Book Club › For club leaders › Chapter checkpoints › Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel: book club questions by chapter
Meeting 1 of 2
🦉 Hansel and Gretel · meeting 1 of 2
Read: Part One, “The White Pebbles”; Part Two, “Lost” (pages 1–8, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 8, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.
- Why did Hansel drop white pebbles along the path?
The story's answer: So they could find the way home - 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. - The part we just read is called "Lost". 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. - 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.
Meeting 2 of 2
🦉 Hansel and Gretel · meeting 2 of 2
Read: Part Three, “The House in the Woods”; Part Four, “Home Again” (pages 9–18, about 5 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 18, the end of the story.
- What happened to the bread crumbs?
The story's answer: The birds ate them all - What was the witch's house made of?
The story's answer: Bread, cake and sugar - Why did Hansel hold out a little bone instead of his finger?
The story's answer: The witch could not see well, so he could fool her - What does this story show about Hansel and Gretel?
The story's answer: Together they were brave and clever enough to beat the witch - 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. - The part we just read is called "Home Again". 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. - 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
- Who in the story was kind, and who was not? How do you know?
Listen for: Ask for the moment in the story that shows it. - Which part would you change, and how would the story end then?
Listen for: There is no wrong ending; ask what else would have to change. - Is there a rule of three in this story (three tries, three wishes, three visitors)? Why do you think fairy tales like threes?
Listen for: Many do; a third time is where the change happens.
How these questions are made
The questions with an answer are the story's own, from its page in the library, each at the first stop whose pages answer it and where everyone it names has already come in. The rest are Peabody's, and name nothing but the parts already read. Nothing here is written by a computer model. The story's club kit has the short version for the leader (it gives the ending away), three facts and an activity.
Read it free: peabody.kids/library/hansel-and-gretel. Every child in the club can read it on any device, with no account.