Kurt Vonnegut Museum invites Abbott Elementary staff, students to visit Indianapolis

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum shared and responded on Facebook this week to a joke about "Slaughterhouse-Five" that aired on the Emmy award-winning TV show, "Abbott Elementary."

The joke was about one of Vonnegut's best-known works, "Slaughterhouse-Five." Here's what to know.

What episode of 'Abbott Elementary' has the Vonnegut joke?

The episode that the Vonnegut Museum shared on Facebook is Episode 7 of the third season titled "Librarian." It originally aired March 13, 2024.

What is the premise of Season 3 Episode 7 of 'Abbott Elementary'?

The episode centers around how Janine (Quinta Brunson) is piloting a new program where a grad student is brought in to work as a school librarian in district schools that don't have one and they are starting with Abbott.

The librarian in the episode is played by guest star Cree Summer, who is best known for her voice work including shows like "Rugrats," "Tiny Toon Adventures" and "Codename: Kids Next Door" as well as her acting the 80s sitcom "A Different World."

'Abbott Elementary': They're not learning cursive at this fictional school, either

What is the Vonnegut joke in 'Abbott Elementary'?

In the episode, Ava (Janelle James) notices the librarian has recovered the school's copy of Slaughter-House Five.

The science fiction anti-war story is known for being semi-autobiographical as Vonnegut served in the U.S. army during World War II. Some of the scenes described in the book relate to his experiences.

"Slaughter-House Five? I started reading this last month but it disappeared before I could get to the part about slaughterhouses," Ava said to the librarian.

The book is famously not actually about slaughterhouses.

Fans of Vonnegut know that Slaughterhouse-Five is not even the original title of the book, but was selected in reference to where Vonnegut and other allies were kept as prisoners in Dresden.

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum shared the joke on Facebook Tuesday and responded with a suggestion for a plotline on the show.

"We can explain the slaughterhouse part. Perhaps during a field trip to Indianapolis to visit the Kurt Vonnegut Museum?" the post read.

Where can I watch 'Abbott Elementary'?

New episodes of "Abbott Elementary" are currently airing weekly on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC and all released episodes are available to stream on Hulu.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Abbott Elementary: Kurt Vonnegut Museum responds to slaughterhouse joke