Annie takes her apple-drawing assignment very seriously. What about these drawings is important to her? How do they contribute to the story as a whole?

The story of Heartbeat begins with Annie’s mother’s pregnancy and ends with the birth of Annie’s younger brother. How does Annie’s idea of family change throughout the book?

Max and Annie both love to run, but they have very different ideas of what kind of running is worthwhile. How else are these characters different? How are they similar?