May Bookworms   Click here for more about the Buckley Boys. Matthew Buckley Shares  Bullies in the Headlights Trivia Brother Winston is patterned after two role models in my young life: Jay Macfarlane, a primary teacher and WWII vet, and A.C. Christensen, a bus driver.  A. C. Christensen had the experience of being captured by the Japanese, only to serve a mission to that country many years later.  He tells the story in the New Era. I have a friend named Allen, and he is my friend to this day. He often made sure people knew that his named was spelled the "right way," A-L-L-E-N.   I also had a friend named Eric Bingham who used to play me in Ping Pong.  He is pretty much exactly as described in the Ping Pong chapter.  To begin with he could barely hit the ball, and yet he never admitted that he was anything less than a "master" at ping pong.  Eventually he became very good, and it was a lesson to me that if you tell yourself something long enough, your skills will eventually catch up. The face the Buckley boys drew in the sand and named Bob is based on reality.  For four years, my family found Bob still carved in the sand, after we'd initially drawn him, and each year we would dig the trenches again.  He finally disappeared years later. Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies Brownies: 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 cup margarine or butter 1/3 cup peanut butter Mix all together and then add 1 cup flour 1 cup oats 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt Spread in greased cake pan. Bake for 17-22 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool, then frost. Frosting: Stir together: 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup peanut butter 2 Tbs milk Add 1/2 tsp milk until frosting becomes spreadable. Set aside 1/3 cup of peanut-butter frosting.   Stir 3 Tbs baking cocoa and 1 Tbs milk into remaining frosting to create chocolate frosting.  Spread brownies with chocolate frosting. Drop peanut-butter frosting by spoonfuls on top of chocolate frosting. Swirl, cut, and enjoy. Bullies in the Headlights by  Matthew Buckley The Buckley boys are headed back to school for another year. Unfortunately, so are the Hagbarts-and they're out for revenge. Matthew Buckley and his brothers may have won a single small battle over the summer, but the war is far from over. Luckily, though the Hagbarts may be meaner, the Buckleys are smarter-or were smarter. The sight of Matthew's underwear at the top of the school flagpole loudly states that the Hagbart bullies are getting expert help from someone quite clever. Soon the war of wits escalates to an incredible scheme designed to get the ultimate revenge on the Hagbarts. But now that Matthew has been learning that he's supposed to do good to those who hate him, what will he do when a little push becomes a great big shove? Take a hilarious trip back to school in this delightful adventure with its message of forgiveness that will echo long after the last page has been turned.   Discussion Questions Matthew and Simon are being picked on by bullies, and they see an opportunity to get even.  Then they learn in family home evening about turning the other cheek.  This puts them in the classical dilemma.  They want to do one thing, but the commandments are telling them to do something else.  Are there times when we are given commandments that we do not really see the benefit of following?  Are there any that go against what we might call common sense? Matthew and Simon decide to just ignore the bullies, but the bullies are persistent.  Following the commandment to love those who hate you apparently did not work for them, or at least not right away.  When we follow commandments, do we always see the immediate blessings?  Are the benefits always clear? Simon and Matthew decide that they will ignore the commandment and get revenge.  What is the outcome?  Does disobeying the commandments always lead to bad things?  Are the consequences immediate and apparent? Ultimately Matthew has an experience that shows him why he should, in fact, love his neighbor.  What is the experience, and why does Matthew decide that getting revenge is not important.   Get Personal with Matthew Buckley Elsewhere you have mentioned that Chickens in the Headlights is based on your childhood experience. Is Bullies in the Headlights based on your childhood? While most of Chickens in the Headlights came from real experiences, Bullies was more imagined.  Though there are many aspects of the book that really happened.  Allen is based on several childhood friends, and Brother Winston is the composite of two role models I had while growing up. I had many experiences with bullies, and eventually I came to the same conclusion that Matthew did, but it was not during a single experience as described in the book. Are the characters based on your brothers?  The personalities of the Buckleys mirror both the personalities of my brothers and my sons.  While you can't make a one-to-one comparison, there are certainly traits in the Buckley boys that you would see in some of my brothers and sons. How many brothers and sons do you have?  I have 9 brothers and 5 sons.  I have one sister and no daughters.   Do you have plans to write any more books on the Buckleys? I am actually collecting stories about Boy Scouts, and plan to finish the Buckley series with their adventures in the Boy Scouts.  My father was in the Scouting program for most of his adult life since more than half the Scout troop consisted of his sons.  I am writing my book in a wiki, and anybody is invited to come and share stories or help out with the book at www.buckleywiki.com Who are your books written for?  What is the target audience?  When I wrote the first book, I wrote it for my brothers, thinking it would most appeal to teenagers or young adults.  When my publisher sent the book out, I was surprised that the most excited readers were parents of young families and elementary-age children. So the entire family really can enjoy the book.  There is humor, there are lessons, and there are good times to be had by all.  Click here to help write Buckley's next book!