Upper School Community Read

Upper School Students and Parents,

I am pleased to share with you an exciting new opportunity for the Upper School for the 2026-27 school year. As part of our summer reading in the Upper School, all students in grades 9-12 will participate in a shared reading experience that is centered on The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal. All Upper School faculty will be reading this as well. To make this a true community-building, shared reading experience, I am encouraging all parents to read the book, too. FBCA will provide a copy of the book for each family along with guided reading questions for students and conversation guides for parents. Students will receive the book before we dismiss for summer, and your family will receive a link to all of this information early in the summer so that everyone has ample time to read and reflect.

The Sunflower tells the story of a unique relationship between a Nazi soldier and a Jewish prisoner of war. The conversations the two characters have create an ethical and moral conundrum with which the protagonist, and ultimately the reader, must wrestle. This story has challenged countless readers, thinkers, students, teachers and others to consider complex questions about life and death, forgiveness, redemption and more.

My hope is that a community-wide reading of this powerful book will create a meaningful shared experience for students, parents and faculty. A community read of this nature should open doors for great conversation and empathy building, as well as provide a framework for teaching, learning and rich conversation during the coming school year across multiple disciplines. My goal is for us to begin to foster a culture of reading among our students in a day and age when reading is in danger of becoming a lost art.

I look forward to how our community learns and grows through the experience of reading The Sunflower together. In the meantime, be on the lookout for an early summer email with all the information you need to begin this experience with your family.

Sincerely,

Nathan Barber
Head of Upper School

The Sunflower tells the story of a unique relationship between a Nazi soldier and a Jewish prisoner of war. The conversations between the two characters create an ethical and moral conundrum with which the protagonist, and ultimately the reader, must wrestle. This story has challenged countless readers, thinkers, students, teachers and others to consider complex questions about life and death, forgiveness, redemption and more.

The author, Simon Wiesenthal, has consistently maintained that the story is based on events he experienced during World War II. Some historians have questioned the veracity of Wiesenthal’s story, as not all the details can be verified. Whether every event in the book happened exactly as described or not, we will never know. Nevertheless, the story is one that serves as a jumping-off point for powerful conversation, and that is the focus of our shared experience of reading The Sunflower.

Simon Wiesenthal was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to ensuring that the crimes of the Nazi regime were not forgotten and that those responsible were brought to justice. After surviving multiple concentration camps, he became a tireless “Nazi hunter,” helping to track down and prosecute war criminals, most famously aiding in the capture of Adolf Eichmann. Beyond justice, Wiesenthal’s work symbolized a moral obligation to memory—reminding the world of the dangers of hatred, antisemitism, and indifference. His legacy lives on through the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which continues his mission of promoting human rights, confronting hate and intolerance, and educating future generations about the Holocaust and the ongoing fight against racism and genocide. (Text taken from the Simon Wiesenthal Center website)

Reading The Sunflower is required for all students who will be in grades 9-12 next school year. Follow the reading plan and guided reading questions below as you read. When you return to school, be prepared for an assessment to check your basic understanding of the text. Additionally, several of your classes (i.e. English, Theology and History) will incorporate the text into coursework and reference it throughout the year. You will want to be prepared for deep discussion of the text within the first week of school. As a reminder, this required reading is in addition to the summer reading titles assigned by your English teacher

Only the first 100 pages are required reading.  The second half of the text consists of essays and reflections that you are not required to cover this summer.  For maximum impact, try to read those first hundred pages in only a few sessions, scheduled as closely together as possible. For example, reading 20 pages a day over five consecutive days would be a manageable plan that would not require a significant time commitment. If your family is planning a road trip or another opportunity to spend time together, you are welcome to use the audiobook version, especially if you would enjoy listening to it as a family.

Use the questions below to navigate The Sunflower as you read through it. These questions provide direction and focus on elements of the story that are important for you to look for and think about as you read. You do not have to write the questions and answers to be turned in when you return to school, but conversations you have in class(es) will center on these questions. 

9th Grade Guided Reading Questions

• What is the setting of the story?
• Who are Karl and Simon, and what is their relationship?
• What does the sunflower represent?
• How is forgiveness explored as a theme in this story?
• If you were Simon, how would you have responded to Karl’s request?
• How does Simon’s dilemma compare to the concept of forgiveness in Christianity?

10th Grade Guided Reading Questions

• What is the setting and historical context of the story?
• Who are Karl and Simon, and what is their relationship?
• What does the sunflower represent?
• How is forgiveness explored as a theme in this story?
• If you were Simon, how would you have responded to Karl’s request?Should forgiveness be earned? Why or why not?
• How does Simon’s dilemma compare to the concept of forgiveness in Christianity?

11th Grade Guided Reading Questions

• Who are Karl and Simon, and what is their relationship?
• What does the sunflower represent?
• What is the ethical dilemma that Simon faces?
• How would you have responded if faced with Simon’s dilemma?
• Should forgiveness be earned? Why or why not?
• Can forgiveness exist without accountability? Why or why not?
• How does Simon’s dilemma compare to the concept of forgiveness in Christianity?

12th Grade Guided Reading Instructions

• Who are Karl and Simon, and what is their relationship?
• What does the sunflower represent?
• What is the ethical dilemma that Simon faces?
• Why does the author not answer the question for the reader?
• Should forgiveness be earned? Why or why not?
• Are there limits to forgiveness?
• How does Simon’s dilemma compare to the concept of forgiveness in Christianity?

Ideally, you would read the text while your child is reading, or even before, but reading it after your child is also fine. The more parents who opt for reading the book, the more powerful the shared experience. To help spark conversation at home, here are some questions that could lead to meaningful conversation between you and your child centered on The Sunflower. Please read through these questions ahead of your conversation(s) with your child and be prepared to give your own answers during the conversation(s).

• Who are Simon and Karl, and what are the circumstances that led to them meeting?
• Why does Karl make such a challenging request of Simon?
• Do you think Karl was genuinely remorseful? Why or why not?
• Why did Simon struggle so much with the ethical dilemma he faced after Karl’s request?
• Consider a time when either you asked someone for forgiveness or someone asked you for forgiveness. After reading The Sunflower, would you handle that situation differently now?
• Why did the author leave the question unanswered? 
• What would you have done if you were Simon? What do you think Christ would have called you to do? Are those the same answers?
• After reading The Sunflower, how has your insight into and understanding of the history of the Jews changed?