Point out one or two of these similes to the students and challenge them to find as many as they can. Have the class discuss their findings and explain how these descriptions add imagery to the story. Have the students look at Richard Lauter's illustrations in this book. Have students draw their own depictions of what the artist drew, for example on page 82 Peter's bedroom. Peter Stokes had lived in the same house all his life.
Many people move one or more times while they are growing up.
Record how many students were born in your town, how many have moved once, twice, etc. Make a bar graph of the results. In chapter 27, Grandpa takes Peter on his first fishing trip. Grandpa explains that they must get up early because the best time to catch fish is when they come to feed at high tide. What place in the world has the greatest difference between high and low tide.