Around the World in Eighty Days: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Around the World in Eighty Days · meeting 1 of 3

Read: Part One, “The Wager” (pages 1–3, about 3 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 3, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. How much did Mr. Fogg bet that he could go around the world in eighty days?
   The story's answer: Twenty thousand pounds
2. Who have we met so far, and what does each of them want?
   Listen for: Make a list together on the board; keep it for next time and add to it.
3. The part we just read is called "The Wager". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
4. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Around the World in Eighty Days · meeting 2 of 3

Read: Part Two, “The Elephant”; Part Three, “Storms, Trains and Ships” (pages 4–9, about 6 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 9, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. Why did Detective Fix follow Mr. Fogg around the world?
   The story's answer: He thought Fogg was the bank robber
2. How did the travelers cross the fifty miles where the railway in India was never built?
   The story's answer: On an elephant named Kiouni
3. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
4. The part we just read is called "Storms, Trains and Ships". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
5. Stop here. What do you think will happen next? Write or draw one guess to check next time.
   Listen for: Keep the guesses in an envelope. Don't say whether a guess is right: the next part will.

🦉 Around the World in Eighty Days · meeting 3 of 3

Read: Part Four, “The Last Five Minutes” (pages 10–13, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 13, the end of the story.

1. Why was Mr. Fogg not really late after all?
   The story's answer: Traveling east, they had gained a whole day
2. What does the ending suggest Mr. Fogg valued most from his journey?
   The story's answer: Aouda and his friends
3. Look back at last time's guesses. Which came true, and what surprised you?
   Listen for: Read the guesses out. Nobody was wrong: a guess that missed often shows what the author wanted us to expect.
4. The part we just read is called "The Last Five Minutes". Why do you think it has that name?
   Listen for: Any answer that points to a moment in the part is a good one; ask for the page.
5. Now that you know the ending, was it the ending you expected?
   Listen for: Ask what in the earlier parts pointed to it, or pointed the other way.

About the whole story

1. Which character changed the most from the beginning to the end?
   Listen for: Ask what changed them.
2. Which scene would you put on the poster if this were a film?
   Listen for: A way to find the scene that mattered most to each reader.
3. Is there a line or a moment you will remember? Why that one?
   Listen for: Let readers find it in the book and read it aloud.
4. Who would you give this story to, and why them?
   Listen for: A reader who can name the right person has understood what the story is like.
5. If you could ask the person who first told this story one question, what would it be?
   Listen for: Collect the questions; some have answers on the story's page in the library.