts over pictures of his younger self doing things unrelated to his adult perspective.

• How does Jarrett’s perspective as an adult contrast with his younger perspective? (topic sentence)
• Describe why Jarrett reflects on his life from the perspective of an adult, why he contrasts this perspective with his younger self, and how the differences in perspective demonstrate Jarrett’s growth in the memoir.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why Jarrett’s adult perspective is essential in contributing to the meaning of the memoir.

3. Jarrett includes the backstory of his grandparents and mother and the choices they made as teenagers.

• What is the role of compassion in the memoir when Jarrett deals with adults and with himself?  (topic sentence)
• Describe why it is important to understand the backstory of Jarrett’s parents and grandparents, why it allows Jarrett to feel compassion for them, and how Jarrett extends compassion for himself.
• In your concluding sentences, explain why you believe Jarret chose to extend compassion and forgiveness to his family and for himself.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Jarrett Krosoczka’s developing love of art is a running theme throughout this graphic memoir. How does Jarrett’s drawing contribute to the meaning of his life story? How does the improvement of Jarrett’s drawings align with his character development? How does Jarrett use Comics and Art-making to find or create meaning in the events of his life?

2. At the beginning of the memoir, Krosoczka begins his life story by describing driving lessons in the graveyard with his grandfather. How does this scene serve to create suspense in the novel? How does this scene provide insight into Grandpa Joe’s personality and role in Jarrett’s life? What is the significance of the graveyard in relation to his mother? What does the ability to drive mean to Jarrett?

3. What effect does Krosoczka’s use of real photographs and letters have on how you read the story? Why are these items important in emphasizing the real-life elements of the memoir? What are some of the meaningful items Krosoczka includes in the story that relate to the narrative of the memoir, and why do you think he chose to include them? How would the book be different if Krosoczka had chosen not to include them?