Hua Mulan: book club questions by chapter

🦉 Hua Mulan · meeting 1 of 3

Read: Part One, “The Scroll” (pages 1–4, about 3 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 4, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. 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.
2. The part we just read is called "The Scroll". 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.
3. 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.

🦉 Hua Mulan · meeting 2 of 3

Read: Part Two, “The Camp” (pages 5–9, about 4 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 9, and don't read on: the next part is for next time.

1. What does the nickname the Careful One suggest about Mulan?
   The story's answer: She noticed details others missed
2. What excuse did Mulan give for bathing alone?
   The story's answer: She snored underwater
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 Camp". 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.

🦉 Hua Mulan · meeting 3 of 3

Read: Part Three, “The Long March”; Part Four, “The Ride Home” (pages 10–18, about 8 minutes aloud).
Stop at the end of page 18, the end of the story.

1. Why did Mulan go to the army?
   The story's answer: To take her aged father's place
2. What does Mulan mean when she talks about two rabbits running side by side?
   The story's answer: What matters is how well you do the job, not who you are
3. What did the sergeant reveal at the end?
   The story's answer: He had known her secret from the first week
4. 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.
5. The part we just read is called "The Ride Home". 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.
6. 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. What does this story tell you about the place it comes from?
   Listen for: Food, weather, animals, how people live: anything the story shows.
2. Does it remind you of another story you know?
   Listen for: Many folk tales have cousins in other countries.
3. Who was the cleverest person in the story, and how did they show it?
   Listen for: Ask for the moment.
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.